Burton Egbert Stevenson (1872–1962) was an American anthologist and librarian who also penned his own books, around thirty in all, ranging from young adult fiction, to historical adventure tales, to crime fiction. His main (perhaps only) mystery series included five novels that featured a Holmsian/Watson duo consisting of the urbane, shrewed police detective-turned-reporter, Jim Godfrey, and his lawyer friend, Warwick Lester, who narrates the stories.

The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet was published in 1911. The first half of the novel follows a wealthy client of Lester's, Philip Vantine, who collects antiques. When a mysterious piece of 17th-century furniture, a Boule table, is delivered by mistake, Vantine decides he must have it and asks Lester to track down the real owner to see if he would be willing to sell it. When Lester returns the next day, he finds both Vantine and a stranger lying on the floor in Vantine's parlor, both with two small wounds on their hands. Naturally, Lester turns to his detective friend for help, and they work to discover the secrets of the Boule table and solve the seemingly impossible crime.

The first part of the book takes place almost entirely in the victim's New York house, but then the novel switches gears in the second half with the introduction of a French "Moriarty" style master criminal who is adept as disguises. The bad guy tests Godfrey's detection skills as the trail leads all over New York City, and it becomes apparent that the criminal's real intent is to steal the Boule table, which harbors some valuable and deadly secrets.

Reviewer Mike Grost noted that Stevenson's work is the closest he could name to Mary Roberts Rinehart's early, pre-W.W.I books, in tone, plot, and characterizations, not surprising since they are roughly contemporaries. However, there are also some absurdities and puzzling behavior, such as Lester's tendency to get hysterical at times, as well as a few too many coincidences. The first half is probably better than the second, with more claustrophic tension inside the limited setting. But there is some decent writing throughout, and it's easy to see why the story was entertaining enough to be made into not one, but three separate film adaptations in 1916, 1930, and 1941.