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The Red Lacquer Case
Young Sally Meredith is distracted from her jam recipes by a visit from uncle Fritzi, who is accompanied by a mysterious red lacquer case containing a deadly secret. A band of unscrupulous international agents are close behind, and when the eccentric uncle disappears into the night the lacquer case is stolen. But Sally is now the only person who knows how to open the case without destroying its contents - and she is kidnapped, her life in terrible danger. Meanwhile Bill Armitage, formerly Sally's fiance and still in love with her, begins with the aid of Scotland Yard to search for her.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1924
72 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Wentworth
162 books521 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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September 16, 2019If this was any purer pulp it would be sold in cartons to make juice with. The Platonic ideal of a pulp novel with Sinister Foreigners, Anarchists, McGuffin Box, Secret Formulas, Ex Boyfriends In The War Office, plus kidnapping, treachery, telegrams, and general mad plottery. Wildly enjoyable froth.
May 16, 2021
A war-time entertainment, with the usual elements that Patricia Wentworth used in her thrillers (as opposed to her Miss Silver mysteries) :
- the thwarted romance between the pert young girl (Sally) and the solid and worthy young man (Bill Armitage)
- the object of great war-time importance, coveted by the righteous British military/intelligence forces and by their ill-defined enemies. In this case, it's a red lacquered case that contains a chemical warfare formula
- a rambling house with many nooks and crannies, forgotten rooms and convenient curtains, from where the heroine can hide, eavesdrop, observe and otherwise get herself abreast of the evil doings around her
-much stumbling around in the dark, motoring around the countryside
-the villagers commenting on the gentry's odd doings
And so it goes : Sally's uncle, Franzi LaSalle, has invented a formula that could change the course of the war. Conscience-stricken, he's hidden it in a red lacquer case, that is ingeniously engineered to release acid and destroy the paper if it's not opened in quite the right way. Having shown Sally how to open the case, he hides the case, leaves Sally a note telling her where it can be found, and then disappears. The next morning, it's clear that someone opened the letter, found the case and stole it. Sally's former fiance, Bill, now Major Armitage and working for the War Office, wants to get his hands both on the case and on Franzi. Sally is approached by some unsavory characters who want her to open the case the correct way and deliver the formula. Like any plucky English girl during wartime, she refuses. Then follows a choreography of fake telegrams, sending Sally and Bill hither and dither. On one such fool's errand, Sally meets her old friend Etta, who, it turns out, is affiliated with the enemies. Sally is brought to a rambling old house that belongs to a memory-impaired old lady, her maid, her servant and her chauffeur. Apart from the old lady, all are in on the plot to force Sally to open the case. Needless to say, Sally manages to escape, Bill arrives just in time, and all is well.
As I said, a pretty formulaic story. The main point of interest is that it appears that the engagement between Bill and Sally was broken, seven years ago, because Sally had come under the influence of ...gasp... a suffragette. What exactly happened is never made clear - it appears that the then 17-year old Sally had decided to give up Love in order to dedicate herself to the Cause ? Either way, it's clear that the much more mature 24-year old Sally has extricated herself from political or social engagements, whereas her friend Etta, now a dried-up spinster, has continued to move in earnest circles. This has led her to become a pawn in the hands of the handsome but brutal agent Lazare (the main villain). Etta is a character that evokes both irritation and pity. Irritation, because she's always bursting into tears and because she's clearly deceiving herself both about Lazare's presumed romantic attachment to her, and about the purity of his motives for wanting the formula (he's working for World Peace, of course!). She evokes pity because of the same reasons, and because she's so obviously looking for something meaningful to fill her life with - something that in Sally's case will be supplied by her renewed romance with Bill Armitage.
Some funny moments in the book include the scene where Sally is supposed to be mentally tortured by being in the same room as a Polish violinist whose ultra-modern musical stylings grate on the ear. Another is provided by the meanderings of the old lady, who lives largely in the past and is constantly babbling on about her youthful flirtations.
