The Filigree Ball

A police detective investigates a death in a historic Washington, DC, mansion in this novel whose author "revolutionized mystery fiction" (The New York Times).

For two weeks Washington has been abuzz with talk about what happened at the Moore house. The historic old building, dating back to colonial times, has long been a subject of unease as the site of multiple deaths. But pretty young Veronica Moore decides to defy superstition and hold her lavish wedding at the ancestral property—an event that turns tragic when a guest's lifeless body is discovered.

Now, a man has reported to the police that he spotted a light coming from within the supposedly empty house on an all but deserted block, and a detective must enter the mansion to unravel the secrets within . . .
Published near the turn of the twentieth century, The Filigree Ball was written by Anna Katharine Green, a woman whose detective fiction, praised for its realism and accuracy, predated the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous investigator, Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, Green was one of the most accomplished mystery writers of her era.