August 7, 2007 at 1:47 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Mystery and Suspense
78. Latter End by Patricia Wentworth (Mystery) 346 p.
Jimmy Latter’s marriage to widow Lois Doubleday has always made his family unhappy. He may put her on a pedestal, but everyone else hates her, so when she’s poisoned, there are no shortage of suspects. Luckily, Miss Silver is there to unravel the mystery.
Once again, nothing much to say—Patricia Wentworth’s books, while enjoyable, are too alike to inspire much commentary. Apparently some of her professional reviewers agree with me: Mary Stewart (whoever she may be) finds Miss Silver Intervenes to be “very well written” and The Brading Collection to be “certainly very well-written”, which amused me. I figured out whodunnit halfway through this novel, but it didn’t spoil the book for me.
Books read: 78/100 (78%)
Pages read: 23,558/25,000 (94%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Miss Silver, Patricia Wentworth
August 6, 2007 at 9:39 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Mystery and Suspense
77. Miss Silver Intervenes by Patricia Wentworth (Mystery) 326 p.
When Mrs. Underwood finds herself in trouble, she approaches Miss Silver for help, but declines to take her advice. Meanwhile, her niece Meade’s fiancé, Major Giles Armitage, thought to be drowned at sea, reappears with amnesia. And Carola Roland, the girl in the upstairs flat, makes troublesome claims about their past together. When Carola is murdered, Giles is the prime suspect—but he was only one among many who wanted her dead.
I don’t have much to say about this book. All of Patricia’s Wentworth’s mysteries are much the same in tone. This one was no different: romance between two couples, some pleasant people wrongly accused of murder, as well as some rather unpleasant people, Miss Silver at her governessy best, prim and proper and entirely anachronistic, even for the early 40’s.
Books read: 77/100 (77%)
Pages read: 23,212/25,000 (93%)
Today’s happy thought: I found some crab dip at the grocery store that I’m excited to try.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Miss Silver, Patricia Wentworth
July 21, 2007 at 12:54 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Mystery and Suspense
66. The Brading Collection by Patricia Wentworth (Mystery) 355 p.
When Lewis Brading, a man obsessed with his collection of famous jewels (all with sinister associations with scandal and murder), is found dead, Miss Silver is called in. She had rejected a case from Mr. Brading only weeks before, but this time she takes up the case.
Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver mysteries tend to be of much the same type and quality: a sympathetic romantic pair, some unpleasant friends and relations of the deceased, and a very unpleasant murderer or two. The Brading Collection is no exception. There’s nothing remotely challenging in it, just a cozy British mystery with a hint of romance: fluffy comfort reading.
Books read: 66/100 (66%)
Pages read: 19,652/25,000 (79%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Miss Silver, Patricia Wentworth
June 15, 2007 at 12:00 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Mystery and Suspense
57. The Silent Pool by Patricia Wentworth (Mystery) 205 p.
One of Patricia Wentworth’s many Miss Silver mysteries. They’re pretty formulaic, and none of them are particularly great, but they’re all comforting and familiar, even the ones I’ve never read before, like this one.
When Adriana Ford suspects that someone is attempting to kill her, she goes to Miss Maud Silver for help. Miss Silver, a retired governess, is an unlikely private enquiry agent, but she always gets the job done.
Inspector Frank Abbott in moments of irreverence declared that his esteemed Chief suspected “Maudie” of powers alarmingly akin to witchcraft—but then it is notorious that this brilliant officer sometimes allows himself to talk in a very extravagant manner.
Patricia Wentworth’s mysteries have a lot in common with Agatha Christie’s, with their focus on the mystery and its solution, rather than on the development of the recurring characters.
Books read: 57/100 (57%)
Pages read: 16,810/25,000 (67%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Miss Silver, Patricia Wentworth
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