- the thwarted romance between the pert young girl (Sally) and the solid and worthy young man (Bill Armitage)
- the object of great war-time importance, coveted by the righteous British military/intelligence forces and by their ill-defined enemies. In this case, it's a red lacquered case that contains a chemical warfare formula
- a rambling house with many nooks and crannies, forgotten rooms and convenient curtains, from where the heroine can hide, eavesdrop, observe and otherwise get herself abreast of the evil doings around her
-much stumbling around in the dark, motoring around the countryside
-the villagers commenting on the gentry's odd doings
And so it goes : Sally's uncle, Franzi LaSalle, has invented a formula that could change the course of the war. Conscience-stricken, he's hidden it in a red lacquer case, that is ingeniously engineered to release acid and destroy the paper if it's not opened in quite the right way. Having shown Sally how to open the case, he hides the case, leaves Sally a note telling her where it can be found, and then disappears. The next morning, it's clear that someone opened the letter, found the case and stole it. Sally's former fiance, Bill, now Major Armitage and working for the War Office, wants to get his hands both on the case and on Franzi. Sally is approached by some unsavory characters who want her to open the case the correct way and deliver the formula. Like any plucky English girl during wartime, she refuses. Then follows a choreography of fake telegrams, sending Sally and Bill hither and dither. On one such fool's errand, Sally meets her old friend Etta, who, it turns out, is affiliated with the enemies. Sally is brought to a rambling old house that belongs to a memory-impaired old lady, her maid, her servant and her chauffeur. Apart from the old lady, all are in on the plot to force Sally to open the case. Needless to say, Sally manages to escape, Bill arrives just in time, and all is well.
As I said, a pretty formulaic story. The main point of interest is that it appears that the engagement between Bill and Sally was broken, seven years ago, because Sally had come under the influence of ...gasp... a suffragette. What exactly happened is never made clear - it appears that the then 17-year old Sally had decided to give up Love in order to dedicate herself to the Cause ? Either way, it's clear that the much more mature 24-year old Sally has extricated herself from political or social engagements, whereas her friend Etta, now a dried-up spinster, has continued to move in earnest circles. This has led her to become a pawn in the hands of the handsome but brutal agent Lazare (the main villain). Etta is a character that evokes both irritation and pity. Irritation, because she's always bursting into tears and because she's clearly deceiving herself both about Lazare's presumed romantic attachment to her, and about the purity of his motives for wanting the formula (he's working for World Peace, of course!). She evokes pity because of the same reasons, and because she's so obviously looking for something meaningful to fill her life with - something that in Sally's case will be supplied by her renewed romance with Bill Armitage.
Some funny moments in the book include the scene where Sally is supposed to be mentally tortured by being in the same room as a Polish violinist whose ultra-modern musical stylings grate on the ear. Another is provided by the meanderings of the old lady, who lives largely in the past and is constantly babbling on about her youthful flirtations.
August 25, 2021
Knowing this was one of Patricia Wentworth's earliest novels, I'm surprised by how well it is written - even better than Agatha Christie's early attempts, in my opinion. Wonderful character development, and very engaging characters. Plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Difficult to put down.
October 11, 2021
Agatha Christie was, of course, a highly successful mystery writer but unfortunately her success and her prolific output overshadowed a lot of other interesting writers. Luckily Dean Street Press are republishing a lot of these forgotten writers including Patricia Wentworth, a contemporary of Christie’s who wrote 65 mysteries.
The Red Lacquer Case has not only one of the best covers ever, but it is a fun read. “Young Sally Meredith is distracted from her jam recipes by a visit from uncle Fritzi, who is accompanied by a mysterious red lacquer case containing a deadly secret. A band of unscrupulous international agents are close behind, and when the eccentric uncle disappears into the night the lacquer case is stolen. But Sally is now the only person who knows how to open the case – she is kidnapped, her life in terrible danger.”
For me I found the hostage situation intriguing. I loved the old house and the flight from it and the confusion over what has happened to Sally. Here is Sally floundering in the dark pursued by the evil Lazare:
“Lazare heard her come slowly, slowly, and he moved to the very edge of the dense shadow and waited for her there. She did not see the stile or know that it was there until she struck her knee against one of the wooden bars. Then she cried out – such a faint little cry and immediately Lazare had hold of her, his right arm about her shoulders pinioning her, and his left choking the little faint cry almost before it was uttered.”
An enjoyable Golden Age Mystery. Thanks you Dean Street Press. 3 and a half stars.
The Red Lacquer Case has not only one of the best covers ever, but it is a fun read. “Young Sally Meredith is distracted from her jam recipes by a visit from uncle Fritzi, who is accompanied by a mysterious red lacquer case containing a deadly secret. A band of unscrupulous international agents are close behind, and when the eccentric uncle disappears into the night the lacquer case is stolen. But Sally is now the only person who knows how to open the case – she is kidnapped, her life in terrible danger.”
