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The Dower House Mystery
In this atmospheric tale from the author of the Miss Silver Mysteries, a widow is reunited with her girlhood love in a house haunted by all-too-human ghosts They meet again in the dusk of a ruined garden. Amabel Grey hasn’t laid eyes on Julian Forsham in twenty years, not since she gave him up—the man she’d fallen passionately in love with—for the fiancé who needed her. Now an unexpected circumstance brings the British widow and the world-famous scientist together again. Amabel’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Daphne, has been invited to join her friends—and the boy she adores—on a trip to Egypt. But she needs two hundred pounds from her mother. George Forsham is offering that exact sum to anyone willing to stay six months at Dower House, the centuries-old estate in the English countryside where Amabel and Julian first met. The fact that the overgrown, sadly neglected house is rumored to be haunted doesn’t deter Amabel. Until strange things start happening . . . The mewing of a cat that doesn’t exist, the sound of flapping wings, someone crying in the dark. Are restless spirits walking the night? Or is there a rational explanation? Plunged into deadly danger, Amabel could lose her second chance with the man she never stopped loving.
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1925
907 people are currently reading
929 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Wentworth
162 books523 followersPatricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles--was a British crime fiction writer.
She was educated privately and at Blackheath High School in London. After the death of her first husband, George F. Dillon, in 1906, she settled in Camberley, Surrey. She married George Oliver Turnbull in 1920 and they had one daughter.
She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver, the first of which was published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.
Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.
Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series.
She was educated privately and at Blackheath High School in London. After the death of her first husband, George F. Dillon, in 1906, she settled in Camberley, Surrey. She married George Oliver Turnbull in 1920 and they had one daughter.
She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver, the first of which was published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.
Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.
Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
May 5, 2020
The Dower House by Patricia Wentworth is a 2016 Open Road Media publication. (Originally published in 1925)
I love Golden Age Mysteries!
This is a stand- alone mystery- not a part of the Miss Silver series- by Wentworth. Amabel Grey’s rather spoiled daughter, Daphne, shovels on the guilt, demanding that Amabel raise the funds for a trip she’s desperate to take. Determined to get the money, Amabel agrees to spend six months at 'Dower House' to help dispel stubborn rumors that the house is haunted. Will she manage to stay for the duration?
I’m sure that over the years I have read a few books by Patricia Wentworth, but it would have been long, long time ago, and I don’t have any memory of them. I’ve been piecing together the ‘Miss Silver’ mysteries for a while, hoping to read through the series from start to finish. This book, however, is not a part of that series. Truth be told, I stumbled across it while browsing through the Kindle Unlimited books at Amazon.
This was such a fun mystery! Amabel is reunited with the real love of her life after many years, but her life could be in real danger- but from whom? And Why?
There are plenty of atmospheric chills and thrills, as well as a sweet love story, and lots of intrigue. The story wasn’t one hundred percent perfect, as it may have carried on a little longer than necessary, but other than that, it was quite entertaining!!
As always, I feel compelled to give thanks to Open Road Media for reissuing so many wonderful classic mysteries in digital format. Finding these books can be a bit of a chore, and can be costly, if you are looking for print copies. Not only that, it is much easier on my eyes if I can read them on my Kindle.
I’m really looking forward to reading through the "Miss Silver" series and will be on the lookout for more stand -alone novels by this author.
4 stars
I love Golden Age Mysteries!
This is a stand- alone mystery- not a part of the Miss Silver series- by Wentworth. Amabel Grey’s rather spoiled daughter, Daphne, shovels on the guilt, demanding that Amabel raise the funds for a trip she’s desperate to take. Determined to get the money, Amabel agrees to spend six months at 'Dower House' to help dispel stubborn rumors that the house is haunted. Will she manage to stay for the duration?
I’m sure that over the years I have read a few books by Patricia Wentworth, but it would have been long, long time ago, and I don’t have any memory of them. I’ve been piecing together the ‘Miss Silver’ mysteries for a while, hoping to read through the series from start to finish. This book, however, is not a part of that series. Truth be told, I stumbled across it while browsing through the Kindle Unlimited books at Amazon.
This was such a fun mystery! Amabel is reunited with the real love of her life after many years, but her life could be in real danger- but from whom? And Why?
