"This is a most thrilling tale of the smashing of a band of law-breakers headed by a mysterious and inaccessible leader known only as No. 1. It is replete with incident and never falters until the final sentence is reached.
By various agencies No. 1 manages to retain his unseen command of his followers and to baffle all the efforts of the keenest sleuths of the C.I.D, headed by Alan Cunningham, a rising young detective.
The mystery is cleverly hidden and the working out of the story is highly original.
Arthur Russell is an Australian and a well known writer of boys' books and mystery fiction."
– The Herald (Melbourne), 12 May 1930, p19