Officer 666

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

30228

Title

Officer 666

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A comedic mystery featuring wealthy Travers Gladwin, who goes incognito as 'Thomas Smith' to escape his fortune's burdens. He encounters a series of absurd situations involving telepathy, a corrupt police officer, and a determined aunt trying to marry his cousin to a millionaire suitor.

Summary up to 500 words

In *Officer 666*, wealthy heir Travers Gladwin, bored by a life of luxury and suspicion of his lawyer's corruption, travels incognito to New York under the alias Thomas Smith. There, he attempts to woo a factory worker but is rebuffed by her sharp tongue, while his wealthy aunt, Mrs. Burton, aggressively pursues an engagement between her niece Helen and the wealthy but unwanted Mr. Hogg. Gladwin's investigation leads him to interact with Officer 666, Michael Phelan, a rookie cop whose beat is plagued by bizarre incidents, including a woman screaming from a supposedly dead body. The narrative weaves through high-society teas, police station antics, and romantic entanglements, blending slapstick humor with a light mystery plot involving secrets, bribes, and a race to expose corruption before the hero's identity is revealed. The story opens with a chaotic scene at the Ritz-Carlton where Gladwin, frustrated by a failed attempt at telepathic communication with Helen, storms out after a grapefruit incident. Meanwhile, Mrs. Burton manipulates Helen into accepting Mr. Hogg, viewing the union as a financial merger. Phelan, initially assigned to guard a dead body, is horrified to find the corpse alive and screaming, leading to a comedic trial where he is nearly dismissed. As Gladwin investigates his lawyer's dealings, he navigates a world of social pretense and genuine danger, where the line between high society and the gritty reality of the police force blurs. The novel balances the absurdity of a millionaire pretending to be a nobody with the serious undercurrents of criminal corruption, ultimately exploring themes of identity, the hollowness of wealth, and the unexpected intersections of love and law.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30228.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg30228.epub

Removed after upload

Downloaded at

2026-07-01 20:13 UTC

Categories

• Fiction