Adrian Van Reypen Egerton Jones - Average, to his friends - has spent the five years since graduation from college specializing in life, indulging his wanderlust and living comfortably on twenty-five thousand a year. In order to inherit the millions that his late uncle has bequeathed, Average must spend five continuous years as a resident of New York City. Already bored, he is advised by his friends Waldemar and Bertram to take up a hobby. Waldemar, a newspaper owner, suggests that he become an Ad-Visor - someone who investigates classified ads on behalf of clients to root out swindlers.

As his college professor had opined, Jones possesses a particular singularity of focus, which allows him to notice details that others miss. In the process of investigating unusual and downright bizarre advertisements, he stumbles into solving actual crimes - and he finds he was born to it. Author: Samuela Hopkins Adams. Paperback; 304 pages.