Q. Silver is a criminal mastermind who must (temporarily) turn sleuth when finds himself, and his lowbrow assistant Joe Lynch, embroiled in a murder investigation. Silver bluffs his way into leading the investigation to keep the police from getting suspicious. Joe is convinced they're both headed for the electric chair. The Borgia Blade is a forged artifact that Silver hoped would catch the eye of Vincent Welsh, renowned collector of priceless Renaissance treasures. Welsh had other plans, hosting a house party of rival collectors. When a killer strikes in an ingenious and perplexing manner, Silver must unravel the mystifying threads to keep the law off his heels and treasure in his pocket.

Co-author Florence Ryerson was best known for co-writing the screenplay for The Wizard of Ox (1939). Ryerson and her husband, Colin Clements, wrote numerous short stories, novels, and plays together. The Borgia Blade was published in 1937.