Frank Carlson Library

Often referred to as the "American Agatha Christie," Mary Roberts Rinehart did much to popularize and refine the mystery genre in the United States. The Street of Seven Stars follows an American musician, Harmony Wells, to Austria, where she has gone to hone her violin skills. Though the dashing doctor she meets there appears to want to protect her, there may be more to his motives than meets the eye.

Though not exactly a mystery in the traditional sense, Mary Roberts Rinehart's Where There's a Will certainly has its fair share of intrigue, chicanery and deception. At stake is the ownership of Hope Springs, a family-owned health resort whose future appears uncertain in the aftermath of the longtime manager's demise. When a well-meaning group of employees band together to try to take matters into their own hands, all hell breaks loose.

Mary Roberts Rinehart rose to literary acclaim as a mystery writer and eventually became known as the "American Agatha Christie." In Sight Unseen, Rinehart strays somewhat from the formula that made her famous, incorporating supernatural elements into the mystery at the heart of the novel. If you're looking for a fast-paced read that will send shivers down your spine, put Sight Unseen on your must-read list.