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Miss Silver #9
She Came Back
Also published as The Traveller Returns.
Assumed dead, Lady Anne Jocelyn meets varying degrees of welcome when she returns from Occupied France to her old life in England. Though her husband Sir Philip is not overjoyed to see her, he agrees to a trial reunion. But a murder raises his doubts, and then a second and third send Miss Silver to a curious consideration of life after death.
Assumed dead, Lady Anne Jocelyn meets varying degrees of welcome when she returns from Occupied France to her old life in England. Though her husband Sir Philip is not overjoyed to see her, he agrees to a trial reunion. But a murder raises his doubts, and then a second and third send Miss Silver to a curious consideration of life after death.
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
305 people are currently reading
691 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
April 9, 2018
In occupied France, Sir Philip Jocelyn and friends make an attempt to rescue by boat his wife Anne and her cousin Annie Joyce while under enemy fire. There is a shot and in the mayhem one of the women goes down while the other is accidently left behind on shore. Sir Philip Jocelyn identifies the shot woman as his wife and she is buried in the family graveyard.
Three and a half years later, when Sir Philip is on the verge of proposing to the young woman who was one of his wife’s bridesmaids, Lady Anne Jocelyn returns to England – alive despite living in occupied France and deportation to a concentration camp. She said it was Annie Joyce who had died that night and all she wanted was a chance to reconcile with her family – and her husband.
This is the intriguing plot of the ninth book in Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver series. Another enjoyable read by an inventive author who must have had thousands of faithful readers back in the day. My one quibble is that often her heroines are too sweet and innocent – too naïve – to be real and embraceable by many of today’s readers. Or maybe not.
Despite that, I continue to enjoy this series as the plots are interesting and engaging. Then there is Miss Silver, who is in a class of her own. Her bright intelligence and intuition leaves her open to facts that the police investigators don’t see or, when they see them, they tend to sweep them under the rug instead of giving them the weight they deserve.
It will be fun to see where and when Miss Silver will be called upon next to unravel a mystery that is so tangled only her famous knitting needles will be able to stitch it together again.
Three and a half years later, when Sir Philip is on the verge of proposing to the young woman who was one of his wife’s bridesmaids, Lady Anne Jocelyn returns to England – alive despite living in occupied France and deportation to a concentration camp. She said it was Annie Joyce who had died that night and all she wanted was a chance to reconcile with her family – and her husband.
This is the intriguing plot of the ninth book in Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver series. Another enjoyable read by an inventive author who must have had thousands of faithful readers back in the day. My one quibble is that often her heroines are too sweet and innocent – too naïve – to be real and embraceable by many of today’s readers. Or maybe not.
Despite that, I continue to enjoy this series as the plots are interesting and engaging. Then there is Miss Silver, who is in a class of her own. Her bright intelligence and intuition leaves her open to facts that the police investigators don’t see or, when they see them, they tend to sweep them under the rug instead of giving them the weight they deserve.
It will be fun to see where and when Miss Silver will be called upon next to unravel a mystery that is so tangled only her famous knitting needles will be able to stitch it together again.
February 22, 2023
Some people just won't stay dead!!!
January 22, 2024
Deliciously complex and twisty-turny. Set in WWII, this mystery quickly becomes much more complex than it seems like it will be at the start. I’d say this is as much a spy thriller as a mystery. It reads more like N or M? by Agatha Christie. There are some complex ethics and characters here too. None of the characters are as simple as they first appear to be. Very satisfying as was the twist at the end. I love Miss Silver even more after this too. She’s so shrewd. I giggled to myself at the dynamic between Miss Silver and the two Scotland Yard men, Chief Detective Inspector Lamb and Detective Sergeant Abbott.
Oh! I was thinking as I read this about Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey and The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart which both have a "person back from the dead" plot. This seems rather uncommon, so I'm curious if Josephine Tey got this idea from Patricia Wentworth.
Oh! I was thinking as I read this about Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey and The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart which both have a "person back from the dead" plot. This seems rather uncommon, so I'm curious if Josephine Tey got this idea from Patricia Wentworth.
March 13, 2019
I loved this one, and Agatha Christie could've taken some lessons in how to write a spy story from Patricia Wentworth.
April 29, 2024
She Came Back, published as The Traveller Returns in the UK, is my first Patricia Wentworth and I think it’s safe to say she is my newest bookish obsession. I closed this book and immediately started another Patricia Wentworth.
Anne Jocelyn has been dead for three and a half years. Her husband, Philip, saw her get shot. He carried her body to the boat before fleeing France.
Then one night she walks into Jocelyn mansion.
I thought I knew where this story was going, but it went somewhere even better than I could have imagined! It kept me guessing and enthralled right to the end.
This is book nine in Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver series, but Miss Silver isn’t introduced into the story until the halfway mark. Before I started this book, I had expected Miss Silver would enter the picture early on, but the story had me so captivated that by the time she showed up I was like, ‘Who is this woman with her knitting?’
I loved everything about this book, including Miss Silver! I expected her to be similar to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, but she is not at all! I’m very much looking forward to reading all of the books in this series.
I've been wanting to give Patricia Wentworth's books a try for a while, and I have to thank my friend, Gina (@babsbelovedbooks on Instagram) for making it a possibility! She gave me this and another Patricia Wentworth, Ladies' Bane , when we did a book trade.
