In the Library Reviews - Anna Katharine Green Reviews



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Reviewed Titles The Problems of Violet Strange: The Classic 1920s Woman Detective	Anna Katharine Green Reviews Added November 6, 2004 The Problems of Violet Strange The Classic 1920s Woman Detective Author: Anna Katharine Green Publisher: Renaissance Ebooks Available At: www.renebooks.com Publishing Date: November 2003 Genre: Mystery: Adventure/Classic Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT Price: $4.00 ISBN: 1-58873-283-5 Reviewer: Joyce Handzo With elegant settings and eloquent writing, these classic stories are brought to contemporary readers in style. Author Anna Katharine Green is considered to be the mother of the mystery novel, and this collection of stories showcases her analytical mind as well as her creativity. She was an inspiration to Agatha Christie as well as to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Lovers of classic mysteries will find this book a treasure of perplexing problems, articulately written and artfully constructed. Violet Strange has been called the first fictional female detective. A young woman from a wealthy family, she is a bit of an enigma as she cracks cases which baffle professional investigators. She is ever conscious of adhering to the genteel standards of the 1920's, and this mix of upright society girl and always-right detective makes her unique and completely interesting. The cases she tackles in this book have intriguing titles such as, "The House of Clocks", "The Dreaming Lady" and "The Golden Slipper". However, it is the last case that this reviewer found most appealing. It's called "Violet's Own", and it tells how she began her career as a detective. If readers weren't impressed with this young lady yet, this last story will endear her to their hearts forever. Worthy of notice is the fact that these cases lack the gore and horror of contemporary mysteries. Violet is a well-mannered young woman, and she even admits that she takes a case only if it interests her and not for any sensational appeal. Solving the mysteries will have readers carefully attending to every word and action of the characters. The clues are subtly dropped and it was a treat to try to figure things out with Violet. This collection of well-plotted stories makes Violet's "problems" a pleasure to read! Return to top of page. This page was last updated on January 1, 2008 This page and all its contents are Copyright© 2002-2008 In the Library Reviews and the individual reviewers. Except where noted, all graphics are Copyright© Eos Development and are used with permission. All book covers are Copyright© their respective publishers and are used with permission. The In the Library Reviews logo is Copyright© 2002 by In the Library Reviews/Sharyn McGinty. Site maintained by In the Library Reviews.