(7/10 stars)

“It’s not so easy to prove an accident,—or a murder, either,—when there’s practically no clew to be found.”

Many years ago, a fortune-teller predicted that Peter Crane would be lost on a long journey, only to return after his death. Though Peter has grown up in the shadow of this prophecy, he’s always laughed it off. 

An expedition to the Canadian wilderness ends in tragedy, however, when Peter vanishes during a snowstorm. His best friends Kit Shelby and Gilbert Blair hurry home to break the news to Peter’s parents in person. To their surprise, the Cranes already seem aware of their son’s death. For weeks, they have been receiving strange messages by Ouija board. They are certain Peter has come back to them from the other side, just as the gypsy predicted. As the Cranes descend deeper into the world of spiritualism, their friends begin to worry. Is there really such a thing as life after death? And will another member of their circle soon be joining Peter in an early grave? Continue reading “The Come Back (1921) by Carolyn Wells”

(7/10 stars)

“She must be bad or she wouldn’t have killed my husband. I’m not defending him, but men don’t go to the houses of complete strangers and get murdered by them!”

Victoria Van Allen is the most charming young hostess in New York City. Everything is perfectly respectable at her parties, yet with an artistic, bohemian flair that makes an evening with Vicky Van a memorable occasion. There’s always room for a new friend at her table, so no one minds when one of the guests brings along the rich but slightly awkward Mr. Somers. Before the evening is through, however, Somers will be lying dead on the floor with a knife in his chest, and the beautiful Vicky will vanish into the night. Continue reading “Vicky Van (1918) by Carolyn Wells”