The story proper begins with a portrait gallery and from the beginning of that portrait gallery to the end of the adventure a great deal happens.
Emil himself, in his dark blue Sunday suit that he only wears when he has to; Emil's mother who is very fond of him, the rather important train compartment where Emil first met the Man in the Stiff Hat; Pony Hütchen, Emil's cousin, the Hotel in Nollendorf Place; Gustave, the boy with the automobile horn; the Little Branch Bank and of course, Emil's grandmother who lives in Berlin, all have something to do with what happens.
Emil and Gustave and the other boys who organize a most surprising detective force are inimitable. Even the police and the newspaper men take off their hats to them—and so will the boys who read of their thrilling and amusing adventures pursuing the Man in the Stiff Hat.
—from an earlier edition dust jacket
Did you find this review helpful?