Beadle's Dime Library No. 680

# Museum Catalog Note

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (November 4, 1891) features "XX, or Detective Burr's Master Case: A Romance of the Silent Tragedy" by Harold Payne. The serial murder mystery involves the death of Sylvester Leland, a wealthy philanthropist found dead in his library with a small puncture wound over his heart—apparently caused by a needle-like instrument. Detective Thaddeus Burr, assigned to the case by Inspector Byrnes, discovers a crucial clue: a marked passage in Addison's Spectator and torn letter fragments written in distinctive violet ink. These lead him to suspect Miles Sanford, Leland's young friend and frequent borrower, who discovered the body. The narrative explores Burr's investigative methods and gradually reveals the complex relationships within the Leland household, including the victim's nephew Laurence and youngest daughter Martha.