There are plenty of atmospheric chills and thrills, as well as a sweet love story, and lots of intrigue. The story wasn’t one hundred percent perfect, as it may have carried on a little longer than necessary, but other than that, it was quite entertaining!!
As always, I feel compelled to give thanks to Open Road Media for reissuing so many wonderful classic mysteries in digital format. Finding these books can be a bit of a chore, and can be costly, if you are looking for print copies. Not only that, it is much easier on my eyes if I can read them on my Kindle.
I’m really looking forward to reading through the "Miss Silver" series and will be on the lookout for more stand -alone novels by this author.
4 stars
September 21, 2024
Not Miss Silver!
This is not a Miss Silver mystery. It’s about Amabel Grey, mother of a nineteen year old daughter. Daughter wants to vacation in Egypt, but she needs 200 pounds for travel.
Mrs. Grey does as a mother will do. She makes a sacrifice. She will stay at The Dower House. A haunted house. To get the money. She must stay for six months. Will she make it?
Time to find out...
A delightful five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
This is not a Miss Silver mystery. It’s about Amabel Grey, mother of a nineteen year old daughter. Daughter wants to vacation in Egypt, but she needs 200 pounds for travel.
Mrs. Grey does as a mother will do. She makes a sacrifice. She will stay at The Dower House. A haunted house. To get the money. She must stay for six months. Will she make it?
Time to find out...
A delightful five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
December 22, 2020
A sweet, old-fashioned love story with a mystery thrown in, The Dower House Mystery is a lot of fun. I liked the main characters very much, the gentle, yet tough as nails, Amabel and her lost love, Julian, were very well drawn. Even the social climbing brat of a daughter, Daphne, was perfectly rendered. I love a good haunting too and this one was quite unusual with surprises left and right. I was a little confused by a plethora of minor characters who tended to have similar names and even looked alike. All in all though a tidy, cozy read.
February 18, 2020
Amabel Grey is a widow living in a small country village on a limited income. Her daughter, nineteen-year-old Daphne, brought up by Amabel’s much wealthier sister, Agatha, is spoiled to say the least and desperately wants to go on a trip to Egypt with some friends (mostly so that a rich young man she knows will propose to her). This requires Amabel to spend £200, money she does not have. Still, since Daphne is throwing tantrums (no better way to describe it) and shedding what seem to be crocodile tears, Amabel heads off to her lawyer Mr Berry to see if anything can be done. (She can’t borrow the money since she has no means to pay it back.) There she overhears George Forsham, a man she used to know years ago, asking Mr Berry to find him a tenant for the Dower House in his family home, in which he is unable to keep a tenant since it is supposed to be haunted. Of course he is going to pay £200 (just the sum she needs) to anyone who will live there for six months (with a number of odd conditions). Despite being dissuaded by Mr Berry, Amabel who has stayed at Forsham as a young girl, takes up the offer and heads there. At Forsham she also runs into George’s brother Julian who she was in love with at one time. And there is certainly something wrong with the house with plenty of odd (and rather unsettling) happenings. Julian is keen to investigate, and Amabel to hold her ground and keep up her end of the bargain. This, though not a murder mystery, was such a fun read, I enjoyed every bit of it.
A few days ago after finishing my last book, I wasn’t sure what to pick up next, didn’t ‘feel’ like reading any of the physical books I had with me; so glanced through what I had on Kindle, and this one caught my eye. I opened it up and began reading and within minutes, it had me hooked, and in fact excited to get back to it each time I had to put it down. The book had the typical atmosphere of a creepy haunted house (the kind we see in films sometimes)—all the quintessential elements like thuds on the front door at night, doors mysteriously closing (no matter how many times they are opened and left open), mewing cats, sinister laughter, and even the feeling of being followed when out on the stairs at night. Amabel’s own dog runs away the very first day, and is found back at her old home. Another dog which Julian borrows for security does the same (heading to his own home). Amabel’s own maid is too scared to stay on. One knows of course, that it won’t be a real ghost but still I thought Wentworth did the entire atmosphere really well, even if it was typical. There are other aspects too—like a medium (clearly putting on an act—we are pretty much told that at once), and the story of a girl (one of George and Julian’s former nurse’s twin daughters) who had run away years ago, and who might well be among the newer residents in the village—connected with the main plot but one doesn’t know exactly how. The solution itself was perhaps a little on the lines of a children’s mystery (Enid Blyton or one of the older Nancy Drews) but still good fun. (This was something I felt in the Miss Silver book I’d read earlier as well.)
