Having moved to London, Haynes lived with her good friend Ada-Heather Bigg for a number of years. Details of Haynes' early life are sparse, although it is known that she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis beginning in her late twenties and she often needed to use a wheelchair. She began contributing stories and articles to newspapers in the early 1920s and began producing crime novels to great public acclaim. In 1923, she published The Bungalow Mystery which was well-received. She invented the characters of inspectors Furnival and Stoddart of Scotland Yard. At the time, Haynes was considered one of the best crime detection novelists and a rival of Agatha Christie. It is regrettable that her works were out of print by the 1930s, and she was largely ignored until now. Her final novel, The Crystal Beads Murder, was completed by a friend and published posthumously in 1930. Haynes died of heart failure probably exacerbated by her debilitating arthritis. Her works include The Abbey Court Murder (1923), The Secret of Greylands (1924), The Witness on the Road (1925), The Blue Diamond (1925), The House in Charlton Crescent (1926), Who Killed Charmian Karslake? (1926), The Master of the Priory (1927), The Crows Inn Tragedy (1927), The Man With the Dark Beard (1928) and The Crime at Tattenham Corner (1929). |
