American Women of Mystery: Three Classic Mystery Novels by American Women Authors of the 1930's - Paperback

by Dorothy Bennett (Author), H. Ashbrook (Author), Greg Fowlkes (Editor)

Three complete novels in one

One Drop of Blood by Anne Austin
Murder Unleashed by Dorothy Bennett
The Murder of Cecily Thane by H. Ashbrook

While the best known writers of American detective fiction in the 1930's were men such as Dashiell Hammett, Rex Stout, and S. S. Van Dine, there were also many American womenwriting in the genre during that period. This collection includes mystery novels by three of them.

Although there are differences in style and treatment between them, they all are written with a distinctly American voice that sets them apart from their British counterparts. They are edgier and darker than the "cozy mysteries" that were so representative of British mysteries of the time.

While not particularly well known today, each of these three authors was a talented writer in her own right, making American Women of Mystery a compelling and fascinating read.

Author Biography

Anne Austin: Born in 1895, Anne Austin began by writing romance novels about young women in the mid 1920's but soon turned her talents to producing a string of mysteries through the 1930's, some of which appeared as serials in newspapers.. Many of these mysteries feature as the detective "Bonnie" Dundee, Special Investigator for the District Attorney, including Murder Backstairs, The Avenging Parrot, Murder at Bridge, and One Drop of Blood. Several of her mysteries were translated into French, including Le Pigeon Noir and Le Crime Parfume. Despite her success as a novelist, Anne Austin disappears from the public record after the 1930's.

Dorothy Bennett: Little information is available about Dorothy Bennett. It would appear that she grew up in Berkeley, California and probably went to the university there. Her mother was Mary Richardson Bennett, to whom she dedicated a murder mystery in the form of a poem entitled How Strange a Thing which was published in 1935, the same year as Murder Unleashed.

H. Ashbrook: Harriette Cora Ashbrook (1898-1946) was the American author of thirteen mystery novels. Seven of these were published under her own name and feature Phillip (Spike) Tracy, a playboy turned amateur sleuth whose brother just happens to be the District Attorney of New York. She also published six more mysteries under the pen-name Susannah Shane featuring Christopher Saxe as the detective.