The classic detective story follows a traditional pattern. First, a crime is committed by an unknown person or persons. The detective solves the crime by logic, by analyzing and interpreting the evidence. Readers learn of the evidence or clues at the same time as the detective so that they may test their own logic and powers of deduction.

Voigt takes this traditional structure and gives it some unusual twists. There are actually two crimes which are intertwined. The first is the case of the missing and mutilated mummy which Althea solves. The second is the case of Althea's abduction which Phineas solves. The first case, the missing mummy, follows the traditional detective story pattern more closely than the second although it too has some variations.

The first clue is presented before the crime is committed: Althea notes the Greek letters on the feet of the mummy...