For me I found the hostage situation intriguing. I loved the old house and the flight from it and the confusion over what has happened to Sally. Here is Sally floundering in the dark pursued by the evil Lazare:
“Lazare heard her come slowly, slowly, and he moved to the very edge of the dense shadow and waited for her there. She did not see the stile or know that it was there until she struck her knee against one of the wooden bars. Then she cried out – such a faint little cry and immediately Lazare had hold of her, his right arm about her shoulders pinioning her, and his left choking the little faint cry almost before it was uttered.”
An enjoyable Golden Age Mystery. Thanks you Dean Street Press. 3 and a half stars.
September 22, 2024
Only three Wentworth books have made it into audio (I think they're trickling into the public domain, so more should be forthcoming), and I was going to pace myself, but I jumped right into this second one right away, gobbled it up, and have already started the third. They're actually in a collection called "Three Plucky Heroines," but I wanted to record and review them separately, so here we are.
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. Sally Meredith is our plucky protagonist. Her engagement broke off seven years ago when she was arrested for suffragette activities, but now she knows she'd behaved sillily, and oh, look, here comes her former fiance play the male lead in her adventures. I'm enjoying that Wentworth's characters get to be masculine and feminine and that her villains are socialists and Bolshevists and anarchists. It's all so refreshing!
Same excellent narrator.
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. Sally Meredith is our plucky protagonist. Her engagement broke off seven years ago when she was arrested for suffragette activities, but now she knows she'd behaved sillily, and oh, look, here comes her former fiance play the male lead in her adventures. I'm enjoying that Wentworth's characters get to be masculine and feminine and that her villains are socialists and Bolshevists and anarchists. It's all so refreshing!
Same excellent narrator.
December 28, 2020
I am a huge fan of Patricia Wentworth and having devoured all her Miss Silver mysteries dozens of times, I have begun working my way through the light romances she wrote as a young woman, before she developed her more famous detective story style. My reasoning is that I enjoy her writing style and ability to conjure up memorable characters and settings, along with all the cosy period details and that this will outweigh the frivolity and implausibility of these yarns.
Well, it sometimes works out but not this time. The Red Lacquer Case is one of the weaker efforts as far as I can see. It uses a hackneyed plot (scientist who has invented valuable weapon is pursued for his secret) which was reproduced to far better effect later in the Miss Silver story The Key), depends on international spies for its villains (it's usually either spies or gangs with these early stories) and makes no convincing attempt to bring creativity or interest to its characters.
Heroine Sally lives alone other than a housekeeper and there's no real attempt to explain why she has no parents or siblings. Her step-uncle Fritzi is introduced at the beginning through a series of annoying broken English monologues - he is the one who has invented a new poison gas. His haverings over whether to share this secret and who with is what drives the plot and he is frankly appalling selfish in the way he saddles the very young Sally with the responsibility for this and puts her life in danger. But I didn't like Sally so I don't really care.
We also learn very early on that Sally was once engaged to a man named Bill Armitage but it was broken off (it's hinted that this is because she became a suffragette, honestly how dare she?). Bill is your archetypal Patricia Wentworth bluntly physical action hero and it's fair enough that he's still in love with Sally but it's distinctly annoying when we also discover in the first couple of chapters that he is the British Government representative who has been liaising with Fritzi over the poison gas invention. This gigantic coincidence is never explained or even commented on.
From this unpromising start, we end up with a plot which is mostly people rushing about from the village to London and back again, misunderstanding each other, failing to get messages and plunging themselves into danger. Some scenes involving village characters gossiping about Sally's affairs are poorly done but do suggest a flicker of the much better scenes of this kind which can be found in the later Miss Silver Books.
So overall, while there are some early Patricia Wentworth romances for which I have a sneaking fondness, this is not one of them so I would pass it by.
Well, it sometimes works out but not this time. The Red Lacquer Case is one of the weaker efforts as far as I can see. It uses a hackneyed plot (scientist who has invented valuable weapon is pursued for his secret) which was reproduced to far better effect later in the Miss Silver story The Key), depends on international spies for its villains (it's usually either spies or gangs with these early stories) and makes no convincing attempt to bring creativity or interest to its characters.
