“It is only a guilty person who can afford to be silent. The investigation of a murder is always handicapped by the fact that so many people have something which they would prefer to hide.” — Miss Silver, to Susan


The return of James Reardon’s nephew, Edward, a man who had been thought dead, to the tranquil, picturesque English village of Greenings, is the catalyst for two murders in this cozy and involving Miss Silver mystery. Greenings is a quaint village which hasn’t yet been swallowed up by the larger town of Embanks. Retaining its Vicarage, and the quaint watersplash on Halfpenny Lane, there is something rustic about the place. But Edward’s return, and the inheritance he did not receive, will send quiet shockwaves throughout the village, leading to not one murder, but two:

“No. A watersplash is not usually deep enough to drown anyone. If a man and a girl manage to bring it off on two successive Fridays, the long arm of coincidence would seem to be doing a record stretch, and when both the man and the girl are mixed up with a missing will — well, it does begin to look as if someone has been busy.” — Inspector Frank Abbott, to Miss Maud Silver

Wentworth is always marvelous in creating atmosphere. She imbues Greenings with the cozy English village lifestyle, then gradually shows the reader the turmoil beneath the genteel tranquility. So successfully does she immerse us in the events surrounding Edward’s return, including the lovely Susan, whose yearning for Edward goes way back, we scarcely notice it isn’t until chapter thirteen that Miss Silver is introduced into this story of unexplained death, missing wills, blackmail, and unrequited love.

It is one of the wonderful things about Wentworth’s Miss Silver series that she made the aged, ever-knitting, gentle yet observant Miss Silver so unobtrusive. They really aren’t “Miss Silver mysteries” in the same way that Christie wrote Miss Marple mysteries. They are more Wentworth mysteries of English village life, in which Miss Silver eventually appears and helps solve the goings on — usually with Inspector Frank Abbott’s help. Invariably, Miss Silver, who seemed to have friends and relatives everywhere, would find someone she could visit near the scene of the crime. Due to her unobtrusive and kind demeanor, villagers would confide both gossip and facts to Miss Silver which they would not the police, who were outsiders.

Not only does Miss Silver not enter the picture until chapter thirteen, but it isn’t until chapter twenty-two that she heads for Greenings. She suspects someone is trying to profit from the first murder, perhaps through blackmail, and implores the person to reveal to her what they know, before it is too late. And then it is too late, and the watersplash has claimed a second victim. To the consternation of Susan, everything keeps pointing to Edward, who had much to gain. She eventually realizes that the Miss Silver who has come to stay in Greenings, is Miss Maude Silver, the detective. And she seeks her help, unbeknownst to Edward. That sets the wheels in motion for an exciting conclusion. As with most of the Miss Silver books, the romance doesn’t reach its zenith until the case is wrapped up.

This is a good, solid entry in the series, which showcases Wentworth’s ability to set the table for murder, and then slowly get to the bottom of it all. On the romance side, I liked Susan much more than Edward in this one, so didn’t find it quite as charming as some of the others. All in all, however, a very solid English village mystery cozy firmly rooted in the Golden Age of crime fiction. One person who had experience observing Miss Silver work on another case, put it this way:

“She mightn’t have been there at all for all the notice she got. She just goes back to her 15 Montague Mansions and keeps knitting until another case comes up.” ( )