Henry Gamadge Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Henry Gamadge Mysteries Books

The Henry Gamadge Mysteries book series is an exciting series of cozy mystery and crime fiction novels. It is written by a renowned American writer named Elizabeth Daly. The series is comprised of a total of 16 books released between 1940 and 1951. Every book in this series features the chief protagonist in the form of Henry Gamadge, who is depicted as a forgery expert, author, and bibliophile living in New York City. In each book, Henry Gamadge is shown indulging in a mystery and using his detective skills to get to the bottom of each one of them and helping the authorities in catching the culprits. The debut book of the Henry Gamadge series is entitled ‘Unexpected Night’. It was released by O. Penzler Books in 1994, after its original release in 1940.

The book opens by showing that Henry Gamadge leaves New York and arrives in Maine to enjoy a holiday its coast. He hopes to spend some leisure time, indulge in golfing, taste good food and cocktail on his vacation. Instead, Henry is forced to take up an investigation that involves a young heir about to turn 21 and inherit the wealth of his family, a dodgy death, several actors disappearing and getting killed one by one, and a large family indulging in suspicious activities. Amberley Cowden’s parents have left him $1 million to inherit on the day he turns 21. If his death occurs before that, then the family will be deprived of the money.

Amberley’s health is not so good. He had suffered from rheumatic fever during childhood that damaged his heart severely. His family doubts that he will be able to live until his 21st birthday. In spite of his serious health condition, Amberley tries to live his life fully. When he learns that one of his cousins named Arthur Atwood is traveling with his theater troupe to Seal Cove, he decides to join him and enjoy the nearby resort, Ford’s Beach. After arriving at Ford’s Beach, Amberley checks into a hotel and plans to meet his cousin’s theater troupe the next day. But, things take a devastating turn when he is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. The police suspect that Amberley Cowden suffered a heart attack and fell down to his death.

At this point in time, Henry Gamadge gets involved in the case. He wonders what he was doing on top of the cliff during the night. Several other questions arise in his mind and make him suspect that Amberley did not die a natural death. Initially, Henry wanted to pack his bag and relocate to another resort to get away from the messy investigation. But, he becomes curious to find out what led to Amberley’s death. With the help of his talent, he helps the police in finding an important piece of evidence that revealed the reason behind Amberley’s murder. When the killer learns about Henry’s involvement in the investigation, he tries to kill him. But, Henry outsmarts his every move and succeeds in hunting him down and proving his crime.

The second installment of this series is known as ‘Deadly Nightshade’. It was published in 1993 by the Thorndike publication after it was originally published in 1940. In this book, Henry Gamadge is shown investigating a state trooper’s death and the murder of 3 children by poisoning. He goes on to prove that the murders are related and while doing so, he unearths several scandals that shock everyone in the city. When three children get poisoned by nightshade berries, one of them dies and the remaining two recover. Also, another girl has been missing for some days. The residents blame the gypsies who have taken shelter in the nearby woods responsible for the poisoning. In their rage, they warn the police to remove the gypsies from their town or face serious consequences.

Detective Mitchell of the Maine Police Department is not convinced that the gypsies poisoned the kids. When he is unable to find any solution, he seeks the help of Henry Gamadge, knowing that Henry has solved difficult cases in the past. In his investigation, Henry discovers that the kids were visited by a mysterious lady at their home before they fell ill. The death of the state trooper at around the same time makes Henry suspect that the two incidents might be linked. Along with Detective Mitchell, he visits the families of everyone involved and starts seeing the pattern that led to the poisoning. This book appears to be a lot more intriguing than the previous one. It attracted more number of readers and went on to become immensely popular. The success of this book motivated Elizabeth Daly to write more novels involving Henry Gamadge and publish them successfully. Her career achieved a great boost from this series’ worldwide success.

Elizabeth Daly was a well known American novelist of mystery novels. She is best known for creating the chief protagonist Henry Gamadge, an amateur detective, bookish author, and bibliophile in the series that his own name. In addition to the Henry Gamadge novels, Elizabeth had written prose and light verse for Puck, Scribner’s, and Life magazines during the earlier days of her career. Elizabeth wrote and published her debut novel when she was 60 years old. She is the perfect example of the fact that people can succeed at any age if they have the will and determination something extraordinary. From 1940 to 1951, Elizabeth released 16 books, all featuring her primary character, Henry Gamadge.

Daly was born on October 15, 1878, in New York City. Her father, Joseph Daly, was a Supreme Court justice in New York; while her mother, Emma Barker Daly, was a homemaker. Daly had completed her graduation from Bryn Mawr College in 1901 with a BA degree. She had also earned an MA from Columbia University in 1902. The MWA had made her an honorary member. For two years in her career between 1904 and 1906, Bryn Mawr College had included her as a reader. She was also a tutor of English and French, and an amateur theater producer. It was at the age of 88 that Elizabeth Daly breathed her last on September 2, 1967, in Roslyn, New York. The highlight of Daly’s career is winning the Edgar Allen Poe Award in 1961. She was not married, so there was no one to claim her literary estate after her death.