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Run!
In the English countryside, a man is caught up in an intricate web of greed and murder, in this mystery from the creator of Miss Silver The nightmare begins when James Elliot gets lost on a dark, foggy country road. When he stops at a house to ask for directions, a woman rushes out and tells him to run. Seconds later, shots are fired. After they escape the unknown shooter, Aspidistra Aspinall says she’s an orphan and has no idea who’s after her. She tells an incredible story about a dying aunt and a priceless diamond necklace. When they meet again at the home of James’s cousin, she goes by the name Sally West. But her terror is all too Someone is after her inheritance and is willing to kill for it. Soon after, a dead body turns up, but James may have been the intended target. Now he must unravel a brilliantly orchestrated scheme of avarice before a cunning killer claims one last victim.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1938
139 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Wentworth
199 books527 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 43 reviews
November 11, 2018
Patricia Wentworth was a wonderful spinner of stories, and in this book she spins a story of high drama and romantic suspense with a cast of quintessentially English ‘Bright Young Things’.
It’s a confection – no more and no less!
The opening was wonderfully attention-grabbing.
Our hero, James, worked for a high class London car dealership, and he was fetching a new car for an important customer. Thick fog descended as he was driving through unfamiliar country, and it wasn’t long before he had to admit that he was lost. He caught a glimpse of a big house, and so he set off to ask for help.
He didn’t find help, but he did find trouble.
There were no lights on, there was no sign of life, but the front door was ajar. James went in, hoping to find a telephone, but seeing only a girl whose face is white, whose eyes are wide with horror, and who looks as if she is about to scream. She doesn’t, but she yells ‘RUN!’ and before he as time to react he hears sound of a shot and he feels the breeze as a bullet flies past him. James doesn’t need telling twice. He runs, and between them he and the charming but scatty girl manage make their escape.
Back at work in London he ponders on the puzzle of a girl who was clearly terrified, but completely unwilling to explain any part of the reason why to the young man who helped her. He is still thinking when he bumps into her again, and discovers that he went to school with her brother and that they have enough friends in common to make it surprising that they had never met before; though that isn’t enough to make her tell him any more or to stop her from insisting that it is better for him not to know and that he should stay away from her.
Sally has good reason to be scared, and for speaking and acting as she does, because she is an heiress, someone is after her inheritance and willing to go to any lengths to get their hands on it, and she fears that even her beloved guardian is involved. James won’t be told though, because he is very taken with Sally and because, when one of his colleagues has what looks like a nasty accident, he realizes that whoever fired that gun is trying to get him out of the way too.
There is much intrigue – and a good dash of romance – before a grand finale back at the country house where the story began.
There were moments in the early part of the story, when James didn’t know what was going on and Sally wasn’t going to tell him, when I wished that Miss Silver would put in an appearance. She would have had no trouble working out what was going on and sorting everything out, but of course that would have made this a very short book and it wasn’t long at all before I felt very fond of both James and Sally.
The perspective with James as the protagonist who was concerned about Sally was interesting, particularly when I had figured out what was going; but I think that Patricia Wentworth does best with female protagonists, and while he was eminently likeable he wasn’t as interesting as many of the young women I have met in her books.
(And that reminds me to say the young woman on the cover and what she is doing bear no relation at all to this story.)
I loved the young lady who worked at James’s car dealership, and I couldn’t help thinking that if Miss Silver ever wanted to hire an assistant they would work together rather well.
It wasn’t at all difficult to identify the villains and to understand their motives, and that made me realize what a terrible situation Sally was in and why it was quite reasonable for her to act what she did.
The building blocks of the story were all ones I’d come across before, but the structure that they built was sound. The story was entertaining, it was engaging, and it was suspenseful to the very end.
There was a certain amount of silliness and much that was a little too unlikely – especially towards the end of the story – but there was enough substance and enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages to the very end.
Patricia Wentworth wrote much better books – of the books I’ve read, Danger Point/In the Balance is my favourite investigation with Miss Silver and Kingdom Lost is my favourite stand-alone story – but I did enjoy my time with this confection of romance and suspense.
It’s a confection – no more and no less!
The opening was wonderfully attention-grabbing.
Our hero, James, worked for a high class London car dealership, and he was fetching a new car for an important customer. Thick fog descended as he was driving through unfamiliar country, and it wasn’t long before he had to admit that he was lost. He caught a glimpse of a big house, and so he set off to ask for help.
He didn’t find help, but he did find trouble.
