A Deed of Dreadful Note - (Anna Katharine Green Mysteries) by Patricia Meredith (Paperback)

About the Book

A love letter to mystery and writing itself, an homage and reintroduction to an author who was the Agatha Christie of her time but a forgotten female today.

Book Synopsis

Fifteen years before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published A Study in Scarlet, Anna Katharine Green began writing The Leavenworth Case, inspiring the creation of detectives like Sherlock, Poirot, and Wimsey, as well as almost every device and convention we now recognize as standard in detective mystery fiction.

When her father's client is found murdered, Anna takes up the call to prove innocent the young girl accused of the murder. The investigation inspires many of the events, characters, and descriptions that would later be published in her debut novel.

A love letter to mystery and writing itself, A Deed of Dreadful Note is an homage and reintroduction to an author who was the Agatha Christie of her time but a forgotten female today.

This book is a fictionalized account of how Anna Katharine Green's first novel may have come to be...

A Deed of Dreadful Note is Book One in the Anna Katharine Green Mysteries, the only historical fiction series featuring the Mother of Detective Fiction.

Review Quotes

"Meredith revitalizes Anna Katharine Green's legacy while creating an intriguing new mystery. She captures the spirit of 'The Leavenworth Case, ' yet adds her own strokes to Green's original characters, placing the author herself as the protagonist. Anna emerges as a strong young woman, college educated and confident in her intellectual ability, a sleuth who knows the law and is comfortable in New York society. As a reader, I look forward to reading more of Anna's detective adventures in the future." - Patricia Maida, author of Mother of Detective Fiction: The Life and Works of Anna Katharine Green

"I don't think that there is a weapon in writing that Patricia Meredith doesn't know the use of. She continues to inspire me...her work always draws me in and I feel stuck between wonder and amusement. Another murder mystery that keeps you on the edge with such dramatic events that follow the climax. Her work is so incredible, it can be read in one sitting.... Only Patricia has the power to give everything a meaningful end.... Bizarre and unusual events are detailed with such literary techniques that will keep you interested. A murder mystery cannot get better than this." - Kini Sunny, @apurposeofabook, Instagram Reviewer

"A Deed of Dreadful Note is a delightful stroll into the birth of a mystery, with fresh characters and exciting drama. A fascinating glimpse into the life of a budding author and the world that surrounds her." - Rebecca Writz

"Amazing! Incredible! She's done it again! Patricia Meredith's best work yet!" - Sue Walker, Historian

"Patricia Meredith brings the story of Anna Katharine Green to life while creating a compelling new mystery!" - Niko and Layla Sollazzo, @nikosbookreviews, BookTuber

"Thoroughly engaging... beautiful and impactful..." - Lydia Pierce

"The way Patricia portrays Anna Katharine made me fall in love with this real life woman, whose memory will never be forgotten, as she inspired all the great mystery and detective writers in her day. The humor, real challenges for women in that era, inspiration from this incredible woman and her brilliance, and relationships in the story had me hooked. I found myself cheering for the heroine and crying through real, relatable heartache. Beautifully written. I can't wait to read the next ones in her series!" - Anne Fischer, Goodreads Reviewer