In 1993 I read 111 books and was pretty well addicted to crime fiction by then.
This is #4 in Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series. Published in 1941, it was also titled IN THE BALANCE.The series began in 1928 with the publication of GREY MASK. The final title, #32, published in 1961, was THE GIRL IN THE CELLAR.
Patricia Wentworth, a British author, lived 1878-1961.
Miss Silver is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. Miss Silver is a retired governess who becomes a private detective. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott. She is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.
Miss Silver is well known in the better circles of society, and she finds entree to the troubled households of the upper classes with little difficulty. In most of Miss Silver's cases there is a young couple whose romance seems ill fated because of the murder to be solved, but in Miss Silver's competent hands the case is solved, the young couple are exonerated, and all is right in this very traditional world. See Wikipedia.
Most of the Miss Silver titles appear to be available on Amazon for Kindle, although generally for $11.80 each which in my terms is a bit pricey. You'll probably find some in your local library.
Synopsis
Miss Silver is returning from holiday when a distraught young woman enters her carriage.
Beautiful society heiress Lisle Jerningham confides that she believes her husband Dale is trying to kill her. An overheard conversation and a near-tragic accident have convinced her that her life is in danger.
Lisle returns to Tanfield Court, unsettled by her suspicions and then by another accident. But it's when a young woman from the local village is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, that she really begins to fear for her life. It's a good thing that Miss Silver is on hand..
This is one of two Miss Silvers that I've not been able to get as ebooks, and keep forgetting to look in the library. The price has gone up hugely (and disgracefully, I think) since I bought my kindle copies 2 years ago - then they were about US7.40.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time remembering details about books I read that long ago, unless they were pretty impactful. I might go back to some old reads for FFB, but I bet I'll have to re-read them.
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