The first book in the Mr. Gryce series, Ms. Green was part of the genesis of the detective fiction genre. She was precedded only by Poe, Wilkie Collins,Dickens, and Emile Gaboriau. Her Mr. Gryce came before Holmes or Poirot. So the historical significance is great. The story was a little less than great.

While it's not uncommon for the detective to appear only in a minority of the pages (Charlie Chan and even some Poirot stories come to mind), I felt that her style was a bit long winded and melodramatic and kept me waiting for the detective to reappear. Perhaps it was just due to her finding her voice, but Mr. Gryce never lived up to my expectations. That said the mystery was solid and after reading for a bit, the story was engaging.

All in all a solid, if unspectacular, effort. I'll most likely circle back around to read another to see if her skills were honed any.