The mayor's wife (Anna Katharine Green)

Miss Saunders is out for an adventure. One, which is full of secrets, hints, and half-lies. One, which will require all of her wits. Miss Saunders, a discreet domestic spy of some kind, is hired żeby Mayor Packard to look after his unaccountably abstracted wife whilst he goes out of town for a fortnight. The lady is unhappy, and the reason for her grave unhappiness is more serious than you think. A detective novel involving theft, bigamy, a haunted house, lost money, ciphers and code breaking. An American detective-story writer, Green’s thrillers are characterized aby logical construction and a sound knowledge of criminal law. She was one of a handful of women writing detective stories at the time.