The Circular Staircase

Two hallmarks of the typical Mary Roberts Rinehart (The American Agatha Christie) mystery include both a rich, aristocratic lady (usually single), and a large, spooky house -- this one features both. "The Circular Staircase" is one of Rinehart's better works, rating just slightly below "The Yellow Room" and "The Red Lamp," in my opinion (I've read all her works). Here's THE STORY: A noble and older lady, Miss Innes, rents a remote and huge New England home for the summer from a local banker who has gone to California for his health. Miss Innes brings along her niece and her nephew (both of whom she has raised from childhood), and both of whom are in their early 20s. It's not long before the banker's son, a local rapscallion and ne'er-do-well, is mysteriously murdered at the base of The Circular Staircase. What was he doing slinking around in the house late at night? No one seems to know. However, the nephew and his good friend (a clerk at the homeowner's bank) both soon come under suspicion of having murdered the young man. In fact, the nephew suddenly and mysteriously disappears after he is involved in a significant late-night auto crash. If this all this were not enough trouble for Miss Innes, she soon discovers that her nephew's friend (the bank clerk) may have been responsible for an embezzlement which caused the bank to go belly-up, and this additionally manifests the total loss of the two siblings' huge trust fund... and her niece has fallen madly in love with this apparent thief and scoundrel! The house itself continues to generate a notable source of terror for Miss Innes along with her aged maid who is also her skittish companion. There are lots of bumps, screams, phantom-like apparitions, and nefarious other strange happenings as the long and eventful nights pass by. All this chaos causes the domestic help to leave as fast as Miss Innes can hire them. The local police detective seems befuddled by the overwhelming mess but Miss Innes resolves to stay in the house and to solve the mystery(s). There are plenty more spooky and strange happenings including a big fire, a furtive-acting doctor, the necessity to exhume a grave in the middle of the night, a pock-marked "veiled lady"... the list is almost endless. In other words, the plot is complex and the sub-plots are several. The chronological setting for "The Circular Staircase" is the Turn of the Century (from the 19th to the 20th). The book was first published in 1908, sold over a million copies, and was the premiere literary work that launched Rinehart into national fame as an author. "The Circular Staircase" has pretty much all that any mystery could offer to a reader, including the kitchen sink. Rinehart worked in just about every possible nefarious archetype and furtive activity that we ever see in the typical cozy murder. This one is like "The Hardy Boys" for adults and it gets my highest recommendation.

A few years ago, in my quest to meet all the mystery writers that have influenced the genre, I discovered Mary Roberts Rinehart. Her books may fall into the gothic romance category, but I love them for another reason. She spins a good mystery story, a "cozy" that lets us have a relaxing read without getting too graphic. But what I really enjoy is experiencing the modes/attitudes of the times she wrote about. Reading her books is like stepping into history, the day-to-day life of the wealthy and poor, and their concerns, big and small. Some of this lifestyle seems crazy to us now. At the same time, some of it is the same, merely in another form. If you follow her books, she tells a tale of how things did change for the elitist class, with characters and style along the lines of Mary Higgins Clark. The Circular Staircase was written in 1907. In many ways, it shows that people haven't changed that much at all in 99 years. It's not a serious read, but it's one that will engage you in the past and keep you up late, with a bowl of popcorn, to see what happens. If you're a Clark fan, you'll love this book, and be checking out the other Rinehart novels.

For decades Mary Roberts Rinehart was the queen of mystery thrillers -- the American Agatha Christie. The Circular Staircase was Rinehart's first published novel (The Swimming Pool was her last), but it is a well-constructed work in ever way. Rinehart's special gift was in the evocation of an overlying and unremitting atmosphere of unease and potential danger and it is under such an atmosphere of apprehension that she spins her stories. For some time it has been fashionable to dismiss the novels of Mary Roberts Rinehart as old fashioned. This may apply to superficial details -- such as gas lighting -- but it definitely is not true of the novels themselves which are timeless in their ability to hold the reader in a grip of mystery and suspense. The Circular Stasircase is one of the finest mystery novels ever written.

A wonderful classic mystry, involving bloodless murders without murderer's intention. In detail nicely described complicated situations with a pinch of humor. Very well connected story dots. After reading it over 20 times, I still enjoy it. I wish they had or (will) make a movie on it.

Wealthy family goes to the country for a rest and gets more than it bargained for - and it doesn't include much rest! The narrator is a tart-tongued lady, the mystery is complicated, and the view of life for the well-off in the early 1900's gives a whole other dimension to this book. Very enjoyable reading.