At the Villa Rose has a number of strange and inventive moments. As Inspector Hanuad must gather evidence to determine who killed the rich Madame Dauvray, it is suspected the murderer was after her jewels. The inspector must fill in the blanks that the witness accounts leave in the telling of the events on the night of the murder. Half way through the book the central mystery is discovered and a confession changes the atmosphere of the book from detective story to a melodrama.