The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886) A body is discovered in a hansom cab in this mystery novel written more than a century ago and set in Australia. The novel is more than a dime-store detective novel, however, is also an exploration into the social classes that divide the city. Upon publication, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was so successful it outsold the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, A Study in Scarlet.