The Benson Case is the first case, the first detective from the Philo Vens series. Again, we are dealing with an amateur detective who has his own Watson and Lestrade, a first-person narrator who is present at all events and a good acquaintance of Vance, the New York City Police Attorney Markham. In this book, he still does not particularly believe in Vance's ability to psychologically unwind potential victims of murder suspects.