Mary Roberts Rinehart 
Case of Jennie Brice 

In this classic mystery from "American Agatha Christie" Mary Roberts Rinehart, a terrible crime unfolds amidst the worst possible circumstances — devastating flooding that has incapacitated the city of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. When a boarding-house operator finds some damning clues amidst the detritus of the flood, she infers that a murder has been committed and sets out to solve the case.