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The Circular Staircase
I believe Mary Roberts Rinehart's doesn't get as much credit as other early mystery authors. After finishing another gripping novel, The Circular Staircase, it is quite clear how female detectives such as Hetty Wainright and Jessica Fletcher owe Rinehart's heroines a great deal.
The unsuspecting Miss Innes, a middle aged spinster, rents a house in country for a summer with her grown niece and nephew. The house is called Sunnyside, but it is soon home to bumps in the night, financial scandal and murder. There were so many twists and turns that it was impossible to guess the outcome. Rinehart doesn't drop much in the way of hints - preferring to furiously reveal all in the last chapter.
I like how she writes - almost from the top of her head. There's something delightfully snobby about her heroines - usually they need to prove their bravery, so a timid or superstitious maid acts as an opposite.
Like most works from this time, there are touches of racism that may offend modern readers. Still, this particular story vividly details life at the turn of the 20th century when class lines were well drawn, tramps roamed the woods, and electricity and cars were a luxury.
The unsuspecting Miss Innes, a middle aged spinster, rents a house in country for a summer with her grown niece and nephew. The house is called Sunnyside, but it is soon home to bumps in the night, financial scandal and murder. There were so many twists and turns that it was impossible to guess the outcome. Rinehart doesn't drop much in the way of hints - preferring to furiously reveal all in the last chapter.
I like how she writes - almost from the top of her head. There's something delightfully snobby about her heroines - usually they need to prove their bravery, so a timid or superstitious maid acts as an opposite.
Like most works from this time, there are touches of racism that may offend modern readers. Still, this particular story vividly details life at the turn of the 20th century when class lines were well drawn, tramps roamed the woods, and electricity and cars were a luxury.