Heroine Sally lives alone other than a housekeeper and there's no real attempt to explain why she has no parents or siblings. Her step-uncle Fritzi is introduced at the beginning through a series of annoying broken English monologues - he is the one who has invented a new poison gas. His haverings over whether to share this secret and who with is what drives the plot and he is frankly appalling selfish in the way he saddles the very young Sally with the responsibility for this and puts her life in danger. But I didn't like Sally so I don't really care.
We also learn very early on that Sally was once engaged to a man named Bill Armitage but it was broken off (it's hinted that this is because she became a suffragette, honestly how dare she?). Bill is your archetypal Patricia Wentworth bluntly physical action hero and it's fair enough that he's still in love with Sally but it's distinctly annoying when we also discover in the first couple of chapters that he is the British Government representative who has been liaising with Fritzi over the poison gas invention. This gigantic coincidence is never explained or even commented on.
From this unpromising start, we end up with a plot which is mostly people rushing about from the village to London and back again, misunderstanding each other, failing to get messages and plunging themselves into danger. Some scenes involving village characters gossiping about Sally's affairs are poorly done but do suggest a flicker of the much better scenes of this kind which can be found in the later Miss Silver Books.
So overall, while there are some early Patricia Wentworth romances for which I have a sneaking fondness, this is not one of them so I would pass it by.
September 21, 2016
A little dated and rambling
I'm a huge fan of Wentworth's books, but sadly this is not one of her best. The mystery is right at the beginning, and an obvious one too. The story really bogs down in the middle and I was tempted to skip quite a lot of repetitive, meandering prose. The end was a satisfying if unsurprising outcome, so I feel this is a book to appeal in the main to real die-hard fans and students. There are other, much finer works by Wentworth. Also the text was rather full of errors.
I'm a huge fan of Wentworth's books, but sadly this is not one of her best. The mystery is right at the beginning, and an obvious one too. The story really bogs down in the middle and I was tempted to skip quite a lot of repetitive, meandering prose. The end was a satisfying if unsurprising outcome, so I feel this is a book to appeal in the main to real die-hard fans and students. There are other, much finer works by Wentworth. Also the text was rather full of errors.
June 13, 2022
This is an adventure-romance story of Sally Meredith and Major Bill Armitage. They were engaged once, seven years ago, and now they meet again and soon discover they have not got over each other. Sally's Uncle Fritzi has invented a formula for a terrible weapon which he now regrets. He keeps it in a red lacquer case which has a trick to opening it. Having showed her this, he then walks out of the house in the middle of the night and gives the impression he has fallen down a deep hole and died. In the meantime, bad guys (and women) are after the formula, and they kidnap Sally in order to force her to open the red lacquer box which they have stolen. Bill tries to find Sally, does find her, they escape, they are captured, they are threatened--how do they eventually save themselves? You must read the book to find out.
So it is a romp, a diverting one. I don't think anyone is murdered, though the bad guys are quite nasty and threatening, and Sally and Bill do persevere. There is a surprise ending, too, just to put a swirl on top of the icing.
So it is a romp, a diverting one. I don't think anyone is murdered, though the bad guys are quite nasty and threatening, and Sally and Bill do persevere. There is a surprise ending, too, just to put a swirl on top of the icing.
April 13, 2018
I have always loved the Miss Silver mysteries, but this was the first non-series book of Wentworth's that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps viewed sub specie aeternitatis it's a 3-star book rather than the four I gave it, but I have a particular liking for mystery-adventure-romance-spy stories of the 1920s and 30s — Dorothy Sayers, John Buchan, Dornford Yates, early Manning Coles etc. Also I have been reading rather a lot of really poorly written contemporary fantasy lately, and it is _such_ a pleasure to return to a literate author who can actually write good prose.
The extensive biographical information included was also very interesting.
The extensive biographical information included was also very interesting.
June 2, 2024
This one was a bit drawn out and silly. It reminded me of scenes of a villain droning on about how clever they are for just long enough for the hero to come to the rescue. One scene that really got me was when Bill is telling Sally’s uncle that she is missing. Simple put it amounts to “There is something vitally important that I need to tell you so let’s drive to a quiet place, not talk about it during the drive, and then I’ll let you babble on while I interrupt to tell you how important it is that I tell you I ask you this time sensitive question, while not actually asking you the question or telling you anything.”
August 17, 2018
This one was actually quite fast-moving and pacey, usually Patricia Wentworth's books are slower and more ponderous, but this one rushed on ahead which was good and you wanted to find out what happened to Sally and Bill, the main characters. The character Sally was feisty and modern which was good, she certainly wasn't a push-over and in her kidnapping situation she was cool and quick-thinking. One of the better books!
