Thomas W. Hanshew (1857 - 1914) was an American writer from New York. His best-loved creation was the private detective Hamilton Cleek, known as "the man of the forty faces" for his incredible skill at disguise. Cleek is based in Clarges Street, London, where he is constantly consulted by Inspector Narkom of Scotland Yard.

In "The Mystery of the Steel Room" Cleek is called upon to solve a very strange case. A famous racehorse is under threat from saboteurs ahead of the Derby. On the two previous nights, the groom guarding her has been attacked. The first was left paralyzed, the second was murdered. But nobody can work out how the saboteurs got into the locked stable, where the horse is guarded in an impenetrable steel cage. Cleek travels down to Suffolk to investigate and discovers that the whole situation is very sinister indeed...