From the afterward by Brian Stableford:
"Beau Geste is a mystery story, but it is a very odd mystery story. The text begins, of course, with the strange tale told by a Spahi officer, Henri de Beaujolais, about the fort manned by dead legionaries, which unaccountably catches fire following the disappearance of three men, one of whom is sent to investigate. It eventually explains how these curious circumstances came about - but this is not the central mystery of the plot and might be regarded as a mere basket of red herrings. The more important problem has to do with the theft of the Blue Water sapphire, but it is less concerned with the identity of the thief than with his motive. The thief makes no secret of his guilt, and the reader is told over and over again who has taken the stone; the matter remains a mystery purely and simply because the reader cannot believe that the culprit really is a thief. It is this margin of incredulity which gives the narrative its strength, creating the suspense which grips the reader and keeps the pages turning."
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