There were no lights on, there was no sign of life, but the front door was ajar. James went in, hoping to find a telephone, but seeing only a girl whose face is white, whose eyes are wide with horror, and who looks as if she is about to scream. She doesn’t, but she yells ‘RUN!’ and before he as time to react he hears sound of a shot and he feels the breeze as a bullet flies past him. James doesn’t need telling twice. He runs, and between them he and the charming but scatty girl manage make their escape.
Back at work in London he ponders on the puzzle of a girl who was clearly terrified, but completely unwilling to explain any part of the reason why to the young man who helped her. He is still thinking when he bumps into her again, and discovers that he went to school with her brother and that they have enough friends in common to make it surprising that they had never met before; though that isn’t enough to make her tell him any more or to stop her from insisting that it is better for him not to know and that he should stay away from her.
Sally has good reason to be scared, and for speaking and acting as she does, because she is an heiress, someone is after her inheritance and willing to go to any lengths to get their hands on it, and she fears that even her beloved guardian is involved. James won’t be told though, because he is very taken with Sally and because, when one of his colleagues has what looks like a nasty accident, he realizes that whoever fired that gun is trying to get him out of the way too.
There is much intrigue – and a good dash of romance – before a grand finale back at the country house where the story began.
There were moments in the early part of the story, when James didn’t know what was going on and Sally wasn’t going to tell him, when I wished that Miss Silver would put in an appearance. She would have had no trouble working out what was going on and sorting everything out, but of course that would have made this a very short book and it wasn’t long at all before I felt very fond of both James and Sally.
The perspective with James as the protagonist who was concerned about Sally was interesting, particularly when I had figured out what was going; but I think that Patricia Wentworth does best with female protagonists, and while he was eminently likeable he wasn’t as interesting as many of the young women I have met in her books.
(And that reminds me to say the young woman on the cover and what she is doing bear no relation at all to this story.)
I loved the young lady who worked at James’s car dealership, and I couldn’t help thinking that if Miss Silver ever wanted to hire an assistant they would work together rather well.
It wasn’t at all difficult to identify the villains and to understand their motives, and that made me realize what a terrible situation Sally was in and why it was quite reasonable for her to act what she did.
The building blocks of the story were all ones I’d come across before, but the structure that they built was sound. The story was entertaining, it was engaging, and it was suspenseful to the very end.
There was a certain amount of silliness and much that was a little too unlikely – especially towards the end of the story – but there was enough substance and enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages to the very end.
Patricia Wentworth wrote much better books – of the books I’ve read, Danger Point/In the Balance is my favourite investigation with Miss Silver and Kingdom Lost is my favourite stand-alone story – but I did enjoy my time with this confection of romance and suspense.
Want to read
December 26, 2017Free download available at Faded Page.
November 6, 2016
Great Opening, Great Ending and Terrific Suspense in the Middle!
First published in 1938, this is one of Wentworth's best suspense stories out of her many dozens of books. Our hero is a car salesman and the heroine is an heiress -- from the moment they meet, the bad guys are after them, and they are on the run together. Very enjoyable read!
First published in 1938, this is one of Wentworth's best suspense stories out of her many dozens of books. Our hero is a car salesman and the heroine is an heiress -- from the moment they meet, the bad guys are after them, and they are on the run together. Very enjoyable read!
October 25, 2020
Wentworth is great at exciting beginnings of her books, but they often flag part of the way through. This romantic suspense novel holds up for the most part. Don't read the book description, or the teaser at the front of some editions, because there are spoilers galore.
Warning: there is the horrible British word for a dogsbody at school, not used in the sense of a derogatory word for a homosexual, but the same word. And there is a racist expression, which the author used in some of her early books, but they disappeared in the later ones, I suspect because of pressure from her publisher.
