Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote three novellas and two novels about Nurse Hilda Adams, who was recruited to work undercover with the homicide department.
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| Mary Roberts Rinehart |
These two novellas introduce Hilda Adams, a nurse who is engaged by a Police Inspector to do undercover work. Told from the first-person point-of-view of Nurse Adams, they are at times both delightful and amusing. The mystery in both is quite interesting, and the stories were enjoyable overall.
Miss Pinkerton (1932) 4/5 stars
When an elderly lady's nephew commits suicide, Police Inspector Patton is skeptical and arranges that Nurse Hilda Adams should be the nurse in charge of the old woman's care. This well-written novel is told in Nurse Adams' delightful and amusing voice, and is both engrossing and entertaining.
The Haunted Lady (1942) 4/5 stars
A family matriarch, convinced that someone in her own house is trying to scare her to death, requests police assistance, and Nurse Hilda Adams is sent in undercover. Unlike the previous stories featuring Nurse Adams, this one is not told from her point of view. It's understandable, as the reader will need more information than Hilda could give in first-person, but I certainly missed her delightful, amusing voice. The mystery itself was nicely twisted and satisfying.
Episode of the Wandering Knife (1950) 4/5 stars
This is a collection of two novellas (The Episode of the Wandering Knife and The Secret) and one short story ("The Man Who Hid His Breakfast"). The first novella was laugh-out-loud funny and a true pleasure, worthy of five stars. The second novella, featuring Nurse Hilda Adams, was implausible, though certainly interesting, but only three star material. They sandwich the entertaining and well-written short story, following a retiring Police Inspector's final case, which was not fully satisfying, earning four stars from me.