The characters were for the most part fairly likeable: Amabel showed spirit in wanting to stick it out rather than running away though she didn’t seem to want to get to the bottom of things. I liked that she didn’t behave like the typical damsel in distress waiting to be rescued (both in terms of wanting to earn the money herself, and staying her ground), but I felt she was rather foolish in heading downstairs and opening the door almost every night when she knew from previous experience what would happen—why not just stay in her room and lock the door? Daphne, her daughter, was a real brat, though. The other characters in the village are a mix of suspicious and a couple of friendly ones (people Amabel had known before). There are also characters from other Wentworth books like Jane (Smith) March, Molloy, and Police Chief Sir Julian Le Mesurier (‘Piggy’) who make an appearance, but not having read those books, these were not familiar to me. The romance in the story I thought was refreshing being between older people getting another chance, rather than a typical one.
I had only read a Miss Silver mystery before, none of her standalones so didn’t know what to expect when picking this up, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Will certainly be reading more of hers soon.
A few days ago after finishing my last book, I wasn’t sure what to pick up next, didn’t ‘feel’ like reading any of the physical books I had with me; so glanced through what I had on Kindle, and this one caught my eye. I opened it up and began reading and within minutes, it had me hooked, and in fact excited to get back to it each time I had to put it down. The book had the typical atmosphere of a creepy haunted house (the kind we see in films sometimes)—all the quintessential elements like thuds on the front door at night, doors mysteriously closing (no matter how many times they are opened and left open), mewing cats, sinister laughter, and even the feeling of being followed when out on the stairs at night. Amabel’s own dog runs away the very first day, and is found back at her old home. Another dog which Julian borrows for security does the same (heading to his own home). Amabel’s own maid is too scared to stay on. One knows of course, that it won’t be a real ghost but still I thought Wentworth did the entire atmosphere really well, even if it was typical. There are other aspects too—like a medium (clearly putting on an act—we are pretty much told that at once), and the story of a girl (one of George and Julian’s former nurse’s twin daughters) who had run away years ago, and who might well be among the newer residents in the village—connected with the main plot but one doesn’t know exactly how. The solution itself was perhaps a little on the lines of a children’s mystery (Enid Blyton or one of the older Nancy Drews) but still good fun. (This was something I felt in the Miss Silver book I’d read earlier as well.)
The characters were for the most part fairly likeable: Amabel showed spirit in wanting to stick it out rather than running away though she didn’t seem to want to get to the bottom of things. I liked that she didn’t behave like the typical damsel in distress waiting to be rescued (both in terms of wanting to earn the money herself, and staying her ground), but I felt she was rather foolish in heading downstairs and opening the door almost every night when she knew from previous experience what would happen—why not just stay in her room and lock the door? Daphne, her daughter, was a real brat, though. The other characters in the village are a mix of suspicious and a couple of friendly ones (people Amabel had known before). There are also characters from other Wentworth books like Jane (Smith) March, Molloy, and Police Chief Sir Julian Le Mesurier (‘Piggy’) who make an appearance, but not having read those books, these were not familiar to me. The romance in the story I thought was refreshing being between older people getting another chance, rather than a typical one.
I had only read a Miss Silver mystery before, none of her standalones so didn’t know what to expect when picking this up, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Will certainly be reading more of hers soon.
November 13, 2018
Four stars, with extra half star for Piggy's cat doodles. Rounded up to five.
March 28, 2020
An easy, light read.
There are strange goings on at the Dower House. Is it haunted, or is there another explanation.
It was quite good, but I started to lose interest towards the end.
There are strange goings on at the Dower House. Is it haunted, or is there another explanation.
It was quite good, but I started to lose interest towards the end.
May 3, 2017
Written in 1925, this was an engaging mystery. The daughter of the protagonist is pretty obnoxious and I don't know that I would have made the sacrifices her that her mother did.
