Three by Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katherine Green

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935)  is one of the few American mystery authors that I enjoy.  She was among the first authors of the modern "detective story", and had a reputation for writing legally accurate fiction.  Her works were justly popular, and will be excellent reading for those who appreciate novels with the particular mores of the late 19th Century.

The three Amelia Butterworth stories are collected together in one Audible title.  The narration is below average, but the quality of the books made it worth the price.

That Affair Next Door (1897)  4/5 stars 

In this, the first of the Amelia Butterworth mysteries, she notices an odd occurrence at the most respectable house next door.  Investigation reveals that a young woman has been murdered in a mysterious manner.  Miss Butterworth, certain that the Police Detective (Green's often-returning Mr. Gryce) has arrested the wrong man, sets out to solve the problem herself.  As a high-society spinster, she has advantages that the police do not, and makes some surprising discoveries. 

Miss Butterworth is quite an enjoyable narrator, and is written with a delightful sly humor. The writing is good, the mystery intelligent, and the crime well-plotted.  Overall, it's an enormously fun and engaging read.

Lost Man's Lane (1898)  4/5 stars 

When multiple disappearances occur in a town with personal connections for Miss Butterworth, Mr. Gryce, a New York City Police Detective and friend, requests her assistance.  She makes a visit there to secretly investigate the lane in question, and in doing so discovers more mystery than she solves.

This is another completely enjoyable tale featuring these two characters.  Green's writing is genuinely witty and amusing, the story extremely interesting, and mystery quite twisty.  While the means and motive were not fully credible, it was still a most entertaining story.

The Circular Study (1900)  4/5 stars

When a man is found murdered in his study, New York City Police Detective Ebenezer Gryce works to solve the crime.  Miss Amelia Butterworth, society spinster and sometime amateur sleuth offers unexpected and valuable clues in what turns out to be a tragic story of revenge.

This mystery/melodrama is much darker and more serious than the two previous novels in which Miss Butterworth appears.  She only features peripherally and does not narrate this story; as such, it lacks the charm and humor of those prior books.  It more than makes up for it, however, with a well-written twisty plot, and a dose of sensationalism worth of Wilkie Collins himself.  Again, it won't appeal universally, as one must be able to appreciate Victorian-style literature to enjoy it.  I, myself, found it both gripping and satisfying.