The Amethyst Box

"The Amethyst Box" by Anna Katharine Green is a mystery novel that presents a tense situation brewing on the eve of a wedding, where love, jealousy, and hidden secrets threaten to turn a happy event into tragedy. The story revolves around Sinclair, a nervous groom, his supportive best man Walter, and Dorothy Camerden, the object of Walter's affection, as they are caught up in a puzzle surrounding a vial of potent poison. As the novel begins on the night before Sinclair's wedding, he tells Walter about a missing vial of deadly poison that disappeared after he showed it to the ladies. Sinclair suspects either his future wife, Gilbertine, or Walter's love, Dorothy, of taking it. The search for the truth creates feelings of suspense and fear while testing their morals, as they face the unknown and nerve-racking consequences of one crucial moment.