The primary character in the Judge Peck mystery series is, of course, Judge Peck himself. He distinguishes himself as a character in No Future for Luana in the fact that he is old, wise and shrewd. He, like all detectives in the "Who-Done-It" tradition, is himself above suspicion and has earned the respect of all, although Meyers, the traditional dense district attorney, is always certain that this time he has the jump on the old judge.

In this mystery, as in several of his later works, Derleth gives Judge Peck a "Watson" in the tradition of Archie Goodwin in the Nero Wolf series. Like Archie, Lorin Fenner does much of the Judge's legwork; and, also like Archie, he is more perceptive than Sherlock Holmes's Dr. Watson. Still Derleth loses no opportunity to show the readers that the ratiocination of a Judge Peck is always superior to the observation...