Dark Hollow

By Anna Katharine Green

In a small town shrouded in secrets a woman seeks to find the truth behind a terrible injustice in this classic mystery from "the mother of the detective novel"

A mysterious veiled woman slips into the home of the secretive Judge Ostrander in the town of Shelby. The people of the town rush after her to protect their respected judge, but in the confusion and furor that follow, a servant of the house dies. In the solemn atmosphere succeeding this drama, the veiled woman refuses to show her face, insisting on telling her story from under her swathes of purple veil. Her name is Deborah and she is the widow of a convicted murderer, a man sentenced to death many years before by Judge Ostrander. She took her young daughter and fled the town in shame when it happened, but now she must confront the truth. Determined to prove her husband's innocence, Deborah believes the judge who convicted him is the one person in the world who can help. But a secret so long buried cannot be uncovered without serious repercussions. Dark Hollow is a truly a compelling and classic tale of hidden guilt, honor, and remorse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hesperus Classics
• Release date: May 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780942742

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 Dark Hollow

[bjace_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Green was the author of The Leavenworth case, which is considered to be an American mystery classic of sorts, but this book is just plain indigestible. The story centers around a the murder of a respectable citizen. His murderer, a disreputable tavern owner with a reputation for violence, is caught, tried and hanged, but the lives of the central figures around the trial--the judge, who was also the victim's best friend, the tavern owner's wife and child, the judge's son--are never the same again. After some years, the widow returns, convinced that her husband was not guilty and, seeking justice for him and respectability for her daughter, begins to open old wounds.If that sounds interesting in theory, the execution wrings every drop of movement from the story. The prose is turgid and melodramatic. By the end of the novel, only one possible suspect could have done it and the conclusion is mildly interesting but not worth dragging yourself through the book for. I found it icky and depressing.