A Strange Disappearance

For the unfamiliar, Anna Katherine Green is considered the ‘mother’ of mystery novel writing in the US. I stumbled upon A Strange Disappearance when an extensive collection of free ebooks was made available on Book Depository a few years ago. It’s also now free on Kindle.

The plot of the mystery novel is relatively straightforward. A young maid has disappeared in odd circumstances from the house of a famous diplomat, Mr. Blake. The only who seems to care is the old housekeeper Mrs. Daniels. She approaches the police and is helped by Mr. Gryce, the police detective, and his junior assistant.

Photo by João Silas on Unsplash

As it often is, since the earliest of detective novels, the narrator of the story is the assistant. But is not the dimwitted sidekick to the brilliant detective but an enterprising lad who decides to observe the goings-on at Mr. Blake’s residence to get to the bottom of the mystery. We follow him following Mr. Blake around the town and in the countryside and discover pieces of information that all seem to tie back to the disappearance of the young girl.

Several questions arise in the first few pages. What was the real identity of the girl who has disappeared? Why does Mr. Blake haunt the alleys of New York? Who is the woman in the portrait in his study? What’s the secret in the abandoned inn house?

Greene’s writing is reminiscent of Wilkie Collins in style but less obtuse. The story is exciting and quite a page-turner for that style of writing. The descriptions are very effective – I felt the hair stand on my neck quite a few times.

Verdict

I think Anna K Greene novels are perfect for those late evening reads with a glass of hot chocolate in hand!

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