The Woman in the Alcove

The Woman in the Alcove by Anna Katharine Green is a thrilling mystery, hard to put down.    Miss Van Arsdale, short and plain, is a member of the lower echelon of New York's high society, and has recently resigned her self to a life as a spinster nurse. As the story opens, she is attending a grand party at the Ramsdells' mansion, and is swept off her feet by Anson Durand, who proposes marriage. But the star of the evening is not a person; it is the spectacular diamond worn by the elegant Mrs. Fairbrother.

During the course of the evening, Mr. Durand and Miss Van Arsdale are often separated, and she notices some decidedly odd goings-on in the curtained alcove at the end of one of the large salons. It comes to pass that Mrs. Fairbrother is murdered there, ostensibly for her diamond, and Mr. Durand, alas, is the prime suspect.

But Miss Van Arsdale is certain that her one true love is innocent. Could this be a set-up? She determines to discover who is the real perpetrator, and manages to convince Inspector Dalzell to assist her in quest to identify that true villain.