I love a good mystery. Not a ghost mystery, not a horror mystery, not a "now where is that old, expensive doll" mystery, but a good, page turning, who (THE HECK) dunnit mystery that will keep you awake and looking over your shoulder.
It's been a long time since I read anything that left me feeling delightfully spooked, but thankfully I found Miss Pinkerton. It is a collection of four stories about a nurse, Miss Adams, who works undercover for the police. The book consists of: The Buckled Bag (short story, 1914), Locked Doors (short story, 1914), Miss Pinkerton (novel, 1932) and Haunted Lady (novel, 1942). It was interesting to read Mary Roberts Rinehart's detective stories one after another, to see her imagination grow and her stories become more comprehensive.
I finished Haunted Lady last night around 2AM and was, as I had been the previous night, very much awake. I was also hungry, but too afraid to go downstairs alone for fear I might see a dark figure lurking outside a window. I recruited my sister to come with me. "You go first," I said.
I found something to eat, and we talked in hushed tones so as not to wake up our sleeping parents. After a bit we headed back upstairs.
"Do I have to go first?" my sister asked.
"No, I'll go." I wanted her to guard my back (hehee).
I proceeded to go up, looking down at the stairs while thinking, which is my habit. I was beginning to feel much more at ease and reminded myself that I was safe, in my own cosy home, not in an old sprawling, creaking, half empty mansion. I was about half way up the stairs so that my head was level with the hallway above. I looked up at that moment, and expected to see the familiar tan carpet of the hall and my sister's door. Instead I saw two eyes glaring at me. I gasped, startling my sister who gasped as well, and then realized I was looking at the cat.
My sister and I could barely contain our laughter until we got into her room and closed the door.
Yes, I do love a good mystery, but, being the uptight person I am, I really need to be more careful not to read them after dark. Hopefully I remember that as I go through Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None ...
It's been a long time since I read anything that left me feeling delightfully spooked, but thankfully I found Miss Pinkerton. It is a collection of four stories about a nurse, Miss Adams, who works undercover for the police. The book consists of: The Buckled Bag (short story, 1914), Locked Doors (short story, 1914), Miss Pinkerton (novel, 1932) and Haunted Lady (novel, 1942). It was interesting to read Mary Roberts Rinehart's detective stories one after another, to see her imagination grow and her stories become more comprehensive.
I finished Haunted Lady last night around 2AM and was, as I had been the previous night, very much awake. I was also hungry, but too afraid to go downstairs alone for fear I might see a dark figure lurking outside a window. I recruited my sister to come with me. "You go first," I said.
I found something to eat, and we talked in hushed tones so as not to wake up our sleeping parents. After a bit we headed back upstairs.
"Do I have to go first?" my sister asked.
"No, I'll go." I wanted her to guard my back (hehee).
I proceeded to go up, looking down at the stairs while thinking, which is my habit. I was beginning to feel much more at ease and reminded myself that I was safe, in my own cosy home, not in an old sprawling, creaking, half empty mansion. I was about half way up the stairs so that my head was level with the hallway above. I looked up at that moment, and expected to see the familiar tan carpet of the hall and my sister's door. Instead I saw two eyes glaring at me. I gasped, startling my sister who gasped as well, and then realized I was looking at the cat.
My sister and I could barely contain our laughter until we got into her room and closed the door.
Yes, I do love a good mystery, but, being the uptight person I am, I really need to be more careful not to read them after dark. Hopefully I remember that as I go through Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None ...
