None of these three short stories seemed very interesting or special to me. I don't necessarily regret reading them, but I also could have easily skipped reading them and not been worse for it. ( )

An ex-army comrade asks Lacey to find his walking stick which he had mislaid the previous evening - losing it would cause problems with his fiancée and more importantly her father.
A short story. ( )

Two very short stories featuring Captain Gabriel Lacey.

Story 1: An old military acquaintance of Lacey's asks his help to retrieve a walking stick he's left behind in one of the places he visited the previous day. The walking stick has the man's name engraved on it, and some of the places he'd been may prove embarrassing. I liked that Lacey visited the places in reverse order, and in doing so gained a specific knowledge of the man and the people whose lives he affected. And I particularly enjoyed the ending and Lacey once again taking care of the unfortunate and downtrodden.

Story 2: The father of a young girl who arrived in London and subsequently disappeared asks Lacey to find her. The girl's aunt and brother both believe her to have "fallen" and believe she's better off not found, due to the risk of bringing ruin to the upstanding family. Although the investigation itself is very good, the outcome and resolution is vague and unsatisfying. ( )