The Window at the White Cat

"The Window at the White Cat" by Mary Roberts Rinehart is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around a lawyer, John Knox, who finds himself involved in a complex case when a young woman named Margery Fleming seeks his help to locate her missing father, Allan Fleming, a state treasurer. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that this case is intertwined with political intrigue and potential danger, as Margery fears for her father's safety amidst powerful adversaries. At the start of the novel, the reader is introduced to Knox's office where he receives Margery's urgent plea for assistance. Margery explains that her father has inexplicably vanished, leaving behind a series of perplexing clues that hint at a deeper mystery. Together, they explore the unsettling circumstances surrounding Allan's disappearance, which coincides with strange events in their household, including the unsettling disappearance of Miss Jane Maitland, Margery's aunt. As Knox delves into the case, he navigates through various suspects and leads, including a suspicious butler and political foes, all while encountering a disturbing handprint that marks the entrance to an unexplored attic space, suggesting dark secrets lurking just beneath the surface. Throughout this opening portion, a mix of suspense, emotional depth, and the looming threat of corruption intertwine, setting the stage for an engaging mystery. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel The Circular Staircase in 1908, which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart is also considered the earliest known source of the phrase "the butler did it", in her novel The Door (1930), although the exact phrase does not appear in her work and the plot device had been used prior to that time. She also worked to tell the stories and experiences of front line soldiers during World War I, one of the first women to travel to the Belgian front lines.