Helen Reilly (1891-1962) was an American novelist. She was born Helen Kieran and grew up in New York City in a literary family. Her brother, James Kieran, also wrote a mystery, and two of her daughters, Ursula Curtiss and Mary McMullen, were mystery writers.

Reilly wrote police procedurals based on the New York Homicide squad. Her most popular character is Inspector Christopher McKee, who featured in 28 books. Reilly also used the pseudonym Kieran Abbey and wrote some stand-alone crime fiction.

The Farmhouse (Random House, 1947) is 18^th in the McKee series. It starts easily enough, with Nell Shevlin reconnecting with friends from whom she had been separated during the war. They were living outside the city of New York in Dutchess County, where Nell grew up and the family farm was situated. Nell’s great love was killed during the fighting, and she is wrestling with a proposal from a friend whom she likes well enough but she isn’t sure her feelings about him are adequate for marriage. The chance meeting with Lollie and Wick Fellows led to an invitation to visit, and Nell decided to stay at her family’s farmhouse to consider her future and to spend time with her old friends.

The farmhouse is in sad disarray, heavy with dust and filled with faded, worn furniture. The last tenant had left quite a mess. Reilly’s description of the isolated run-down place is foreboding. But Nell summons a cleaning lady from the village and they clear the place enough to make it livable. The obliging help leaves for the day and hours later someone shoots at Nell, standing in the front yard, and then a short time later, shoots at her again, sitting in the brightly lit dining room in front of a window. Thus begins a series of odd events and surprise visitors which culminates in the discovery of a body in a shallow grave near the tracks of the railroad that no longer runs.

The local sheriff learned the victim was from New York City and was known to be staying in the area. An inquiry of the New York City police yielded the information that the dead man was a private investigator known to dabble in blackmail, and Inspector McKee joined the investigation as the man’s death was quite possibly due to his illicit activities in the city.

A story full of complicated relationships, misunderstandings, and old grudges, as much psychological thriller as police procedural. Nell’s insistence on staying at the remote old house alone, especially after someone has shot at her, is fantastic to me. Years ago I read an early title in the series that focused on technical forensics and I see little of that scientific approach in this book. Reilly’s descriptions of the isolated farmhouse are positively chilling, reminiscent of authors such as Dorothy B. Hughes, Celia Fremlin, and Patricia Highsmith. For fans of mid-century suspense.