Library's review
Her motivations for inviting Laura is to strong-arm her into selling the house to her, so she can leave it to her "adopted" daughter, Tanis Lyle, a cousin Laura has only recently met and doesn't much like. Other new friends are part of the country weekend, all of them with complicated connections to Tanis, so when the young woman turns up dead one morning, fingers point in all sorts of directions ...
One of the reasons I really liked this one is that Miss Silver was much more involved in the plot. She is an acquaintance of Aunt Agnes and also a guest in the house on the murder weekend. I got a strong Miss Marple vibe from this one, as Miss Silver is constantly knitting and eavesdropping and being ignored as a useless old lady. Meanwhile, the police officer assigned to the case (whom we met in [In the Balance]) is a former charge of the former governess and has a healthy respect for Miss Silver's detecting abilities. I don't mean to imply that Patricia Wentworth was copying Agatha Christie or vice versa, but they both do a great deal to emphasize that old does not mean useless.
This being a Wentworth "mystery", there is a semi-ridiculous romantic element that of course ends happily. It's silly but doesn't detract from the mystery plot or the overall strong pacing, plotting, and writing in this one. My favorite Miss Silver to date, for sure.
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Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In this classic British mystery starring a sleuth "who has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot," Miss Silver investigates a murder that may have its roots in a new romanceā??or an old family feud (Manchester Evening News). An amateur who happened on a career in theater, Tanis Lyle has just finished filming her first motion picture. The young woman has electric charm, and seems to hypnotize all who meet herā??including Laura Fane, a distant cousin who, because of a long-standing family feud, has never been allowed to meet her glamorous relative. But while all of London seems to love Tanis, her powerful effect on men causes some to despise her. And when the actress's life is cut short by an unknown hand, investigator Miss Maud Silver will have to hunt for a killer.… (more)