They See in Darkness

by Ethel Lina White

Oldtown is a picturesque, historic place, with a square of characterful houses nestling at its centre, and is home to retired colonial masters and friendly locals. A wealthy, reclusive sisterhood lives there too, in a large mansion, Cloisters; a group known locally as the 'Black Nuns', who are said to have extraordinary healing powers.But a killer is at work in Oldtown, and a series of murders has thrown the inhabitants into blind, unreasoning terror, a fear of darkness and of strange sounds - sounds such as the pitiless beat of following footsteps. Suddenly the town is plunged into a miasma of fear and superstition ...

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Ethel Lina White was a British crime writer, best known for her novel The Wheel Spins (1936), on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes (1938), was based, and Some Must Watch (1933), on which the film The Spiral Staircase (1946) was based.

Born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1876, White started writing as a child, contributing essays and poems to children's papers. Later she began to write short stories, but it was some years before she wrote books.

She left employment in a government job working for the Ministry of Pensions in order to pursue writing. Her writing was to make her one of the best known crime writers in Britain and the USA during the 1930s and '40s.

Her first three works, published between 1927 and 1930, were mainstream novels. Her first crime novel, published in 1931, was Put Out the Light. Although she has now faded into obscurity, in her day she was as well known as such writers like Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie.

She died in London in 1944 aged 68. Her works have enjoyed a revival in recent years with a stage adaptation of The Lady Vanishes touring the UK in 2001 and the BBC broadcast of an abridged version on BBC Radio 4 as well as a TV adaptation by the BBC in 2013.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was introduced to Welsh-born Ethel Lina White through the BLCC short story collections, but this is the first novel I've read by her - the final book of her career. This is a very eerie mystery, with more deaths than an early Midsomer Murders episode. Oldtown becomes the scene of series of killings, with the legatees of Josiah Key's will apparently being taken out one by one. And there are some creepy nuns in the area too.

In her short stories, I was gripped by Ethel Lina White's ability to create and sustain a menacing atmosphere, and the same skill is on display here, as the remaining legatees wait to see "Who's next." The ending is a bit abrupt and some of the characters are not very distinct, but otherwise it's a very good, riveting, suspense-filled mystery.

[Atram_sinprisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Última novela de Ethel Lina White, dejando el pabellón bien alto.
Los herederos de la familia Key recibirán una cuantiosa herencia cuando sus parientes fallezcan. Pero, ¿por qué esperar a que la naturaleza cumpla su trabajo si podemos hacerlo nosotros mismos? Uno a uno, varios Key irán siendo asesinados, viendo los que sobreviven cómo se va estrechando el círculo en torno a ellos.
Intriga por todo lo alto a lo largo de la novela, sospechas constantes sobre quién será el asesino, traiciones, engaños. Una novela magnífica para cerrar la bibliografía de una autora que merece mucho ser rescatada.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not one of White's better books. Characters were confusingly alike, and the solution to the mystery worked only because of a huge plot hole.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review click the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/2025/...