August 4, 2018
Good, old-fashioned (as in Golden Age) thriller. No overt sex or violence, no substance-addled, unreliable narrator.
September 29, 2022
Le livre a quand même réussi à me creeped out pas pire (j'avais peur de fermer ma lumière hier soir).
September 6, 2016
The central mystery of this book is almost identical to Footsteps in the Dark which I thought was awful and this is awful too. I'm certain one was copied from the other, although I can't understand why given how flimsy a premise it is. I noticed the similarity pretty early on but continued on in the hope it'd somehow be better, but it wasn't. The one feature of this which is better than the other one is the romance is handled a lot better and felt like the condensed version of a typical genre romance novel (I mean this as a compliment, it wasn't bad)
Apart from the mystery the book suffered from long stretches of not a great deal happening and way too many characters. About 3/4 of the way through the book introduces a random character and her family member as if we should know them and advances the plot through them and then they just disappear again. I'm assuming she's another Wentworth character but it's still a very confusing cameo and feels both like a lazy way to advance the plot and a pointless one (and it's through an absurd coincidence that someone overhears the exact right information aaa). A lot of useless characters are named and barely introduced but used enough to be confusing - eg a police chief who's barely in it anyway and is referred to affectionately, sickeningly as "piggy" [ugh] has a named wife who's mentioned 3 times and does nothing except force you to look back to work out who she is. The names themselves are confusing - there are I think 5 different meaningful women whose name being with A. A couple are due to an identity confusion plot, the rest for no reason. It's surprisingly hard to keep track and only by the very end was I starting to get a handle on which of the characters was which so the reveal of the criminals didn't have much of an impact as I barely recalled them.
As with Footsteps in the Dark, the criminal plot required everything involved to be completely dense - and the behaviour of the heroes wasn't much better, hobbled by a ridiculous in story contract that was the only way the author could think of to avoid it being solved really easily I guess. It's another of those mysteries where the plot was only revealed through the criminals' terrible idea to try and hide what they're doing that just served to draw more attention to them. The whole haunting story was never going to keep people away forever. And there was never any sign what they actually did would be noticed by inhabitants of the house anyway! AAaaaaaa.
Just a big rant about the whole plot and the ending
Terrible mystery that doesn't really play fair although in basics is really easy to guess isn't redeemed by the readable but very cliched romance plot and the unexciting characterisation. Not worth your time at all.
Apart from the mystery the book suffered from long stretches of not a great deal happening and way too many characters. About 3/4 of the way through the book introduces a random character and her family member as if we should know them and advances the plot through them and then they just disappear again. I'm assuming she's another Wentworth character but it's still a very confusing cameo and feels both like a lazy way to advance the plot and a pointless one (and it's through an absurd coincidence that someone overhears the exact right information aaa). A lot of useless characters are named and barely introduced but used enough to be confusing - eg a police chief who's barely in it anyway and is referred to affectionately, sickeningly as "piggy" [ugh] has a named wife who's mentioned 3 times and does nothing except force you to look back to work out who she is. The names themselves are confusing - there are I think 5 different meaningful women whose name being with A. A couple are due to an identity confusion plot, the rest for no reason. It's surprisingly hard to keep track and only by the very end was I starting to get a handle on which of the characters was which so the reveal of the criminals didn't have much of an impact as I barely recalled them.
As with Footsteps in the Dark, the criminal plot required everything involved to be completely dense - and the behaviour of the heroes wasn't much better, hobbled by a ridiculous in story contract that was the only way the author could think of to avoid it being solved really easily I guess. It's another of those mysteries where the plot was only revealed through the criminals' terrible idea to try and hide what they're doing that just served to draw more attention to them. The whole haunting story was never going to keep people away forever. And there was never any sign what they actually did would be noticed by inhabitants of the house anyway! AAaaaaaa.
Just a big rant about the whole plot and the ending
Terrible mystery that doesn't really play fair although in basics is really easy to guess isn't redeemed by the readable but very cliched romance plot and the unexciting characterisation. Not worth your time at all.
October 21, 2016
Very enjoyable Gothic suspense tale
If you prefer more suspense than gore and violence, I think you'll really enjoy this mystery published in 1925 by the master storyteller Patricia Wentworth. As with any good Gothic thriller there's a decrepit mansion and cast of eccentric characters, as well as the delightful subplot romance involving a second chance after twenty years of estrangement.
