The Grell Mystery

Superintendent Frank Castle Froest (1858-1930) was a British detective and crime writer. He joined the Metropolitan Police as a police constable in 1879 and worked his way up to Inspector 2nd Class at Scotland Yard by 1894. He was Chief Inspector in 1903 and Superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Metropolitan Police from 1906 to his retirement in 1912. In 1896 Detective Inspector Froest boarded the S. S. Harlech Castle at Madeira, and arrested 26 officers and 399 other ranks who were prisoners after having taken part in the Jameson Raid. In 1898 Froest was involved in bringing international jewel-thief William Johnson, known as 'Harry the Valet', to justice. He was the author of a number of crime stories, including: The Grell Mystery (1913), The Crime Club (1915), and The Rogues' Syndicate (1916).