The Forsaken Inn

Written by Anna Katharine Green

Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir

An old and dilapidated
inn in upstate New York provides the setting for this gothic mystery involving
two couples in the 1700s

Edwin Urquhart, loved
by two sisters, chooses to marry the elder. Arriving at the Forsaken Inn for
their honeymoon, they occupy an apartment containing a secret chamber. That
night, the young bride is murdered and buried in this secret room. Did her new husband
commit the crime-or is something much more sinister afoot?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Nov 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483033860

Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935) was an American writer and prominent figure in the detective genre. Born in New York City, Green developed an affinity for literature at an early age. She studied at Ripley Female College in Vermont and was mentored by poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson. One of Green’s best-known works is The Leavenworth Case, which was published in 1878. It was a critical and commercial success that made her one of the leading voices in literature. Over the course of her career, Green would go on to write nearly 40 books.

Reviews for The Forsaken Inn

[reallifereading · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A locked-room mystery of sorts although it’s not really that much of a mystery. A couple stays at an inn for a night - the man’s rather suspicious and creepy. Some years later, the woman’s body is discovered in a hidden room. Yet a woman had been seen leaving with her husband. What is one to make of this? Told from the perspective of the inn owner, one Mrs Truax, the story takes ages to unravel but it was after all published in 1890 so one has to keep that in mind. But it was an interesting gothic mystery by a woman who was one of the first writers of detective fiction.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Looking for shelter one rainy evening, a rider aims to seek safety in a derelict building. A stranger warns him off and offers him a ride in his carriage to the next village. Where he gives him a manuscript to read. Dated 28 January 1775 and written by the last occupant of the derelict, it's former landlady, Mrs Truax of the Happy-go-Lucky Inn. This is her story.
An enjoyable historical mystery
Originally written in 1889.

[jguidry-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the Gothic atmosphere of this story, but a lot was lost in the storytelling. Most of the characters were truly unlikeable. You begin the story knowing who the murderer is, then the motive is revealed in an extremely long narrative from a hermit. Then the ending came suddenly and was very over the top. There was a good story in there somewhere so I'm willing to try other works by this author.