BURT, KATHARINE (NEWLIN) (MRS MAXWELL STRUTHERS BURT). Red lady. *$1.75 (3c) Houghton
20–6709
A unique feature of this mystery story is that its principal characters, including both hero and villain, are women. Men play secondary parts. Three housekeepers have fled from the Pines when Janice Gale accepts the position. Her first intimation of something wrong comes with the signs of terror exhibited by her mistress’s young son at sight of her red hair. Then there are indications that the house is haunted. The child Robbie is frightened into convulsions and dies with a strand of red hair in his fingers. Janice next comes face to face with the ghost and finds her the counterpart of herself. Convinced that this is a real woman she sets herself to trace the mystery, braves great dangers, all but loses her life, escapes and wins the love of the young detective who has been regarding her as a criminal.
“An exceptionally fine specimen, American in origin, of that popular genus colloquially known as the ‘shocker.’”
+ Ath p867 D 24 ’20 80w
“The mystery of it all is hard to penetrate but Mrs Burt at last finds a way out of the strange tangle and altogether writes a very good and very unusual story.”
+ Boston Transcript p7 My 8 ’20 200w
“This story would be more attractive if the author were to make, say, her present ninth chapter her first. She could condense in that one chapter about all she has told us in the eight preceding and would thus spare the reader much boredom. And yet, considering how good are the final chapters, there is reason to believe that we have in Mrs Burt one of the well worth while writers of real mystery stories of the immediate future.”
+ − N Y Times 25:27 Je 27 ’20 650w