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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In Tinkletown, every small mystery deserves a great detective—and Anderson Crow is certain he is that man.
Anderson Crow wears his marshal’s badge with pride. In the dusty streets of Tinkletown, he guards both his neighbors and his good name. A missing object, odd behavior, or a stranger’s arrival is enough to stir his detective instincts. Crow sees a great case where others might see an ordinary village puzzle.
George Barr McCutcheon surrounds his confident lawman with shopkeepers, loafers, rivalries, and gossip that travels from porch to porch. Everyone knows everyone, and a crime becomes the biggest news of the season. The pleasure lies less in serious detection than in watching Crow’s grand opinion of himself meet the daily life of a small Midwestern town.
What you’ll discover
- A marshal with confidence Meet a proud protector whose belief in his own brilliance supplies the comedy.
- Small puzzles loom large Watch everyday mysteries become important cases in the eyes of an eager lawman.
- Neighbors worth knowing Enjoy a town where gossip, rivalries, shopkeepers, and loafers matter as much as detection.
- Humor with a light touch Find gentle laughs in the gap between Crow’s confidence and his actual cleverness.
- Life beyond the badge Step into dusty streets where a mystery gives the whole town something to discuss.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy gentle small-town humor, bumbling heroes with big opinions, quick comic dialogue, and neighbors who gossip, scheme and rush toward every bit of excitement.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Crow brings confidence to a crisis
- Eva sees what Crow misses
- A false order changes wedding plans
- Flattery opens the way to deception
- The election changes authority at home
- Fear of ridicule drives an investigation
- Private suspicion becomes a public concern
- Ordinary wishes produce extraordinary alarms
- Vanity lives beside a kind heart
Who’s who
- Anderson CrowThe old town marshal of Tinkletown, covered in badges, who longs to be a famous detective and turns every puzzle into a spy plot.
- Eva CrowHis practical wife, who learns to drive in secret, wins the marshal's job from a rival, and often solves what he cannot.
- Harry SquiresThe city editor of the Banner, who loves to tease Crow in print and sometimes plans the pranks himself.
- Alf ReeslingThe town drunk who has not touched liquor in years, and who tags along as Crow's loyal, grumbling deputy.
- Lucius FryA small well digger who becomes the terror of Power-house Gully and hopes nobody learns his real secret.
- Deacon RankThe thrifty church leader who owns a rattling car, hoards his money, and makes cider he should not.
- Eliphalet LoopAn elderly farmer with five mothers-in-law who sues his fifth wife for divorce and hopes never to learn the name of her visitor.
- Minnie StitzenbergThe outspoken singer who runs against the marshal when women win the vote in Tinkletown.
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Anderson Crow, Detective
by George Barr McCutcheon · 1920
A town marshal with seven badges chases spies, robbers and a veiled lady while the local editor laughs.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“What is home without a father!”
In short
Picture a small New York town at half past ten on a May night in 1918. The fire bell rings, a grain elevator burns, and the town marshal arrives late and out of breath.
Anderson Crow, Detective at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 55 min3 h 55 min fast, 5 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 70,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1920by George Barr McCutcheon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A burning warehouse and an empty jail cell
On the night of May 6, 1918, Smock's grain elevator is on fire, and the wind threatens two churches, the high school and both movie theaters. Anderson Crow, deputy marshal and deputy fire chief, arrives late and shouts through a trumpet. His wife Eva holds the real offices, but she would not get out of bed.
A hand pump sends one thin stream into a blaze as big as a hill. When the front wall begins to bulge, Crow orders everyone to fall back, women first, and then follows the fleeing crowd himself. Asked what he can deduce, he announces that he holds secret proof of German agents.
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Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
McCutcheon, George Barr. Anderson Crow, Detective. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/anderson-crow-detective.
McCutcheon, G. B. (2026). Anderson Crow, detective. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anderson-crow-detective (Original work published 1920)
McCutcheon, George Barr. Anderson Crow, Detective. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anderson-crow-detective.
@book{mccutcheon2026anderson,
author = {McCutcheon, George Barr},
title = {Anderson Crow, Detective},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anderson-crow-detective},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is Anderson Crow, Detective about?
It follows Anderson Crow, the old marshal of the village of Tinkletown, through a series of comic cases. He chases robbers, spies, a veiled lady and a divorce mystery, while his town and newspaper editor look on and laugh.
Who is Harry Squires in Anderson Crow, Detective?
Harry Squires is the city editor and reporter of the Tinkletown Banner. He loves to tease Crow and calls him Hawkshaw, but he also praises him in print, and he often plans the pranks that drive the stories.
When was Anderson Crow, Detective written and is it true?
George Barr McCutcheon wrote it as comic fiction that includes events during the First World War in 1917 and 1918. The village, its people and the cases are invented, though the war, the draft and prohibition are real background.
The author
George Barr McCutcheon
1866–1928 · American novelist
George Barr McCutcheon was an American novelist born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, in 1866. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Lafayette, Indiana. His novels include Graustark, published in 1901, and Brewster’s Millions, published in 1902 under the name Richard Greaves. He died in New York City in 1928.
“What is home without a father!”
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