Mary Roberts Rinehart's Crime Book: The Door, The Confession, The Red Lamp

London: Cassell, 1958. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good Indeed. 8" by 5.5". None. The first UK edition of this collection of works by Mary Roberts Rinehart. First UK edition. A collection of crime stories. The Door: Elizabeth Jane Bell leads a quiet life until the night a strange man appears on her staircase. Within hours her household is plunged into chaos when a beloved servant is found stabbed to death. The Confession: Agnes Blakiston did not want to rent the old parsonage and soon came to regret it. At night the phone would ring and there would be unseen visitors. Was the house haunted? And did Miss Emily have a secret? The Red Lamp: William Porter has just inherited Twin Hollows, an isolated lakeside estate shrouded in mystery. William and his wife aren't easily swayed by ghost stories until a shadowy apparition beckons to them from the undying glow of a red lamp. Written by Mary Roberts Rinehart, an American writer often called the 'American Agatha Christie'. Publishing her first novel in 1908, she introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. She is also considered the source of "the butler did it" as a plot device although the exact phrase not not appear in any of her works. In the original black cloth binding. Externally, excellent with minor bumping to the head and tail of the spine. Unclipped dust wrapper, very smart, with light shelf wear to the extremities. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright and clean. Near Fine