Other editions of book A Strange Disappearance

Anna Katherine Green wrote A Strange Disappearance in 1879. It is her second Ebenezar Gryce work in a series of 13. Green is known as one of the first writers of detective fiction in America, and she is credited with influencing later writers Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle. She has given us models of nosy spinsters and young female secret sleuths that appear frequently in the mystery genre. In A Strange Disappearance, we have a small cast of characters, richly described and all engaged in discovering how and why a servant woman has disappeared from Mr Blake's mansion in the middle of the night. A classic mystery!

In the mood for a masterfully plotted detective story from the golden era of the mystery genre? Try A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katharine Green, who is regarded as one of the most important early innovators in the detective fiction field. The novel features Ebenezer Gryce, a rotund NYC police investigator who became one of Green's most beloved creations.

What at first seemed a harmless affair, perhaps merely elopement, becomes more complicated by the moment. The household involved is that of one of the richest men of the city -- a man who seems strangely unconcerned at the girl's fate. The housekeeper brings the matter to the police, yet seems to know more than she is will to tell. And the disappearance, upon inspection, looks seriously worse than even the housekeeper believed -- for hidden in the rose-patterned carpet are drops of blood!Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) is author of novels of mystery and detection including The Forsaken Inn and The Millionaire Baby.

Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 - April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. She is credited with shaping detective fiction into its classic form, and developing the series detective. Her main character was detective Ebenezer Gryce of the New York Metropolitan Police Force, but in three novels he is assisted by the nosy society spinster Amelia Butterworth, the prototype for Miss Marple, Miss Silver and other creations. She also invented the 'girl detective': in the character of Violet Strange, a debutante with a secret life as a sleuth.

The sewing girl in the New York mansion of wealthy Mr. Blake has been abducted. Traces of struggle and drops of blood are visible in her room. And yet how did the abductors get her out a window and down a tall ladder without some cooperation from her? The housekeeper, Mrs. Daniels, appeals to police inspector Ebenezer Gryce to find the girl and keep the search quiet. She wants to protect the privacy of her aristocratic employer. Holman Blake, though relatively young, is reclusive and hates any sort of notoriety. Mrs. Daniels offers her savings to help fund the investigation, a strange act considering she's not a relative. But then there are lots of strange things about the sewing girl. Her room is curiously large and elegant for a servant, and she's been reading Shakespeare. The investigation takes many a surprising direction, from an exclusive Charity Ball to the most disreputable streets in New York to a sinister old inn deep in the mountains of Vermont. Frustrated love and the love of wealth play an important role in a plot rich in mystery and dark deeds.

Anna Katharine Green was the most famous and prolific writer of detective fiction in the United States prior to Dashiell Hammett. Her first novel, The Leavenworth Case, was the bestseller of 1878. Green is credited with a number of “firsts” within the mystery genre, including the gentleman murdered as he makes out his will and the icicle as murder weapon. She created the first female detectives in American fiction. Her amateur spinster sleuth, Amelia Butterworth, became the prototype for numerous women detectives to follow, including Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Nosy, opinionated, and tenacious, Amelia Butterworth engages in a sustained rivalry with Ebenezer Gryce, a police detective. In the interaction between these characters, Green developed two more conventions adopted by future generations of mystery writers: the investigation as battle between the sexes and between the professional and the unexpectedly sharp, observant amateur.

A young woman working as a domestic servant disappears from a wealthy household in New York City. The police investigating the disappearance have few clues, and the other servants working in the mansion, which is owned by a Mr. Blake, seem to know little about the woman in question. Did she leave voluntarily or was she kidnaped? The police suspect the well-to-do owner of the house, and conduct a surveillance of his activities. They realize the connections between the missing woman and Mr. Blake are closer than first thought. What then were the true relations between employer and servant? We learn that the woman had years earlier saved Mr. Blake's life, and this led to a secret liaison that became the motive for blackmail. This exciting story, set in the late 19th century, takes us from the highly privileged and sumptuous surroundings of Fifth Avenue, to the dangerous backstreets of downtown Manhattan, and into the forests and isolated cottages of upstate New York. After the shocking truth about the participants is revealed, the police move to prevent a murder. Part of their plan involves a young detective disguising himself as a consumptive French artist! The author, Anna Katharine Green, excels in her ability to convincingly portray villains as well as heroes. In her dramas, characters struggle with lost opportunities, vengeful motives, hidden agendas, and complex family relationships. This was the second book written by Green after her famous Leavenworth Case, and was originally published in 1880 by New York firm, A.L. Burt.