A Modern Wizard

Two young New York lawyers see a chance to build their careers when a physician walks into their office just after they have discussed his case in the newspaper. Mortimer Dudley and Robert Bliss are drawn into the puzzling death of Mabel Sloane, a music student whose doctors disagree about what happened to her. Their visitor, Dr. Emanuel Medjora, has already become the focus of police suspicion and public speculation.

Rodrigues Ottolengui combines a detective novel with courtroom argument and an interest in hypnotism. Its opening case moves from investigation to testimony for both sides, while a later conversation between Medjora and Leon turns to conscience, immortality and the relation between human and animal life. Leon's reading in science and philosophy makes him eager for a teacher. Readers interested in mysteries built around medical evidence will also find a story concerned with intellectual authority and the appeal of an unusual mentor.