The more Wentworth books I read, the more convinced I become that she made her plots with a system that involved standard elements written on pieces of paper, held in a bag, and a half dozen or more drawn out at the start of each book, then worked into the plot line for that book. The standard elements could be summarized as follows:
a will that leaves a large sum of money to someone
someone who inherits a large sum of money
trust funds and trust fund administrators
wards cheated by trust fund administrators
an elderly person who writes a secret, revealing letter and hides it
something hidden in a secret place
jewels
blackmail
kidnapping
a plucky young woman
a man who falls in love instantly with a plucky young woman
kissing cousins
people who grew up as siblings becoming lovers
a young man in the motor trade, or wanting to be in the motor trade
elderly sisters, one dominant, the other passive aggressive
an elderly narcissistic woman living her life surrounded by, and dressed in, pink
a narcissistic mother
an unhappy child with a narcissistic mother
an immature, dependent younger sister
bad marriages based on money
upstairs-downstairs relations between people in a manor house
an elderly nurse/nanny who knows a secret
village gossips
a widowed vicar
a village shop and post office filled with village gossips
an effeminate young man with a domineering mother
a masculine young man who bruises women's shoulders
a masculine woman who likely enjoys murdering people
an old manor house
hidden passages in manor houses
noises in the night that wake people from sound sleep in manor houses
dreams that wake people shaking and breathing heavy in manor houses
sleepwalkers
sleep-talkers
long stair wells lit by a candle, or a flashlight (Brit: torch), or by a single bulb
cellars with slugs in them under manor houses
drafty rooms in manor houses
large, comforting fireplaces in manor houses
electric heaters in bedrooms in manor houses
hot water bottles in beds in manor houses
casement windows in manor houses
French doors in manor houses that are often left open at night
moonlight that shines on figures leaving through casement windows
moonlight that shines on figures leaving through French doors
cottages near manor houses
hidden passages from cottages to nearby manor houses
hidden relations between people in cottages and nearby manor houses
small apartments in London that people borrow from others
London apartments in former mews with a garage nearby
the fake Luxe hotel/restaurant/dance hall in London
a fake town called Ledlington and surrounding fake towns
a dangerous cliff overlooking the sea
someone who falls over a dangerous cliff overlooking the sea
an old quarry
cars that crash into old quarries
bad guys dying in car crashes in old quarries
attempts on lives by causing car crashes in quarries and on hills
sleeping powders and pills, often given to the unsuspecting
chloroform always used on the unsuspecting
coloring that comes and goes from women's faces in seconds
women's grey eyes (blue eyes with streaks of brown) that sometimes look green
fainting women who most often are women who have forgotten to eat
men who want to take care of women forever, especially the fainting kind
cousins, lots and lots of cousins
people who call each other “darling”, a lot
femmes fatales who often kill people
orphans, foundlings and assorted people without relations
shot
stabbed
drowned
drugged
bashed on the head
pushed into oncoming traffic
Warning: there is the horrible British word for a dogsbody at school, not used in the sense of a derogatory word for a homosexual, but the same word. And there is a racist expression, which the author used in some of her early books, but they disappeared in the later ones, I suspect because of pressure from her publisher.
The more Wentworth books I read, the more convinced I become that she made her plots with a system that involved standard elements written on pieces of paper, held in a bag, and a half dozen or more drawn out at the start of each book, then worked into the plot line for that book. The standard elements could be summarized as follows:
a will that leaves a large sum of money to someone
someone who inherits a large sum of money
trust funds and trust fund administrators
wards cheated by trust fund administrators
an elderly person who writes a secret, revealing letter and hides it
something hidden in a secret place
jewels
blackmail
kidnapping
a plucky young woman
a man who falls in love instantly with a plucky young woman
kissing cousins
people who grew up as siblings becoming lovers
a young man in the motor trade, or wanting to be in the motor trade
elderly sisters, one dominant, the other passive aggressive
an elderly narcissistic woman living her life surrounded by, and dressed in, pink
a narcissistic mother
an unhappy child with a narcissistic mother
an immature, dependent younger sister
bad marriages based on money
upstairs-downstairs relations between people in a manor house
an elderly nurse/nanny who knows a secret
village gossips
a widowed vicar
a village shop and post office filled with village gossips
an effeminate young man with a domineering mother
a masculine young man who bruises women's shoulders
a masculine woman who likely enjoys murdering people
an old manor house
hidden passages in manor houses
noises in the night that wake people from sound sleep in manor houses
dreams that wake people shaking and breathing heavy in manor houses
sleepwalkers
sleep-talkers
long stair wells lit by a candle, or a flashlight (Brit: torch), or by a single bulb
cellars with slugs in them under manor houses
drafty rooms in manor houses
large, comforting fireplaces in manor houses
electric heaters in bedrooms in manor houses
hot water bottles in beds in manor houses
casement windows in manor houses
French doors in manor houses that are often left open at night
moonlight that shines on figures leaving through casement windows
moonlight that shines on figures leaving through French doors
cottages near manor houses
hidden passages from cottages to nearby manor houses
hidden relations between people in cottages and nearby manor houses
small apartments in London that people borrow from others
London apartments in former mews with a garage nearby
the fake Luxe hotel/restaurant/dance hall in London
a fake town called Ledlington and surrounding fake towns
a dangerous cliff overlooking the sea
someone who falls over a dangerous cliff overlooking the sea
an old quarry
cars that crash into old quarries
bad guys dying in car crashes in old quarries
attempts on lives by causing car crashes in quarries and on hills
sleeping powders and pills, often given to the unsuspecting
chloroform always used on the unsuspecting
coloring that comes and goes from women's faces in seconds
women's grey eyes (blue eyes with streaks of brown) that sometimes look green
fainting women who most often are women who have forgotten to eat
men who want to take care of women forever, especially the fainting kind
cousins, lots and lots of cousins
people who call each other “darling”, a lot
femmes fatales who often kill people
orphans, foundlings and assorted people without relations
shot
stabbed
drowned
drugged
bashed on the head
pushed into oncoming traffic
April 5, 2016
Best of early english mysteries
I was very glad to see that the writings of Patricia Wentworth are out in e-book style. She is a fantastic writer of the early 1900 mysteries.