April 11, 2021
The villains don't seem very menacing for a long time, rather they are vaguely comical. (One method of torture they use is having a violinist practice his scales in a room nearby.)
A standard Wentworth romance. The most interesting thing is getting Wentworth's depiction of a former suffragette. She certainly seems to have not been a wholehearted supporter of the movement for votes for women, and certainly disliked violent methods, but seems impressed by their patriotism.
A standard Wentworth romance. The most interesting thing is getting Wentworth's depiction of a former suffragette. She certainly seems to have not been a wholehearted supporter of the movement for votes for women, and certainly disliked violent methods, but seems impressed by their patriotism.
August 19, 2023
Diving straight into Patricia Wentworth's 2nd crime novel I thought at the beginning it might become somewhat repetitive for it's similarities from the 1st; main characters still in love despite a broken engagement where the woman is the fast thinking victim/heroine of the story and the jilted beau becomes the hero of the hour but, as it turned out it was an enjoyable read of a totally different story and even managed to stir me up into quite an excitement in the last unfolding chapters.
October 12, 2022
It is a love story and an adventure story, combined. More like a movie than a golden age cozy mystery. There is no mystery to be solved in fact and a good part of the tale is where people run around, doing lot of things rather than think.
If that appeals to you, go ahead and enjoy. If looking for more of mystery and analysis, then give this one a miss.
If that appeals to you, go ahead and enjoy. If looking for more of mystery and analysis, then give this one a miss.
July 19, 2025
Sigh
This was a tedious read, and it's not even a mystery, it's a thriller. I don't enjoy thrillers, and certainly not something this drawn out, and to be frank, rather stupid.
I've had Miss Silver books on my wish list for a long while, based on recommendations as Miss Marple-esque mysteries, but now I wonder..
This was a tedious read, and it's not even a mystery, it's a thriller. I don't enjoy thrillers, and certainly not something this drawn out, and to be frank, rather stupid.
I've had Miss Silver books on my wish list for a long while, based on recommendations as Miss Marple-esque mysteries, but now I wonder..
September 1, 2021
I loved this mystery. It was really more of a thriller than a mystery because you knew who the villains were, but it was suspenseful. I loved the main characters and a couple of the older characters were very good, and brought some comic relief to the story.
December 18, 2023
Patricia Wentworth is now a whole hearted favorite author of mine! I particularly loved her sense of humor here! Her writing style reminds me of Grace Livingston Hill but with less romance and less faith, and more mystery! Excellent books and wonderful narration by Anne Hancock.
December 24, 2024
Fun thirties thrilling pulp fiction, with shadowy agents and a headstrong young woman doing right. Wentworth is a favorite author and this was a fun, if frothy, part of her thriller books, as opposed to her detective stories.
January 18, 2025
A young woman is forced to listen to a violinist practicing and fed only bread and cocoa. Oh, the torment! Will she give into the nefarious gangs demands? This thriller is charming and (unintentionally?) funny.
May 12, 2017
A very early work by Wentworth. More a thriller than a mystery, a fun read. Well written and plotted, a charming heroine. Just the thing for a relaxing and absorbing break from the daily grind.
June 15, 2017
Not one of my favourites
October 28, 2020
Grreat
Good enthralling read, fast paced. I would recommend this book to anyone. If you like What he Christie, Patricia Wentworth comes very close to it.
Good enthralling read, fast paced. I would recommend this book to anyone. If you like What he Christie, Patricia Wentworth comes very close to it.
January 8, 2023
Fast-paced and suspenseful. Loved that the heroine Sally Meredith was a Suffragette when she was younger, so not a meek woman!
July 29, 2023
More research reading.
October 13, 2023
Slow at first but a fun read.
July 2, 2024
Amateur effort
Reads like the worst sort of adventure story for 10 year old children. Miss Wentworth must have learned to write later on.
Reads like the worst sort of adventure story for 10 year old children. Miss Wentworth must have learned to write later on.
September 7, 2024
I usually prefer mysteries to thrillers, and I like a "tied-up" ending, but somehow this e arly Wentworth book swept me along with its likeable heroine and non-stop action.
October 8, 2025
Very melodramatic and silly.
November 12, 2016
My favourite ending of a Patricia Wentworth book.
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December 3, 2017Another redoubtable heroine (though not to the standard of Jane Smith). Readable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews