This collection of novellas, although varied in style and plotline, is a wonderful example of some of Wilkie's later work, as it became increasingly laden with social commentary. "Miss or Mrs.?" is a fast-paced story of malice, blackmail, marriage and fraud; "The Haunted Hotel" is perhaps Collins' last lucid work, its eerie and suspenseful story influenced heavily by Collins' severe opium addiction; and "The Guilty River" is the psychological and violent tale of two men in love with the same woman.