This is NOT a Miss Silver book. It is however a good romantic suspense.
I was very glad to see that the writings of Patricia Wentworth are out in e-book style. She is a fantastic writer of the early 1900 mysteries.
This is NOT a Miss Silver book. It is however a good romantic suspense.
September 19, 2024
Quite fun. Hero is a bit aggressive and not super easy-going, but very morally upright.
May 23, 2019
Wonderful Madcap 1930s Adventure
If you enjoy the early films of James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant in roles in Arsenic and Old Lace or Bringing Up Baby, you may enjoy this story. The period between two World Wars, young people were enjoying life and all the modern conveniences like fast cars. The danger and mystery is included. And the love story. Different times. Different manners. I loved it. Funny and scary situations. I'm so glad they have reprinted and published these books for modern readers to enjoy. This one surprised me. It's now on my favourites list.
If you enjoy the early films of James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant in roles in Arsenic and Old Lace or Bringing Up Baby, you may enjoy this story. The period between two World Wars, young people were enjoying life and all the modern conveniences like fast cars. The danger and mystery is included. And the love story. Different times. Different manners. I loved it. Funny and scary situations. I'm so glad they have reprinted and published these books for modern readers to enjoy. This one surprised me. It's now on my favourites list.
August 25, 2019
I agree with the reviewer who compared it to a 1930s movie, although the one it reminded me of was The 39 Steps. The lively narration, banter between the hero and heroine, and well-orchestrated peril from beginning to end really did make it feel a bit like reading a movie. 3 1/2 stars.
September 13, 2011
Christie does intrepid heroines much, much better; Wentworth's women are always on the verge of fainting.
April 30, 2017
Just a delight!
Part mystery, part romance, RUN is just fun and entertaining. I'm amazed at how many wonderful stories Patricia Wentworth has written. Enjoy!
Part mystery, part romance, RUN is just fun and entertaining. I'm amazed at how many wonderful stories Patricia Wentworth has written. Enjoy!
March 16, 2021
This was really fun! The opening was fantastic! It was well-written and very entertaining.
December 18, 2022
She was such a fine story teller. Very vivid and atmospheric.
January 9, 2018
Free | Girls are not "like that". | James came across like a 14 year old boy, every other page he was petulantly determining that "girls were like that", always with a derogatory meaning. The story itself was fairly good, though Wentworth repeated herself quite a bit, contradicted herself in a few places (they wouldn't try to burn the house down because the local fire response is so strong and dedicated, but later the local fire response is described as being small and practically worthless), and lengthened the book mostly via transparently stupid maneuvers. Also, at this period of her career she was clearly focused on one particular crime, as well as with not involving the police, so it's similar to her others in certain ways.
May 11, 2018
How much I enjoyed Run! by Patricia Wentworth.
It is a great example of that quintessentially English novel of the Bright Young Things between the wars. It reminds me a bit of Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, but Tuppence was MUCH more direct, fearless and openly clever than Sally.
I did really enjoy it a lot. I am very fortunate to have a friend who has provided me with a great many Patricia Wentworth novels, nearly all of the Miss Silver ones. This is one of the early ones. To enjoy it, it is important to separate oneself from the standards of today, to resist condemning the hero or heroine of behavior not appropriate in the modern day.
It is a great example of that quintessentially English novel of the Bright Young Things between the wars. It reminds me a bit of Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, but Tuppence was MUCH more direct, fearless and openly clever than Sally.
I did really enjoy it a lot. I am very fortunate to have a friend who has provided me with a great many Patricia Wentworth novels, nearly all of the Miss Silver ones. This is one of the early ones. To enjoy it, it is important to separate oneself from the standards of today, to resist condemning the hero or heroine of behavior not appropriate in the modern day.
May 19, 2020
I think this was supposed to be a suspense novel/thriller, rather than a mystery novel. Certainly Miss Silver, Patricia Wentworth's frequent protagonist, is absent from the story, which starts promisingly enough, with a frightened girl running out of a deserted mansion into the fog, bullets flying around her head. But this is also the type of book where the tension needs to be maintained (artificially) by the protagonists not communicating. When Sally and James, the heroine and hero, do meet, they engage in brittle chatter, instead of discussing the mysterious doings that have brought them together. You can fill a book this way, but you can't make it interesting.