If you prefer more suspense than gore and violence, I think you'll really enjoy this mystery published in 1925 by the master storyteller Patricia Wentworth. As with any good Gothic thriller there's a decrepit mansion and cast of eccentric characters, as well as the delightful subplot romance involving a second chance after twenty years of estrangement.
July 18, 2019
This is the first of Ms. Wentworth's books that I've read. It was so enjoyable I plan on reading the rest.
April 23, 2020
3.5 stars.
February 22, 2021
Four stars is too high but this was cute and exactly what I was in the mood for, so.
October 4, 2019
A solid 4.5 stars!! Loved this so much I could hardly put it down. Her writing reminds me very much of Georgette Heyer.
November 13, 2021
This one didn't read like the other five Wentworth books I've read so far--If I didn't know the author I might have guessed it was a Mary Roberts Rinehart or maybe even an Ethel Lina White. While it was a good story, it was at times quite difficult to follow because of the plethora of characters, many of whom were only briefly introduced. Adding to that confusion, there were two characters with the same Christian name, an exasperating number of additional nicknames, and at least three people who had one form or another of another name. (To put it simply, "Blindfold" was easier to follow!) Still, the book did have some satisfying spooky parts, and the second half was more enjoyable than the first. Also of interest, an astonishing and adventurous woman by the name of Jane Smith makes a brief appearance in the latter half . . . she didn't play a major role, but her character did make me want to read the book written specifically about her.
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March 2, 2021I think I slightly prefer the non-Miss Silver Wentworths to those with Miss Silver (contraversial, I'm sure!). I love this story about middle-aged love and second chances. Plus it's pretty creepy in parts.
October 11, 2017
This was a good old fashioned mystery. I really enjoyed it.
November 5, 2025
I absolutely adore cozy mysteries when they include ghosts, haunted houses and, especially, 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦! The Dower House Mystery didn’t disappoint!
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗:
❊ A fancy house in the English countryside
❊ Spooky sounds, secret passages and mysterious appearances/disappearances
❊ Brave and clever widow who wants to do something nice for her daughter
❊ Hilarious lady’s maid/servant
❊ Rekindled love
Thanks to the wonderfully helpful suggestion from Victoria at Dean Street Press Ltd. to read 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 for the 1925club with Simon Thomas and @kaggsy59 on Instagram 🤩✨✨
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Congratulations on their 10 year anniversary for the book club!! YAY! 🥳💜✨
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗:
❊ A fancy house in the English countryside
❊ Spooky sounds, secret passages and mysterious appearances/disappearances
❊ Brave and clever widow who wants to do something nice for her daughter
❊ Hilarious lady’s maid/servant
❊ Rekindled love
Thanks to the wonderfully helpful suggestion from Victoria at Dean Street Press Ltd. to read 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 for the 1925club with Simon Thomas and @kaggsy59 on Instagram 🤩✨✨
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Congratulations on their 10 year anniversary for the book club!! YAY! 🥳💜✨
December 24, 2023
I love a good gothic mystery, but as I was reading it, I found it a little old-fashioned! (Little did I realize that it was written in 1925!). But, despite that, the premise of the story was good and I liked the development of the characters. The hauntings were particularly intense and the story kept me guessing, especially with the introduction of some minor characters to throw you off the scent! The mystery was very similar to an Agatha Christie classic! Of course, in every true gothic, there’s always a love story … and this one was sweet and sentimental!
December 8, 2019
Awesome story
This is a great mystery book. I really enjoyed the strength oh the characters. It was a fun book to read.
This is a great mystery book. I really enjoyed the strength oh the characters. It was a fun book to read.
August 5, 2020
Excellent and exquisitely written story that is classic Patricia Wentworth...mystery and lost love found again.
June 23, 2021
An entertaining mystery, I wasn’t sure if the haunting was truly supernatural or if it had a more rational explanation.
March 4, 2023
I enjoyed this Christie style mystery and will read more from Wentworth.
January 8, 2020
A really enjoyable “Golden Age” mystery.
