mysterious prowler attacks house rented by indomitable spinster

I could see the Murder by Death crowd acting out this farce. It had every cliche in the book. In fact, this probably WAS the book that all the cliches came from. Locked rooms, Japanese inscrutable butlers, mysterious murders, an old lady sleuth, a forbidden love affair, a bank robbery, a faked death, a country house, and lots of lights going on and off with thunder and rain. And that was in the first three chapters. ( )

Book group chose this 1920 work.

It was a good little mystery with the feeling of masterpiece theater
throughout.
No need for multiple settings.
I marveled at some of the word choices....such as sepulchrally and terrorization
and sauvitity...

The butler (Japanese) was addressed frequently in a manner with which I was uncomfortable.

Smoking was rampant throughout.
It was a "drug the doctor (Wells) forbade his patients but prescribes for himself"
I can't see that flying today.

And........It was a story with an actual plot and no sexual overtones needed...

All in all...

It was an interesting look into the world of suspense circa 1920. ( )

10. The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart (read in 1935 or 1936) I was pretty young when I read this but I liked it much. ( )

The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart was originally published in 1926. Unfortunately I found the story quite dated. The mystery was alright, but presented in a melodramatic style that quickly became too much. The background details, the settings, styles and manners of the time period were of more interest to me. There were some definite racial slurs, mostly aimed at a Japanese Butler that I found quite distasteful. But she also made sure the overwrought ghost-believing maid, Lizzie, was identified as Irish many times.

An older woman leaves New York City to take a house in the country for the summer. She brings along her maid and her niece. The rural area is the haunt of a master criminal called the Bat. Before too long the residents of the house are experiencing nightly noises and strange sights. Add to this a dead man who isn’t quite as dead as everyone thinks and a bank robbery where the cash is missing, mix with some very stereotypical characters and the end result is The Bat.

I prefer my older mysteries to be low-keyed and to use humor and/or wry observations to advance the plot. The Bat, on the other hand is presented in an over-blown, clichéd style that just didn’t hold up or keep my attention. ( )