Miss Hinch

Henry Sydnor Harrison’s murder mystery “Miss Hinch” is a short story that debuted in McClure’s Magazine in 1911. Harrison was an American novelist, short story author, and journalist from Sewanee, Tennessee, who was born in 1880. The story follows two crafty women through chilly New York streets. Gossip about Miss Hinch, an actress-turned-murderess, pulses through the city as she remains on the run. She uses her skill with costume to evade capture while being chased by famed sleuth Jessie Dark, a female crime journalist who is adept at tracking down women criminals. As the narrative develops, the story considers themes like The Role of Women, Paranoia and Suspicion, and Good Versus Evil.

The story opens with two strangers circling each other on the sleet-dampened streets of New York City near midnight. The strangers—a bearded clergyman who has a limp and walks with a cane and an elderly woman with a hat—board the same subway car. Few travelers are in the car due to the time and the weather. The woman soon engages the clergyman in conversation by asking for his newspaper. Their discussion quickly becomes heated, and the other passengers are eventually drawn into it.