A Strange Disappearance

A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katherine Green is one of the first mystery novels to ever be published in America. Anna Katherine Green has garnered praise for her detective fiction for its realism and well plotted story. Her stories are also accurate when it comes to depicting legal issues which is thanks to her father who is a lawyer. Her novels have always been one of the foundations of mystery and detective fiction and A Strange Disappearance is one of her finest works. A Strange Disappearance was published in 1880 and is the second novel in Green's Mr. Gryce series. In this story, Mr. Gryce assigns Q to investigate the titular disappearance. Q was first introduced during the Leavenworth Case which he successfully solved, although her eccentric and strange behavior might have had more to do with his success. In Strange Disappearance, Q is front and center and is the one narrating the story this time around. The case involves a tailor who is working for the Holman Blake household. Her disappearance left vague clues as to what happened and no traces can be found to tell where she could have left or who took her. Q is one of the most interesting and unique detectives in fiction for his odd actions personality. J.M. Smallheer is able to bring the unusual detective to life with his own brand of peculiar nuance to his voice and performance. A Strange Disappearance is one for the shelf of any detective fiction enthusiast.