The Mansion of Mystery

by Chester K. Steele

The young man was evidently in a tremendous hurry, and as soon as the ferryboat bumped into the slip he was at the gate and was the first one ashore. He beckoned to one of the alert taxicabmen, and without waiting to have the vehicle brought to him, ran to it and leaped inside. "Do you know where the Vanderslip Building is?" he questioned abruptly. "Yes, sir." "Then take me there with all possible speed." "Yes, sir."

Genres: Mystery, Classics

110 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

"Chester K. Steele" was a pseudonym of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, founded by Edwin Stratemayer. The Chester K. Steele books are mysteries intended for an older audience than the children's books like the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins series Stratemeyer normally produced.

Reviews

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shouldn't start by mentioning this point, but for a mystery written by someone apparently named Steele who apparently never really existed, this was quite an exciting mystery and if you like classic mysteries just read it :)...

Here's a summary: A couple is found murdered in a most unusually confusing manner and the key suspect is the murdered man's daughter... but soon detective Adam Adams is on the case and after many a near death adventure the real culprit is eventually found...

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

What surprised me most was this story was written in 1911. And that Chester K. Steele was an alias for Edward Stratemeyer, part he the Stratemeyer Syndicate that published the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy series. I would say that this book is NOT a juvenile mystery, it is for adults.

I really enjoyed it. There was a complicated mystery, a couple love angles, and other major crimes involved. And it got solved, due to a young man requesting Adam Adams to take on the case to find out who killed his fiancé’s father and step-mother.

A young woman is accused of murdering her father and step-mother, but claims innocence. The deaths are unexplainable though the local doctor believes it was poison, but what poison cannot be found. The police believe the only person with motive is Margaret (the dead man’s daughter.)
Once Adam Adams is on the case, he’s all in. He may not always be on hand to hold the love-birds’ hands but the man is ON THE CASE, and also getting into a lot of life-threatening situations.

Fast paced and really enjoyable.

This is the first in the series, and this is the only one written by Edward Stratemeyer, the following were done by ‘ghost writers.” There are a few of the following stories on Amazon for (Kindle) free. The last two seem to be the hardest to find and if found- pricey.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Edward Stratemeyer himself, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and creator of series like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, etc, this has somewhat of the flavor of a country house mystery as most, though not all, of the action takes place in and around a country house, and Adam Adams the detective has a slightly noir feeling to me--single, unperturbable, though not anti-romantic. While Adam Adams enjoys a sterling reputation in his world, he makes some dumb mistakes, but comes out right in the end, just like all book detectives. Enjoyable with an intriguing plot and interesting characters. Appropriate that I listed to the Librevox version driving to and from the Nancy Drew Sleuths Convention honoring the 115th anniversary of the Stratemeyer Syndicate!

[A Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written by Edward Stratemeyer, who founded the “Stratemeyer Syndicate” responsible for the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew… etc. Although he wrote this story himself, sources say that other books with this pseudonym (Charles K. Steele) were farmed out, as was the process for the aforementioned series books.
I read this story online quite a few years ago and just gave it a re-read the same way. The title is great; The story not so much. The detective protagonist experiences too many captures and escapes and the plot meanders. It seems that a great deal of this story is “filler.” The really aren’t any clever aspects to the story as you’d hope to find in a “mystery.”

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable plot, characters were well defined, Librivox narrators did a pleasantly clear reading. 👍🏼 Recommended.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adam Adams is a well known detective, who gets involved in the mystery death of two people by poison. This is an old fashion who dun it, similar to the British mystery writers. There are twists and turns until the end. Plenty of suspects to talk with and eliminate, as the daughter of the dead man is indicted for their murder. Adam Adams gets neck high in trouble with the bad guys but each time manages to escape. Worth the time to read if you like an old fashion mystery to solve.