author

Mary Roberts Rinehart

1876–1958

A hugely popular mystery writer of the early 20th century, she helped shape the modern suspense story and is often linked with the phrase “the butler did it.” Her novels, plays, and journalism brought sharp plotting and lively characters to a wide audience.

32 Audiobooks

The Circular Staircase

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Locked Doors

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Breaking Point

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

'Oh, Well, You Know How Women Are!'

by Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb, Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Bat

by Stephen Vincent Benét, Avery Hopwood, Mary Roberts Rinehart

Dangerous Days

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Tenting To-night

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Bab: A Sub-Deb

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

A Poor Wise Man

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Where There's a Will

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Long Live the King!

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Confession

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Window at the White Cat

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Street of Seven Stars

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Man in Lower Ten

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Sight Unseen

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

When a Man Marries

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

K

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Case of Jennie Brice

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Amazing Interlude

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The After House

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Kings, Queens and Pawns: An American Woman at the Front

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Love Stories

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

More Tish

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Tish plays the game

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Through Glacier Park: Seeing America First with Howard Eaton

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Tish : The chronicle of her escapades and excursions

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Truce of God

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Affinities, and Other Stories

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Twenty-three and a half hours' leave

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Altar of Freedom

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Why I Believe in Scouting for Girls

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

About the author

Born in Pittsburgh in 1876, Mary Roberts Rinehart trained as a nurse before turning to writing. She began publishing fiction in the early 1900s and quickly became one of the best-known and best-selling American authors of her era.

She is especially remembered for mystery and suspense novels such as The Circular Staircase and for helping popularize a fast-moving, clue-filled style that influenced later detective fiction. She also wrote plays, including The Bat, and worked as a journalist, reporting from Europe during wartime.

Rinehart kept writing for decades and remained a major literary figure until her death in 1958. Her work mixed tension, humor, and everyday detail in a way that still feels inviting to readers who enjoy classic mysteries.