The Dead Letter, written by Seeley Regester, published by Beadle & Company, 1867.

The Dead Letter, written by Seeley Regester in 1866, is generally acknowledged as the first detective novel published in America. Seeley Regester was one of many pseudonyms utilized by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor. Metta was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and married Orville J. Victor in 1856. Orville Victor was an editor with Beadle and Company, a New York City publishing company, where he managed the successful development of the "Dime Novel." As it turns out, Metta wrote more than a hundred dime novels. She also raised nine children. Metta died in Hohokus Township, New Jersey on June 26, 1886 at the age of fifty-four.

The Dead Letter is more than a murder mystery—it's also a love story. A young woman named Eleanor Argyll, daughter of a successful New York City attorney, is engaged to marry Henry Moreland. Motivated by jealousy and financial gain, an acquaintance arranges Moreland's murder. A young man named Richard Redfield, who works in the law firm of Eleanor's father, sets out to solve the crime but without success. Years later, he belatedly uncovers a "dead letter" from the Post Office which offers hints as to the identity of the perpetrator—hence the title of the book. Redfield then reaches out to Detective Burton who provides revealing insights into the resolution of the investigation with the help of his precocious daughter who is a psychic.

With the plot thus established, the author engages in the full deployment of her irrefutable story telling skills with special emphasis on dialogue, settings, descriptions, and, most conspicuously in this instance, the unmitigated emotional distress exhibited by virtually every character in the novel. The end result is that the reader can't help but be moved by the narrative flow and the outcome of the story. That being the case … if The Dead Letter is considered to be the first American detective novel … it set the bar mighty high.