The Dead Letter

Often called the first full-length detective novel by an American, and by a woman at that, Metta Victor’s mystery opens with the murder of Henry Moreland on the eve of his wedding. The crime goes unsolved for years until a clerk stumbles on an undelivered letter in a dead-letter office, reviving the trail. The investigator Mr. Burton takes up the case with patient reasoning and methods that were startling for the 1860s, including help from a clairvoyant. Around the puzzle Victor weaves a tale of thwarted love, buried guilt, and a household guarding its secrets. Published under the pen name Seeley Regester, it helped set the template for American crime fiction. First serialized in 1866. Free to read here in PDF and EPUB.