Afternoon Tea Mysteries, Volume One

by Anne Austin, Tory Hageman, Anna Katharine Green

Cozy mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed. Cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed.

This edition contains one short story and three cozy novels by acclaimed authors, Anne Austin and Anna Katharine Green.

Included in this collection:

Cozy Mystery One: The Mysterious Bag - A Kristen Carter Mystery!
Kristen Carter, is a plain Quaker woman in her thirties who finds herself “thrown upon the world penniless and all but friendless” in 1920's London. With no way to earn a living, she decides to try her luck as a detective--which has the unfortunate effect of cutting her off from her friends and original position in society. In this story: Craigen Court is burgled, Lady Cathrow’s jewels stolen, and her French maid is suspected of having a hand in the job. Is there a connection between the theft and a bag whose contents include clerical trappings and a suicide note found on a doorstep not far away? Written by Tory Hageman.

Cozy Mystery Two: Murder at Bridge
A mystery written by acclaimed mystery author, Anne Austin. Broadway belle Nita Selim (an actress with a colorful past) has come to a prosperous Midwestern town and inserted herself into local high society. But neither she nor they are all what they seem, as becomes clear when she's found dead during a bridge party. Investigator Bonnie Dundee tracks the killer with earnest derring-do, and the plot keeps him and the reader guessing pretty well. This is the original and unabridged version of this classic whodunnit.

Cozy Mystery Three: The Mill Mystery
A mystery written by acclaimed mystery author, Anna Katharine Green. One of her most interesting mysteries, this explores the nature of moral weakness when confronted with violence. A young clergyman is found dead in mysterious circumstances in a disused mill. The news is fatal to his fiancée. And an imperious matron on the other side of town also has a stroke on hearing the news. Why? And why are her two sons behaving in such a sinister manner? The dying fiancée’s room-mate – a level-headed orphan – decides to investigate, takes a job nursing the sick woman, and helps to uncover a shocking tale of selfishness, greed and hypocrisy.

Cozy Mystery Four: The Woman in the Alcove
Another great mystery written by acclaimed author, Anna Katharine Green. A young nurse gets engaged during the course of a ball in New York. Then a woman is found murdered and her diamonds stolen. The nurse investigates, in an effort to clear her fiancé’s name.

A must-have for fans of classic mysteries!

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

571 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2011

About the author

Anne Austin (1895-c.1960) was an American mystery writer of at least 6 mystery novels

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.

Reviews

[Laraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to give 1 star just to be able to write a comment, otherwise it would be zero. What a bore! Aren’ mysteries supposed to be exciting? This has to be the worst mystery book ever. So tedious it made me want to sleep, rather than rush to the next page. How anyone can use so many words to say so little is the mystery. Perfect for those with difficulty falling asleep!

[Susan G · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read

The laguage was sometimes a little archaic as I had to look the words up to make sure my understanding was correct. The last story was the best mystery of the three in my opinion.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 4 low key mysteries in which violence, sex, etc. are downplayed. The first is just a few pages long and features a Sherlock Holmes type detective detective who happens to be a female. The remaining 3 are longer and provide good mystery reading. "Murder at Bridge" is about a mysterious young former New York City actress who is murdered during a bridge games and has some humor; "The Mill Mystery" is a sad mystery about the death of a young clergyman whose fiancee seeks to provide it was a suicide; and "The Woman in the Alcove" has a newly engaged woman seeking to prove her fiancee isn't a jewel thief.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled through the 1st story in this book - can't say I remember any of it since I have been working on reading this book for quite some time now. I am about 3/4 of the way through the 2nd story but am so uninterested in it I have decided to just "give up." The narration seems like it goes on forever and I am just tired of dealing with it since there are so many other books I would rather be reading. I get what the author's trying to say, they're just taking so long to spit it out that I can't force myself to "work" (and it has become just that) at it any longer.

[Nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a collection of four allegedly cosy mysteries. What the book blurb fails to say is that they are historic. I couldn't determine if they were very old stories revamped or from present writers attempting an older style. The first story was quite good. The others were hard work - very hard work! After all why use 1 word when 60 would do? A good opportunity missed to make what could have been intriguing stories readable.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish reading two out of three mysteries in this book. The Stories took place in the late 19th century and I found the language tiresome.

[Anne Styles]

First story ok
Second story just seemed to go on and on
Didn't read any more!!!