The Case of Jennie Brice by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart is an author, like Josephine Tey (The Man In The Queue), whose crime mysteries seem timeless and are still being published today. Since many were written over 80 years ago, you can find several on free Ebook websites.

The Case Of Jennie Brice takes place in a flooded house, a setting unusual enough to catch my eye.

The narrator calls herself Mrs. Pitman, not her real name of course, but it will do.

One of the prestigious Pitman family of Pittsburgh who fell out of favour with her relatives and now runs a boarding house on the wrong side of town. Being so close to the Allegheny River, they have to put up with winter flooding every few years and have a system to move everything to upper levels of the house while the water floods in through the open doors. It can get as high as halfway up the first floor, and so, small boats come and go as people are ferried around. When the water recedes, everything gets dried out and the paper hangers come in. Of her few boarders, Mr. Ladley and his wife Jennie Brice cause the most problems with their fighting and late rent payments. They had just moved to the second floor when Jennie disappears. Mrs. Pitman immediately thinks murder, and begins turning each clue of her investigation into proof of Mr. Ladley's guilt. Boats are sent out to discover a drowned body - headless and handless! Could if be her? Or, is Jennie still alive?

Rinehart also mixes in a long lost niece of Mrs. Pitman who befriends her, unaware she is family. Another boarder is Mr. Howell, who fancies himself a detective and helps with the case, while casting an eye at the niece ~ adding the romance portion of the story. The strange clues involve a missing onyx clock, a floating fur coat, bloody towels, theatrical stunts and mistaken identities - among a few other deaths.

This was written in 1913, and takes place at that time. One of the many reprints, I read a Dell edition from 1960, and being one hundred years old, it has earned 'classic' status.

Not completely a winner, it lacked momentum 2/3 of the way through as she reiterated the clues as they sometimes do in serials, to catch lazy readers up to speed. However, it was diverting and had a solution twisted enough to not see coming.

If you are interested, there is a free eBook available at Project Gutenberg ~ here is the link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11127

1913 / Paperback / 192 pages