The Haunted Lady

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Paperback, 1942

Status

Available

Call number

813.52

Publication

New York: Kensington, 1985

Description

Someone's trying to kill the head of the Fairbanks estate, and only her nurse can protect her. Reissued for the first time in over twenty years, and featuring one of Mary Roberts Rinehart's only series characters. The Haunted Lady is the thrilling follow-up to Miss Pinkerton, also available from American Mystery Classics.

User reviews

LibraryThing member victorianrose869

February 20, 2001
The Haunted Lady
Mary Roberts Rinehart

I just don’t get tired of Rinehart’s books. I’ve even collected a few of the original hardbacks, like The Wall. The Haunted Lady was new to me; it wasn’t one of the ones I bought in New York when I bought all the others, that time in

Doubleday when I was drawn by the gruesome covers! No, I bought this one a few years ago when I was on a Rinehart kick and buying reprints of the ones I’d bought in NY and had been through such hell.

The Haunted Lady is one of the Ms. Pinkerton books – Rinehart’s nurse-sleuth. Ms. Pinkerton is staying with the wealthy Fairbanks family, taking care of the old matriarch, who insists that someone in the family is trying to kill her. Turns out she’s right.

Rinehart can get dry sometimes, but I always enjoy the “American Agatha Christie” cozies she wrote, involving big houses, family secrets, wealth and murder. It’s a great formula that sucks me in every time.

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LibraryThing member BonnieJune54

Slow-moving and I didn't like the solution. Characters didn't really have individual personalities. Even though no one is desperately poor, you do get the sense of how the Great Depression just put a sense of gloom and despair over everybody.

LibraryThing member pussreboots

All in all I enjoyed the book. I was suprised that so late in the book the crimes happened. The detecting part of the story seemed more disjointed than the set up of the crimes. For a book published originally in 1942, I found the characters and plot rather modern. There are of course some pieces

that show the book's age but I don't want to ramble on and risk giving away spoilers. :)

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LibraryThing member thornton37814

When repeated attempts to rattle or kill wealthy widow Eliza Fairbanks occur, the police send nurse Hilda Adams to care for her. Greeted by a swarm of relatives with motives to kill the woman, Adams knows Eliza's imagination did not get carried away. When the woman turns up dead, the police and

nurse Adams must sift through lies and clues to come up with the real murderer. Roberts drops too many obvious hints of future events. The mystery shows its age in some aspects, but it still presents an interesting puzzle for modern readers. I received an advance review copy through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

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LibraryThing member JalenV

I think I read Haunted Lady, the fourth of Mary Roberts Rinehart 'Miss Pinkerton' mysteries, decades ago, but I can't remember. Hilda Adams, a private nurse, has been asked to watch over wealthy widow Eliza Fairbanks by her friend, Inspector Fuller. Mrs. Fairbanks keeps finding creatures in her

bedroom: bats, rats, and birds. The window screens are nailed shut, the windows are barred, and she keeps her room locked. Mrs. Fairbanks was poisoned by arsenic already -- could someone be trying to still her bad heart with sudden frights?

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LibraryThing member BooksForDinner

Pretty standard fare, all the characters are here.I guess I need to read the first one of these Hilda Adams books, Miss Pinkerton? Not really sure I’m getting why she works for the police? She doesn’t work for the police she’s a nurse. Do they hire her? Seems strange. Anyway, good fun.

LibraryThing member Kris_Anderson

The Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart is the 2nd novel in The Hilda Adams Mysteries. Hilda Adams is looking forward to a relaxing evening after her latest assignment ends. Unfortunately, Hilda receives a call asking her to take on a special assignment. Eliza Fairbanks claims there have been

bats in her sealed bedroom as well as other creatures. Eliza is making some outrageous claims. Dr. Brooke wants Hilda to investigate. Hilda quickly packs a bag and heads to the Fairbanks home. Hilda meets Eliza and finds the elderly woman to be quite sane. Eliza believes someone is trying to kill her. Unfortunately, Eliza is soon proven correct when she is found dead in her room. Can Hilda find Eliza’s killer? The Haunted Lady was originally written in 1942. I enjoy reading these older mystery novels. I thought it was well-written with an interesting cast of characters. I quickly found myself drawn into the story. I liked Nurse Hilda Adams who is a keen observer. The mystery was well-done and there were some clever details. I appreciated that it had a nice wrap-up with the strange happenings explained in an easy to understand manner. The mystery was fun to solve. I did find the ending to be a little odd and unsatisfying. I appreciated the introduction written by Otto Penzler with information about Mary Roberts Rinehart writing career and her style of writing. The Haunted Lady is a pleasing historical mystery with baffling bats, a fighting family, a secure room, a nosey nurse, and a mysterious murder.

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LibraryThing member Vesper1931

June 1941. Mrs Eliza Fairbanks is convinced that someone is trying to scare her, probably to her death. Bats and rats have been found in her room, but no-one knows how they have been introduced into the room. Inspector Fuller decides to put his 'Miss Pinkerton' or Nurse Hilda Adams into the house

to watch over the old lady. But Nurse Adams fails as one morning Mrs Eliza Fairbanks is found dead, but how did this occur.
An enjoyable story as the mystery unfolds, with Hilda finding a few clues as she investigates and solves the case.
Originally written in 1942
A NetGalley Book

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