April 28, 2019
Romance and Mystery
This is a combined romance and mystery and quite well written. It does not feature Miss Silver or any other of Wentworth's detectives I should note but that does not make it any less enjoyable. 😇 It's sited in post WWI England with young characters belonging to the upper middle class and gives a sense of what life was like then. Altogether another enjoyable book by Patricia Wentworth.
This is a combined romance and mystery and quite well written. It does not feature Miss Silver or any other of Wentworth's detectives I should note but that does not make it any less enjoyable. 😇 It's sited in post WWI England with young characters belonging to the upper middle class and gives a sense of what life was like then. Altogether another enjoyable book by Patricia Wentworth.
December 18, 2019
It's a rather good period mystery "with romance on the side" as they say of her books - and also quite a bit of action. The first chapter is fascinating as nothing can be seen in the thick fog of an English countryside as the young man, who happens to be delivering a Rolls-Royce to a colonel in the countryside, makes a wrong turn and stumbles into a mystery. "Run!" is the first word that is said to him.
July 18, 2020
Aaarrrgg!
I completely understand that this was written in a different age, where women were put down as a matter of course. But the gender abuse drove me crazy. What I cannot understand, even then, how a woman could include such sexist drivel. I probably Will not abuse !myself by reading another book by this author.
I completely understand that this was written in a different age, where women were put down as a matter of course. But the gender abuse drove me crazy. What I cannot understand, even then, how a woman could include such sexist drivel. I probably Will not abuse !myself by reading another book by this author.
October 8, 2024
disappointing
I'm glad that this is not the first Wentworth book I read. I am afraid if it had been I would not be a fan. Toward the end it was exciting, but most of the time it felt trite. I did not find myself looking things up or copying quotations like I usually do with her books.
I'm glad that this is not the first Wentworth book I read. I am afraid if it had been I would not be a fan. Toward the end it was exciting, but most of the time it felt trite. I did not find myself looking things up or copying quotations like I usually do with her books.
October 8, 2020
Very old, some words had different meanings when it was written, than they do today.
It's like reading the stories in the magazine's in the 40s. Quite out of fashion but fun to read. BULLY BEEF
It's like reading the stories in the magazine's in the 40s. Quite out of fashion but fun to read. BULLY BEEF
Read
February 13, 2022This is another of Wentworth's books in which family intrigue abounds. The bad guys are a little more ruthless than they usually are, but the story, as usual, is interesting and eventually reaches a satisfying conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2023
A fun and fast paced adventure
A fast paced story of attempted murder, with lots of mayhem and adventure. A tender romance to touch ones heart and the tidy ending they liked in the 30’s. Very enjoyable.
A fast paced story of attempted murder, with lots of mayhem and adventure. A tender romance to touch ones heart and the tidy ending they liked in the 30’s. Very enjoyable.
January 28, 2025
I love the time period. I love the writing style. I loved the main characters. This book was delightful. It had great humor, great quotes, suspense, adventure, intrigue, mystery, and charming, sweet romance.
April 25, 2018
Really good. The characters do have the style of the writers of the 30's; but, refreshing to go back to a less jaded time.
May 8, 2018
A Wentworth, but not a Miss Silver. As always, Wentworth delivers. Nothing earth-shaking. Nothing all that memorable, but a good palate cleanser between heavier, more emotionally taxing books.
January 7, 2019
Delightful fun mystery read
June 12, 2019
Very good
I didn’t like it as much as others I have read by this author; however, it’s much better than most mysteries by other authors. I’ll keep on buying P. Wentworth’s books.
I didn’t like it as much as others I have read by this author; however, it’s much better than most mysteries by other authors. I’ll keep on buying P. Wentworth’s books.
October 22, 2019
I really enjoy these vintage mysteries, accidental recorders of another time. This one a good read, even today. Great rainy day read! With a pot of tea and some peanut butter crackers.
January 28, 2020
Too much romance not enough mystery
I consider Wentworth to be a classic mystery writer and enjoy rereading her books but I always miss Maud Silver!
I consider Wentworth to be a classic mystery writer and enjoy rereading her books but I always miss Maud Silver!
March 21, 2020
Just wonderful!
You will enjoy the cant of that era and the lentil concoction is not to be missed. A sweet romance with a solvable mystery.
You will enjoy the cant of that era and the lentil concoction is not to be missed. A sweet romance with a solvable mystery.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews