What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Short story read in early 90s-female private detective chases infamous burglar [s]
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It might be "Miss Hinch", by Henry Sydnor Harrison. I can't find the date it was published, but I found it in a 1957 anthology. The story takes place on a train. A little old lady is talking to a clergyman about various crimes attributed to Miss Hinch. I don't know how to conceal a spoiler, so SPOILER ALERTIt turns out that the little old lady is a famous private detective named Jessie Dark and the clergyman is Miss Hinch in disguise. Miss Hinch murders Jessie Dark, but a hatpin sticking out from the hat of her victim catches on her fake beard and pulls it off, revealing to the nearby police her identity.
Yes that's it! Thank you so much.
The story is set in a city with an extensive train system for public transportation.
The narrator says that there have been a series of burglaries,and that a well-known female detective has been investigating and hasn't been heard from for awhile.
(view spoiler)[The (disguised) burglar is riding the train with an elderly woman. They fight at a stop and the elderly woman is knocked to the tracks and killed. The burglar leans over to gloat and the dead woman's hatpin catches her disguise and pulls it away. The burglar is caught and it turns out the dead woman had been the detective, also in disguise. (hide spoiler)]
Thanks for reading!