4.0 out of 5 stars
Three imaginative tales from the mother of the detective novel, June 27, 2011
This review is from: The House in the Mist (Paperback)
The publishers present this book as if it were one novel, but actually it's a novella and two short stories. I was a bit annoyed by this trickery (or carelessness), but fortunately the tales turned out to be quite good. They typify Anna Katharine Green's ingenious plotting and melodramatic contrivances.
THE HOUSE IN THE MIST (1905) opens with a young man traveling in a remote rural area in western Pennsylvania on a dark and misty night. He happens upon a mansion where a gruesome drama is about to be enacted, as a number of relatives gather to hear a will read. Green's sympathetic portrayal of a young woman with an illegitimate child is quite daring for the times.
THE RUBY AND THE CALDRON (1912) is a short detective story. A valuable ruby ring goes missing at a ball, and one of the guests may be the thief. This story takes an interesting romantic turn.
THE HERMIT OF --- STREET (1900) demonstrates Green's talent for creating strong women characters. The heroine, who is only eighteen, discovers a terrible crime and - I won't say more. Her handling of the situation is oddly delightful, and in fact her name is Delight.
I'd suggest that readers new to Anna Katharine Green start with her first and most famous novel, The Leavenworth Case. But fans familiar with her work should be happy to add this little book to their shelves.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Author, February 12, 2011
I have only recently become acquainted with Anna Katherine Green.
She ranks right up t h ere with Conan Doyle, Carr and Wilkie
Collins. She was born in the mid 1800's in NYC where her father
was a District Attorney.
First this book contains 3 seperate stories. "House in the Mist'
is about a traveller in PA and it is late at night and he has
lost his way and come upon a weird looking house. All he wants
is a meal and possibly a bed to spend the night as he thought
it to be a lodging house. A man comes out and tells him to go
on in; others will be there and more coming. No one asked him
who he was and what he was doing there but he decided this was
no lodging house. Seems the owner of the house had died and
had his lawyer gather all of his kin at the house to read the
will. You will never ever guess the outcome. The 2nd tale is,
"The Ruby and the Caldron". The police station answered a call
from a lady who was having a ball at her estate and frantic
because she had lost a ruby worth over $100,000 and she
wanted it found quickly without raising a ruckus as this was
a very prominent family. A detective was sent out to search
for the ruby when a young man came in saying he had found it
only to realize it was not in the pocket he had put it in.
Now I am sure this is a tale you will not believe as to where
ruby was. The third tale was, "The Hermit of _____Street.
A young lady was visiting a wealthy family. There was a
house in the rear that fascinated her no end as there was a
man sitting at a desk morning and night. one night from her
window she noticed the house in the rear was on fire and
dashed over to tell him to get out. He was a man no one
seemed to know much about; he was known in the stock market
as being very brilliant but he was also very eccentric.
He becomes interested in the young lady who saved his life.
This tale didnt impress me as much as the others but still
well worth the read and considering what goes for mysteries
in the book market today, they are absolutely brilliant.
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