Part mystery, part parody, The Birth of M.E. Meegs is the first Emmie Reese short story. Set in Brooklyn at the turn of the 20th century, this story follows Emmie Reese, an aspiring journalist with a peculiar outlook on life and a poor understanding of currency exchange rates. Our heroine becomes involved with a death in the English county of Lancashire when one of her stories is found in the dead man's pocket. Over several months-while pursuing her career, visiting a literary sweat shop, and doing some unusual freelance work at the racetrack-she solves the case through transatlantic correspondence with Scotland Yard.

Part mystery, part parody, Hidden Booty is the second Emmie Reese short story. Finding themselves short of money at a fin de siècle French resort town, Harry and Emmie take on the job of finding a missing shipment of gold. Emmie bargains to identify the culprits before their ship reaches New York. And that’s not all she wagers on….

In this, the third Emmie Reese mystery short story, our heroine is confronted by four separate mysteries, the final one involving a murder in her own home. Emmie is an ambitious young writer who attempts to resurrect a literary magazine in an effort to promote her work. And though the story takes place in 1902, she faces many of the same obstacles young writers of today face-though few of her modern counterparts need worry about vengeful countesses.