Sunday, December 28, 2014

Love and murder at the Priory

The Chinese Shawl, Patricia Wentworth

I waited out my turn in the library queue for a much-hyped new mystery, set at an English seaside hotel in the 1930s.  I lost interest in it about half-way through, though I did flip to the end to find out who the murderer was.  It left me in the mood for a real Golden Age detective story, so I turned to the Miss Silver section of the TBR shelves.  The Chinese Shawl, published in 1943, is one of the first that I found when I began looking for her books, earlier this year.

The story is set in motion when Laura Fane comes up to London just before her 21st birthday. There she meets some distant cousins for the first time, including Tanis Lyle, a femme fatale well-known for appropriating other women's fiancés and even husbands.  An orphan like Laura, she was raised by an older cousin, Agnes Fane, who lives on the family's country estate, the Priory.  Another umarried cousin, Lucy Adams, lives there as well. Laura's father was once engaged to Agnes, and when he jilted her for Laura's mother, it created a breach in the family.  Laura technically owns the Priory, which Agnes rents from her, but she has never seen it.  Now that she is coming of age, Agnes wants to buy it from her.  As part of her campaign, she invites Laura down to the Priory.  Tanis will be there with a party that includes her latest victim Alastair, his almost-fiancée Petra, and a young man who has just gotten over Tanis, Carey Desborough.  Agnes is convinced that Carey and Tanis are about to announce their engagement, when in fact he and Laura have fallen in love at first sight.  Fortunately for everyone in this tense situation, an old school-friend of Cousin Lucy's is also staying at the Priory: Miss Maud Silver.

In the Miss Silver books that I have read so far, it has been pretty easy to spot the future victim(s).  I have also noticed that sardonic young men, particularly if they are in love, are never the murderers, no matter how good a motive they may seem to have.  The household staff are usually in the clear as well.  But that can still leave a wide field of suspects, and here again I had no idea until the end who done it.  I will say that there is a passage in this book that gave me the cold shivers, and made me wish I wasn't reading it late at night.  While enjoyable as mysteries, none of her other stories has built to that level of suspense.  To balance that, this was  easily the most romantic of her books that I have read, with Laura and Carey's rather sweet courtship, carried out under difficult circumstances.  There are other couples as well, who must deal with the damage that Tanis has done to their relationships.

This was a tricky little story, and I enjoyed it very much.  I am glad to have a few more Miss Silver stories on the TBR shelves, to carry me through the Double Dog Dare.

14 comments:

  1. I'm glad you found a mystery you enjoyed after the disappointment of the much-hyped one! I still haven't read any of the Miss Silver books and wondering where to start. Are there any you would particularly recommend from the ones you've read so far?

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    1. I really enjoyed the first one I read, The Clock Strikes Twelve, from 1944. But I think The Watersplash is my favorite so far (from 1951).

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  2. I'm so pleased you enjoyed this one, because I have a copy in hand. I may have to give up on seres order if Miss Silver calls me I the next few months, but I'm not sure it matters too much.

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    1. I don't think the order does matter much in reading these, Jane - despite the frequent references to previous cases. I have the third one, Lonesome Road (1939), but I haven't found the first two yet.

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  3. A recommendation from you (and Jane) is all I need! Even with all the series I already follow I'm always happy to discover a new one..I'm kind of surprised that I've missed this one. :) BTW, I have How to Be a Victorian from the library too! Happy New Year, Lisa!

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    1. Audrey, I think you'd enjoy Miss Silver! With How To Be a Victorian, all the facts were starting to feel a bit overwhelming, so I set it aside for a while, to read a Victorian instead :)

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    2. I was overwhelmed by How to be a Victorian too, so I gave the library back its copy and bought one to keep when it came out in paperback so that I can work my way through in my own time.

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    3. Jane, I put How To Be a Victorian on my Christmas wish list. I didn't get it, but I do have a bookstore gift card - and in the meantime, I still have it from the library (for another month).

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  4. I can't believe I've never read any of this series, not even during my Golden Age era obsession back in my teens. I am very curious about them now and will have to give one a go. I think I know which book you lost interest in - I was wondering if it was any good.

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    1. Anbolyn, I don't know how I missed her either - and then I had the author confused with Patricia Highsmith of the Ripley books. The other one is the Brightwell book. It got great reviews, and blurbs from a couple of my favorite authors, but it didn't work for me.

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  5. I wonder how she selected the names she gives her female characters - they are always incredibly exotic (at least to me!). OK, maybe not Laura, but Tanis... - when I google it turns out to be a town in Egypt, or of Spanish or Slavic origin as a name. It seems to suit so well, whatever the derivation!

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    1. It sounded familiar to me, like I'd read it somewhere. I thought Tanis was the name of the White Queen in CS Lewis's books, but when I checked, it's Jadis.

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  6. How have I missed out on these books? Luckily I have your blog to read! :) This mystery sounds like a lot of fun. And you say there are more? My TBR list grows and grows. :) Hope you have a Happy New Year...can't wait to chat with you again in 2015.

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    1. Lark, we all seem to be discovering her this year! I owe my own introduction to Katrina at Pining for the West. And oh yes, there are *lots* more Miss Silver books - and those she wrote without her (about which I know nothing, yet ;)

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!