"The success of 'That Affair Next Door,' Anna Katharine Green's latest novel, is something almost unprecedented. Of all the tales since 'The Leavenworth Case,' this has had the greatest vogue--which is saying considerable, for Mrs. Rohlfs enjoys the distinction of being one of the most widely read authors in this country. 'That Affair Next Door,' with its startling ingenuity, its sustained interest and its wonderful plot, shows that the author's hand has not lost its cunning, but has gained as the years go by."--Buffalo Inquirer.
himself; for the Coroner, if you know what that means."
"But what if she's alive! Those things will crush her. Let us take them off. I'll help. I'm not too weak to help."
"Do you know who this person is?" I asked, for her voice had more feeling in it than I thought natural to the occasion, dreadful as it was.
"I?" she repeated, her weak eyelids quivering for a moment as she tried to sustain my scrutiny. "How should I know? I came in with the policeman and haven't been any nearer than I now be. What makes you think I know anything about her? I'm only the scrub-woman, and don't even know the names of the family."
"I thought you seemed so very anxious," I explained, suspicious of her suspiciousness, which was of so sly and emphatic a character that it changed her whole bearing from one of fear to one of cunning in a moment.
"And who wouldn't feel the like of that for a poor creature lying crushed under a heap of broken crockery!"
Crockery! those Japanese vases worth hun
Anna Katharine Green sets the template for mystery writers that followed her. The Affair Next Door is a first class story with twists and turns and enduring characters that mirror Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
Good mystery. This is not the kind of detective novel in which every clue is presented to the reader, but still the final twist was surprising. The narrative of Miss Butterworth, an amateur dective, is delightful, and her battle with her rival, Mr Gryce, entertaining, the scene of inquest impressive.
