FEMALE DETECTIVES

A committee meeting of the Tomorrow Club, fashion arbiters supreme, was interrupted by the sudden collapse of Nancy Pierce, blonde, ornate, too showy for really good style, and a public menace to every male creature between eighteen and eighty. The other members felt that it was quite typical of Nancy to die publicly and conspicuously, consequently the first impression of suicide was given credence. Too many factors upset that convenient theory, and the district attorney's office sent young Lyle Curtis up to take charge. With the aid of Susan Yates, a charming and intelligent young person who gave him the clues to fit into a confusing pattern, Curtis followed through to another meeting of a fashion group, and found that death could end a case as well as begin one. Murder in Style was published in 1939. This edition includes an introduction by Curt Evans.

Susan Yates, distinguished and charming New York fashion designer, was one of the few people on a transatlantic liner who knew that a fabulous figure of New York's glamour trade lay dead behind the closed door of a stateroom. Susan was one of the stream of Americans returning to New York from Europe's war scare, and when Lyle Curtis, assistant district attorney, met her at quarantine, she was very glad that freedom of the port was one of the benefits of his friendship. A tremendous news story about the death of a prominent figure, an unsolved case that reflected no credit on the district attorney's office, and a heterogeneous group of shipboard companions who kept up the appearance of friendship for many months, combined to keep Lyle and Susan alternately co-operating and diverging in what turned out to be the biggest case Lyle had yet handled. Murder on the Face of It was published in 1940. This edition includes an introduction by Curt Evans.

Susan Yates, fashion designer, was called in by the district attorney's office to give an expert opinion in a murder case. Fingerprint men, photographers, detectives of every status and the assistant D. A. himself were working on the case, but there was one thing about the victim that brought them all up short—why would a fashionable young lady wear a décolleté evening gown over long winter underwear? This was the way in which Prunella Parton was dressed when she was found murdered on an incoming ski train, and it was the reason for this peculiar garb that Susan Yates was called on to supply. Dressed to Kill is sophisticated and fast moving, with a humor both in dialogue and treatment which is distinctly of the present day and modern scene. An exceedingly complicated plot is handled with sureness and finesse. Dressed to Kill was published in 1941. This edition includes an introduction by Curt Evans.

Even though Sally Stuart’s Aunt Maggie may have been a trial sometimes, what with her endless talk about genealogy, surely no one could have wanted to kill her! Yet it’s Aunt Maggie whom Sally finds strangled in the back passageway at Wisteria Hall, the stately antebellum mansion outside Roswell, Georgia, where she and her husband, Bill, are holding a house party to celebrate the engagement of beautiful Claire Harper and handsome Bob Dunbar.

Things go from bad to worse after Sally stumbles across Aunt Maggie’s dead body. Wisteria Hall is cut off from civilization, as a thunderstorm hits, the phone line is cut and the automobile tires are punctured. The house party hosts, guests and servants have a dark night ahead of them, and, contrary to what they say, it doesn’t always get brighter with the dawn. Can Sally find who killed Aunt Maggie—and not get killed herself?

Who Killed Aunt Maggie was first published in 1939. New introduction by Curtis Evans.

A larky ghost hunt in a historic old cemetery on St Simons Island, Georgia, turns deadly, when, at the stroke of midnight, one of the hunters is viciously stabbed in the back with an antique Spanish dagger from Heron Point, the stately antebellum mansion where owners Beau and Chattie Richmond have been holding one of their celebrated house parties. St. Simons Island is rocked by more murders while plucky young Ann Carroll, Atlanta debutante turned interior decorator and a cousin and guest of Beau’s and Chattie’s, tries to crack a complex case and catch a fiendish killer. Ann might just find romance along the way too—if she survives!

A close friend of Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the famous author of one of the most successful novels in history, Gone with the Wind (1936), Medora Field Perkerson (1892-1960) published two bestselling mystery novels in 1939 and 1942 that are now back in print after many decades.

Blood on Her Shoe was first published in 1942. New introduction by Curtis Evans.

Lady Can Do: A young woman has regrets when she is hired by a wealthy, eccentric couple as social secretary, but finds herself caught up in a murder mystery.

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Alice Royce, Girl Detective: Alice is a professional detective, and her agency sends her to investigate all manner of mysteries. (This was an early 1900s newspaper serial.)

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The Adventures of Edda Manby: Four stories by Hulbert Footner, of an intelligent, fearless young woman who isn't afraid of adventure and isn't willing to settle for a suitor when she's able to take care of herself.

Eight volumes of The Adventures of Madame Storey, by Hulbert Footner.

Anita Blackmon wrote two mystery novels starring the elderly Adelaide Adams, a bit tongue-in-cheek over the Had-I-But-Known tradition of detective stories. As Adelaide notes in the first story, “Had I suspected the orgy of bloodshed upon which we were about to embark, I should then and there, in spite of my bulk and an arthritic knee, have taken shrieking to my heels.”

In Murder á la Richelieu, Adelaide ends up investigating murder at the Hotel Richelieu in an unnamed Southern city (but clearly based on Little Rock, AR).

Anita Blackmon wrote two mystery novels starring the elderly Adelaide Adams, a bit tongue-in-cheek over the Had-I-But-Known tradition of detective stories.

There is No Return takes place at the Lebeau Inn, isolated in the Ozark mountains. There, guests are trapped at the inn with a murderer on the loose. Both are enjoyable, sometimes humorous, mysteries with a strong female protagonist who finds herself having to deal with strange characters and mysterious events.

Both of these volumes include Golden-Age mystery historian Curt Evans' introduction with biographical details on author Anita Blackmon.

This fourth duo of supernatural detectives is of the feminine variety. Tim Prchal (Oklahoma State University) introduces these two women as early examples in the genre, and questions why there are so few female supernatural investigators in the early literature.

Shiela Crerar lost her home, so sets out to become a solver of "uncanny mysteries" and "layer of ghosts." She almost meets more than her match. Her six stories were published in 1920.

Luna Bartendale is a professional "supersensitive" who is called in to help end the curse of a bestial monster that haunts the lineage of an old family. This is the full novel, The Undying Monster, first published in 1922.

Introduction by Tim Prchal

This volume of 2 Detectives brings together two female detectives by the same author. Grant Allen’s protagonists, Miss Cayley and Hilda Wade are determined, smart, and resourceful. They join the ranks of independent female adventurers who paved the way for the modern female detective.

Miss Cayley’s intrepid spirit finds numerous adventures as she makes something of herself, even when she finds she must fight against a criminal deceit that would rob the man she loves of his fortune and freedom.

Hilda Wade is unswerving in her aim to unmask her father’s cold-blooded killer, even if he is one of the most intelligent, and respected, of men.

Two classic detectives are collected in this volume.

Loveday Brooke's undercover skills help her blend into the background without tipping off suspects. Circumstances required her to work, so she became a private detective, becoming a top investigator at the agency. The seven stories were originally published in 1893 and 1894.

Lady Molly quickly worked her way to the top of the female division of Scotland Yard, using her wits and intuition to solve puzzling crimes and driven by a passion to solve a very personal mystery that sent the wrong man to prison. These stories were published in 1910.

Two classic female detectives are collected in this volume.

Hagar of the gypsies runs to her only relative for refuge, the ornery old owner of a pawn shop. He dies, leaving her in charge. She finds herself in the middle of a series of adventures involving pawned objects, sometimes dangerous, often mysterious, but always met with resolve and intelligence.

The second series of adventures involves a widow in financial straits who becomes a broker of pearls to earn a living. She encounters adventures of her own, often attracting the unwanted attention of criminals of various sorts.

Four classic female detectives are collected in this volume.

Madelyn Mack, Detective, was published in 1914, and includes 5 stories. Mack is a young private detective who solves strange mysteries with her newspaper journalist gal pal.

The Golden Slipper and Other Problems for Violet Strange was published in 1915. Violet is an intelligent young socialite who undertakes undercover detective work to earn money for her own mysterious purpose.

Miss Van Snoop appeared only in one short story, published in 1898.

Detective Florence Cusack appeared in five short stories between 1899 and 1901.