![]() It remains not only a fascinating whodunit but also an absorbing look at nineteenth-century mores and manners. The Leavenworth Case, the first detective novel written by a woman, immortalised its author Anna Katharine Green as The Mother of Detective Fiction. The suspenseful bestseller is credited with attracting writers to a genre previously considered unworthy of serious literary attention. This brilliantly plotted tale of love, greed, sacrifice, and betrayal introduced the first American series detective, Ebenezer Gryce, and is widely considered the first full-length detective story written by a woman. The idea of a lady murderer, especially one of the Leavenworths' social stature, is almost too shocking to entertain, although the evidence - a broken key, an incriminating letter, and an overheard snatch of conversation - points toward the young nieces. Circumstances point to a member of his household as the killer and particularly to his lovely nieces, one of whom will inherit his fortune. ![]() Horatio Leavenworth, a wealthy merchant and pillar of nineteenth-century New York society, has been found shot to death in his Fifth Avenue mansion. "First published in 1878, nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet, this atmospheric and suspenseful mystery well deserves a modern audience." - Publishers Weekly ![]()
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