In "The House in the Mist," weary traveler Hugh Austin arrives, seeking food and lodging for the night. "Enter, sir; you are the first to arrive, but the others can not be far behind," he is told. "What others?" he wonders, gazing at a stern portrait hanging on the wall. He finds he has chanced upon the gathering of friends and relatives of the man in the portrait. An inheritance is to be divided, all concerned must be present by the appointed hour. And this inheritance is so substantial that violence, murder, and vengeance from beyond the grave all await among the heirs. Anna Katharine Green was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. She is credited with shaping detective fiction into its classic form, and developing the series detective.