"The Double Dagger: or, Nat Ridley's Mexican Trail" by Nat Ridley, Jr. is a detective novel written in the mid-1920s. The story centers on Nat Ridley, a well-known detective in New York, who is drawn into a dangerous mystery involving the notorious Tola society, a secretive and deadly group linked to a series of murders. After his rival, Carl Lemberg, seeks his urgent help amidst mysterious family killings, Ridley becomes entangled in an international case that leads from the bustling streets of New York to the ominous oil fields of Mexico. With the central character facing deadly adversaries, undercover work, and escalating threats, the novel promises a classic detective adventure marked by intrigue and high stakes. The opening of the book introduces Nat Ridley in his Times Square office, receiving a surprising appeal for help from rival detective Carl Lemberg. Lemberg confides that his brother, uncle, and chief assistant have all been murdered, each killing bearing the mark of a double dagger, a symbol tied to the ancient Tola society from Mexico. As Ridley agrees to take the case, further violence erupts: Lemberg himself is murdered, and Nat narrowly survives an assassination attempt. Ridley and his assistant Berry Todd navigate threats, subterfuge, and undercover encounters with suspected members of the Tola gang, gradually piecing together clues from stolen and recovered documents. The suspenseful opening sets the stage for a larger pursuit of the killers, as Ridley prep…
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