February 15, 2022
Great, gothic ghost story by Wentworth with her trademark romance element included. Older heroine Amabel, to raise money for her daughter's trip to Egypt, takes the lease on a house said to be haunted. If she can stick it out for 6 months, the money is all hers. After a series of midnight caterwauls, door openings, creepy footsteps and broken glass, where neither her maid or her dog will stay, her own will to remain is wavering. As it happens she's been reunited with a past (and dearly missed love), and he helps her to solve the puzzle of the ghostly happenings. This has some lovely writing and the love the second time around element is especially poignant. Atmospheric and fast paced, Wentworth also presents a few likely suspects in a tight circle of them, which is classically golden age. A fun and worthy read.
July 27, 2021
A good old-fashioned mystery, perfect for escaping the every day. A well written cozy featuring rich atmosphere, a haunted house, and likable characters.
July 7, 2025
In the beginning the daughter behaves badly towards her mother; and the mother lets herself be bullied by her daughter. Their extreme poverty is blamed on their actions. However, as the book progresses they do reform their behavior, discover the cause of the haunted house, and yes, it has a satisfying and happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2021
Amabel’s spoiled daughter needs £200 to go on a trip to Egypt to try and snare herself a wealthy husband. With only £200 a year to her name, the only way widowed Amabel can afford the money is to agree to spend six months in a haunted house, to prove to the local villagers that it isn’t actually haunted.
The house turns out to belong to the brother of the man who she fell in love with but turned down when she was a girl, and he just so happens to be back in the neighbourhood, now a wealthy man.
Of course he instantly falls in love with her again, and stays to help her figure out the mystery of the dower house.
I think if this had been sold as a romance I wouldn’t have felt so irritated, because I would have known what I was getting. However, it was sold as a spooky turn of the century ghost story, so I was disappointed when the sum total of the ghostly happenings was a cat meowing in the night, scratches at the front door, a mist in the hallway and a door that opened and closed at night. The mystery turned out to be not remotely ghostly at all – just a gang of forgers using the house as a base of operations – and the ghostly mist and other tricks were never explained.
Amabel’s spoiled daughter does catch her rich husband, but you don’t really care because she’s been painted as so unlikeable by then.
Amabel herself is a Mary Sue character that everyone falls in love with and is endlessly sweet and brave and honest to the point of being very two dimensional.
A super predictable mystery, really only worth while if you’re after a saccharine romance with no conflict.
The house turns out to belong to the brother of the man who she fell in love with but turned down when she was a girl, and he just so happens to be back in the neighbourhood, now a wealthy man.
Of course he instantly falls in love with her again, and stays to help her figure out the mystery of the dower house.
I think if this had been sold as a romance I wouldn’t have felt so irritated, because I would have known what I was getting. However, it was sold as a spooky turn of the century ghost story, so I was disappointed when the sum total of the ghostly happenings was a cat meowing in the night, scratches at the front door, a mist in the hallway and a door that opened and closed at night. The mystery turned out to be not remotely ghostly at all – just a gang of forgers using the house as a base of operations – and the ghostly mist and other tricks were never explained.
Amabel’s spoiled daughter does catch her rich husband, but you don’t really care because she’s been painted as so unlikeable by then.
Amabel herself is a Mary Sue character that everyone falls in love with and is endlessly sweet and brave and honest to the point of being very two dimensional.
A super predictable mystery, really only worth while if you’re after a saccharine romance with no conflict.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2017
Early Bird Book Deal | Starts badly, does improve. | When I first picked up this deal I didn't read it closely and thought it was another Miss Silver. I realized the error before reading the first page, but the first two chapters did not dispose me positively toward the book, and I set it aside for quite some time. Daphne was so awful, and so unworthy of her mother's sacrifice, that I just couldn't stomach reading either the character or anything that might bring her selfish, ungrateful heart joy. When my internet went out today, and I only had already-downloaded books available to me, I picked it back up and everything went much more smoothly. Daphne doesn't appear after that second chapter, and Amabel is perfectly pleasant to read. It wasn't much of a mystery, it was all pretty clearly drawn for the right inferences, but the Miss Silvers are that way, as well, so it's not like I ever expect a story from Wentworth that's taxing to the mind.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews