Out of a Labyrinth. By Lawrence L. Lynch (of the Secret Service).
Chicago: Alex T. Loyd & Co., 1885. First Loyd edition. There is also a Henry A. Sumner & Co. edition first printed in the same year. As both publishers operated in Chicago, and both issued variant editions of numerous Lynch titles, one may presume some connection between the two. OCLC records seven copies of the present edition. Frontispiece + 36 illustrations. Light shelf wear to head/foot of spine, and mild fraying to exterior bottom edges of cloth. Tips somewhat bent. Some rubbing and very light speckling discoloration to front board towards spine. Decorative endpapers. A few gatherings slightly loose. Hinge cracked but sound between pp. 48 and 49. Light pencil markings to margins of first few pages. Otherwise, text is clean and relatively bright. Very light toning and almost no foxing. A very good copy. Publisher’s light brown cloth. Gilt spine, with illustration from the novel below title/author (also in gilt) — moderately faded. Front cover features a decorative pattern ruled in black, in the center of which is featured the series logo for “Lynch’s Detective Novels” in gilt, bright. Back board, same, but ruled in blind. Octavo. 8], 9-471 pp. + 4 publisher’s ads. Item #17975
Emily “Emma” Murdoch Van Deventer (1853 – 1914) was an Illinois-born mystery author who published at least two dozen detective novels under the pseudonym “Lawrence L. Lynch (of the Secret Service)” — Lawrence Lynch being the name of her first husband. Van Deventer’s oeuvre is known for exploring Chicago and its surrounding environs, and for frequent appearance of strong, female leads, including the titular girl detective in Madeline Payne, the Detective’s Daughter (1884) and the raucous cast of Mountain Mystery.
As with Van Deventer’s other detective novels, Out of a Labyrinth begins with strange and sudden misfortune. Two young women have suddenly disappeared from the quiet farming community of Groveland (Van Deventer here dares to venture beyond her native Chicago). We follow Detective Bathurst (the narrative unfolds in first person) as he arrives in Groveland and promptly receives an ominous warning letter. He ignores the letter and is shot in the arm. The Groveland disappearances it seems, are linked to larger secrets— perhaps a band of horse thieves in another town. And why does Bathurst’s Groveland landlady carry a pistol? Furthermore, why does she steal the warning letter he received? Assuming the voice of the sardonic and veteran Bathurst, Van Deventer seems to be leaning into her male pseudonym for this entry in the popular Lynch’s detective series. Wright III, 5646.
Price: $400.00