The Beckoning Door concerns Cathy Kingman, quiet enough to meet, but deep in revolt against circumstances which kept her in the little Midwest town of Long Meadow. Her resentment extended to her cousin Sylvia who, having inherited the estate that Cathy wanted, returned to Long Meadow and callously broke up Cathy's romance. Then Sylvia hinted that she could open the door to the outside world, and Cathy thought the moment of escape had come. But-a fortuneteller prophesied that Sylvia would not live long, and the prophecy came violently true. The town, knowing the jealously that existed between the cousins, jumped to a quick and easy accusation. Cathy knew that to prove her innocence, even to those who loved her best, she must find the murderer. Suddenly, terrifyingly, Cathy realized that she herself was the hunted. It was just a question of time and wits whether she would find the murderer or be the next victim!
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Readers who like to sit tremulously on the edge of their chairs should be happy to know that Mabel Seeley has written another of her celebrated murder stories. As usual there are many sharp twist and surprises, all part of an ingenious plot construction. -- St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1950
From the Publisher
Mabel Seeley was enormously popular in the 1940's. Her novels were published by Doubleday in New York and distributed nationally by The Crime Club. The Chuckling Fingers was promoted as the mystery of the year in 1941. Both of our reprints, The Chuckling Fingers and The Beckoning Door, have great new cover paintings by St. Paul artist Paul S. Kramer. We recommend them for mystery lovers of all ages as she is Minnesota's answer to Agatha Christie!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
I guessed the outcome early,
By Jay "jay" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Beckoning Door: A Mystery (Hardcover)
I like Mabel Seeley's style.
I loved Crying Sisters. What I didn't know was the reason I loved Crying Sisters, more than any other of her other novels. The Beckoning Door is weak. The writing has moments of excellence mixed with moments of underdevelopment. The reason that the story is weak is because the heroine is passive. In the Crying sisters, the heroine is active in every moment, every thought, every action, unless she is unconscious. Miss Seeley never was unable to identify that principle, that of an active heroine as opposed to a passive one. I love the wonderful descriptions for which the book is worth reading. However, the most wonderful descriptions are weakened when they amount to a theme-less story. If you want her best story, which is a 10, try Crying Sisters.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A return to small-town Minnesota,
This review is from: The Beckoning Door: A Mystery (Hardcover)
Mabel? Short for Margaret? No, we're told it's just Mable. Now doesn't that name alone evoke a Minnesota long gone? Mable Seeley might be seen as Minnesota's Raymond Chandler. While Cathy Kingman (the heroine) is a bit more Minnesota-nice than Chandler's Philip Marlow, she isn't one whit less intelligent and brave. Just as Chandler takes us to 1930's L.A., Seeley returns us to mid-century, small-town Minnesota. All the characters that made up that world are here: the rich, the poor and the working stiffs; at a time when cool people still smoked and radio was all there was at home on the sultry, mosquito-filled evenings of summer. Besides sex and violence, of course. But the big two are understated in this book--mysteries were about plots then, not titillation.
Mike Nardine
5.0 out of 5 stars
A net of intrigue that withstands the test of time.,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Beckoning Door: A Mystery (Hardcover)
First published in 1950, The Beckoning Door is a reprint of Mabel Seeley's classic mystery. Small-town Midwestern woman Cathy Kingman longs to escape the sleepy dwelling of Long Meadow, and resents her cousin Sylvia who seized Cathy's inheritance and broke up her relationship. When Sylvia is murdered, suspicion immediately falls upon Cathy, and to prove her innocence she must find the real killer! Told from Cathy's first-person perspective, The Beckoning Door is at times mysterious, at times heart-pounding, and crafts a net of intrigue that withstands the test of time.
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