Mary Roberts Rinehart Books In Order

Publication Order of Tish Books

Publication Order of Hilda Adams Books

Publication Order of Miss Cornelia Van Gorder Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mary Roberts Rinehart is an American mystery and thriller author popularly known as the source of ‘The butler did it’ phrase. She has written numerous short stories, articles, and poems, and most of her books have been adapted into movies, for instance, The Bat novel. Some of her books have been best sellers and received critics that praised her murder mystery stories.

The Circular Staircase
As the story opens up, Rachel Innis, a rich spinster in the company of her nephew and niece Halsey and Gertrude and her servant Liddy going to a summer house named Sunny Side. The house owners were away on vacation, and only Mary, the housekeeper, was left. Rachel has rented the sunny side since her apartment is under renovation for the summer.

Rachel wasn’t aware that the family was experiencing tumultuous events. Thomas, an older man who has been working in the family for many years and wants to be Rachel’s butler, tells her about a ghost that haunts the house. The first day, Rachel and Lydia hear the sounds of an intruder who drops a metal golf stick on the stairs. The next night, Rachel is woken by a loud sound, then a dead body is found whose identity is the estranged son of the house owners. She also realizes that Halsey and Jack are not in their rooms, and while looking around, she sees Hasley’s pistol lying on a tulip bed. She decides to cover this discovery from the police questioning her and Gertrude.

Rachel begins to follow clues as they appear directed to everything happening. In her quest to find out the truth, she keeps the evidence far from Detective Jameson to not embarrass his companions with the police investigations.

Rachel is ready to remain in the house until the mystery is solved and her nephew’s name is cleared, even when there are more break-ins at night. Gertrude even tells the police that Hasley left before Arnold was killed. Some days later, Halsey comes back alone and doesn’t explain Jack’s whereabouts. It’s later discovered that Jack and Halsey had no good relationship with Arnold after treating Gertrude badly.

Then other news came that the local bank where Jack worked had been robbed, declaring the bank bankrupt. Rumors have it that all this was done by one of the employees, and now all blame is put on the missing Jack. Is Jack capable of robbing a bank?

Who really shot Anorld Armstrong and why? Later news comes in claiming that Paul Armstrong, the house owner, is dead after ailing heart disease for a long time. Most people don’t believe the news, and detective Jamieson and the new gardener wake Rachel up in the middle of the night to go to the graveyard and dig up to confirm whether the body really belongs to Paul. To their shock, they find out that the body doesn’t belong to him, which makes them so suspicious. Why would Paul fake his death?

What follows is a series of investigations to unravel the mystery. Will they finally find Paul and find out why he faked his death?

The Man in Lower Ten
Lawrence Blakeley travels home from a meeting with his client and carries a few conviction papers in a forgery case. He’s on his way to deliver the papers to Pittsburgh. On the way, he switches train berths with another man who falls asleep. The man takes his position at the lower ten, and that night the man is found dead the next morning, and the murder weapon is found on the berth used by Lawrence. Blake is accused of killing after the train gets wrecked. Only him and a mysterious young lady are survivors. Why might he have been killed? Was Blakeley the targeted victim?

It’s also realized that the papers have been stolen too, and people are left wondering how the murder and theft are connected. He has lost everything, including his shoes and clothes, and replaced with another man’s suit. The mystery becomes more complicated the moment the train gets involved in an accident, and most of those on board, both the possible suspects and witnesses, are missing and others dead.

Blakeley is now suspected of the murder of the man in the lower ten and tries all he can to prove that he’s innocent. He is also searching around to find the stolen documents and find the link between the murdered man and the beautiful young lady on the train. With the help of an amateur detective Hotchkiss, he must find out who took the evidence he carried and who framed him for the murder?

The Man In Lower Ten is a great mystery with many actions and twists that keep the reader guessing to the last page.

The Bat
A rich lady rents a country house with an Irish maid and her niece during the summer. Cornelia Van Gorder is a spinster who loves adventures. She rented the recently available house when Courtleigh Fleming, a bank manager, died. Cornelia is bewailing her quiet and adventurous existence when mysterious activities start happening. Some servants soon leave because of the activities happening in the large mansion. The story also involves the homeowner who died recently and whose bank account isn’t working. The main suspect is a young bank clerk who happens to be the lover of the old lady’s niece.

Cornelia starts receiving notes aimed at frightening her away from the house. Rumors have it that The Bat, a criminal mastermind is around. The mysterious suspect has been dubbed as The Bat, who has been operating in the vicinity of the country home. The happenings that follow in the house are solving the mystery surrounding the old lady’s murder, Bat activities, and the bank misappropriation.

The missing funds are noticed during the wake of the bank manager’s death. Cornelia’s niece starts acting weird, and Lizzie, the maid, is nervous while her butler is impossible to understand. Cornelia requests a detective to help her investigate who has been sending the notes to her.