It is in some ways a roman à clef, including not just Burns and Allen but also such characters as Gracie's mother and brother.

This tone suddenly shifts in a later chapter to one character's philosophically anguished speculations, and then back again to Gracie.

For some readers the whole thing works oddly wonderfully, and shows S. S. Van Dine's skill at combining his traditional approach with some unusual forms.

It did not enjoy anything near the commercial success of Van Dine's earlier novels (or his prime character, when Philo Vance himself was developed into a classic radio show), and most critics considered it a failure.

In classic Gracie style, when Van Dine was working on the novel, Allen quipped, "S.S. Van Dine is silly to spend six months writing a novel when you can buy one for two dollars and ninety-eight cents."