Herman Cyril McNeile MC (1888-1937) was a British author, who published under the pen name Sapper. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1907 and was sent to France in 1914 when World War I broke out. McNeile saw action at both the First and the Second Battle of Ypres. He displayed considerable bravery, was awarded the Military Cross and was mentioned in dispatches. His first known published works were a series of short war stories based on his own experiences, published under the name Sapper in the Daily Mail newspaper. These stories were immediately successful and later sold over 200,000 copies within a year when republished in book-form. He was one of the most successful British popular authors of the Interwar period. In 1919, McNeile resigned from the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and became a full-time author, publishing his first novel, Mufti, in that year. He is mainly remembered as the author of the ten Bulldog Drummond books the first of which was published in 1920. These brought him public recognition and considerable financial success.

Herman Cyril McNeile, MC (28 September 1888 - 14 August 1937), commonly known as Cyril McNeile and publishing under the name H. C. McNeile or the pseudonym Sapper, was a British soldier and author. Drawing on his experiences in the trenches during the First World War, he started writing short stories and getting them published in the Daily Mail. As serving officers in the British Army were not permitted to publish under their own names, he was given the pen name "Sapper" by Lord Northcliffe, the owner of the Daily Mail; the nickname was based on that of his corps, the Royal Engineers.

Introducing debonair detective, Ronald Standish – good-looking, refined, and wealthy enough to be selective in taking cases that are of special interest to him. There are twelve tales in this compelling collection, written by the creator of Bulldog Drummond, who once more proves his mastery with the cream of detection.