The Silent Pool

A retired stage actress visits Miss Silver in disguise (seen right through by our sharp-eyed governess-cum-detective, of course). Adriana Ford thinks someone in her ragtag extended family may be trying to kill her for her money — there's been a fall on the stairs, a possibly poisoned soup, and a suspicious medicine tablet. After spilling all this to Miss Silver, the actress decides she's being overly dramatic and declines Miss Silver's help. But after the first body shows up, she puts in a call to our Maudie to come sort things out.

I'd gotten used to Miss Silver not showing up until perhaps the middle of a book or even later, so it was a surprise to see her right there in the first sentence this time. That fact, combined with a rather show more lengthy bit of exposition in the first chapter that brings readers up to speed on Miss Silver's backstory, makes me think this book was seen as a chance to hook some new readers into the Tribe of Maudie. If you're one of those people who don't feel the need to start a series at the beginning, this could be a good one to begin with. But surely you wouldn't do that, would you?

Anyway, the story is a good one. There's a satisfying surfeit of suspects and some pleasant characters to root for, though this book further confirms my theory that Wentworth had much more fun writing terrible people than she did nice ones. Her villains are always just so delightfully villainous!

I'm feeling a little melancholy as we approach the end of the series (this is Book 25 of 32), but I'm pleased that each outing remains remarkably strong even this far along in the series. show less

After a disappointing first in the series, I thought to try this later one, and it's much, much better. A complicated plot, an old English house in the semi-grand manner, a tiny village, a couple of nifty murders, lots of gossip, convenient witnesses all unravelled by Miss Silver in a most satisfying way, and all explained, so that she doesn't seem to have done magic.

This is one of a long series of country house mysteries featuring the governess-turned-private detective Maud Silver. They are formulaic but enjoyably so. The main flaw I find is the introduction of Miss Silver in every book, in almost identical wording each time. Perhaps I should just think of those sections as the opening credits. The invented Home County of Ledshire does seem to have a remarkably high murder rate; this book set in the household of a wealthy and faintly scandalous former actress is no exception.

http://rmc28.dreamwidth.org/466356.html

Not one of the best in the Miss Silver series but still a quick and fun read.

Not one of the best in the Miss Silver series but still a quick and fun read.