Anne Jocelyn has been dead for three and a half years. Her husband, Philip, saw her get shot. He carried her body to the boat before fleeing France.
Then one night she walks into Jocelyn mansion.
“She put her hand on the door-knob and stood for a moment, loosening her coat, pushing it back to show the blue of the dress beneath. Her heart beat hard against her side. It isn't every day that one comes back from the dead. Perhaps she was glad that Philip wasn't there. She opened the door and stood on the threshold looking in.
“Light overhead, the blue curtains drawn at the windows, a wood fire glowing bright, and over it the white mantelshelf with The Seasons looking down, and, over The Seasons, the Girl with a Fur Coat. She looked at her steadily, critically, as she might have looked at her own reflection in the glass. She thought the portrait might very well have been a mirror reflecting her.”
I thought I knew where this story was going, but it went somewhere even better than I could have imagined! It kept me guessing and enthralled right to the end.
This is book nine in Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver series, but Miss Silver isn’t introduced into the story until the halfway mark. Before I started this book, I had expected Miss Silver would enter the picture early on, but the story had me so captivated that by the time she showed up I was like, ‘Who is this woman with her knitting?’
I loved everything about this book, including Miss Silver! I expected her to be similar to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, but she is not at all! I’m very much looking forward to reading all of the books in this series.
I've been wanting to give Patricia Wentworth's books a try for a while, and I have to thank my friend, Gina (@babsbelovedbooks on Instagram) for making it a possibility! She gave me this and another Patricia Wentworth, Ladies' Bane , when we did a book trade.
April 3, 2019
I wonder if any part of this plot would fly today? I deeply doubt it.
December 30, 2019
I've now read 19 of the 32 Miss Silver mysteries. This is the 9th in the series. They are all pleasant cozy reads, with different plots and new personalities for Miss Silver to observe and analyze, but other than giving a synopsis of the plot, it is hard to give a meaningful review of each one. It does seem that each one has at least one really disagreeable character that either becomes the victim of murder or turns out to be the perpetrator, and in a way that makes them satisfying. Patricia Wentworth really knew how to make you dislike certain characters. It also seems that more often than not, blackmail is involved and more central to the crime than the other big motivators of greed and hatred. I particularly enjoy how the relationship between Maud Silver and the Scotland Yard man, Frank Abbot continues to develop.
Recently I viewed new presentations of a couple of Miss Marple stories on PBS Masterpiece Mystery and do think there are some similarities between Miss Marple and Miss Silver. It has been many years since I read the Agatha Christie mysteries, but I am finding that I really like Miss Silver, as a personality, better, and I think she is much more clever and subtle and not so doddering. I wonder why PBS has not done these mysteries, and if they did, who would they get to play Miss Maud Silver.
Recently I viewed new presentations of a couple of Miss Marple stories on PBS Masterpiece Mystery and do think there are some similarities between Miss Marple and Miss Silver. It has been many years since I read the Agatha Christie mysteries, but I am finding that I really like Miss Silver, as a personality, better, and I think she is much more clever and subtle and not so doddering. I wonder why PBS has not done these mysteries, and if they did, who would they get to play Miss Maud Silver.
May 23, 2022
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One of my favorite identity/impersonation novels although it was the first Patricia Wentworth I ever read and I did not appreciate it right away. Later I became a huge fan of her mysteries.
One of my favorite identity/impersonation novels although it was the first Patricia Wentworth I ever read and I did not appreciate it right away. Later I became a huge fan of her mysteries.
February 9, 2021
Is She Back?
Lady Anne Jocelyn leaves England, before the war, to visit family in France. When war brakes out and Germany invades France, her husband, Sir Philip, comes over to bring her back.
While on the beach, trying to escape, an explosive kills Lady
Jocelyn. Her husband buries her and goes back home.
A few years later, Lady Jocelyn returns to England, to reclaim her home and husband, but Philip believes that she is not his dead wife, but her look-alike cousin, Annie Joyce.
The whole family comes by to see for themselves, but the mysterious woman knows so much about Lady Jocelyn, that it must be her.
Miss Maude Silver is soon caught up in this mystery, and not too soon, because murder has become involved.
Written during WWII, Patricia Wentworth gives us all the necessary thrills of suspense and danger from spies and conspiracies.
Five stars ✨.
Lady Anne Jocelyn leaves England, before the war, to visit family in France. When war brakes out and Germany invades France, her husband, Sir Philip, comes over to bring her back.
While on the beach, trying to escape, an explosive kills Lady
Jocelyn. Her husband buries her and goes back home.
A few years later, Lady Jocelyn returns to England, to reclaim her home and husband, but Philip believes that she is not his dead wife, but her look-alike cousin, Annie Joyce.
The whole family comes by to see for themselves, but the mysterious woman knows so much about Lady Jocelyn, that it must be her.
Miss Maude Silver is soon caught up in this mystery, and not too soon, because murder has become involved.
Written during WWII, Patricia Wentworth gives us all the necessary thrills of suspense and danger from spies and conspiracies.
Five stars ✨.
February 14, 2014
I enjoyed this mystery. It features armchair sleuth, Miss Maude Silver. It's the second of this series I've read and I enjoyed this one more than the first. It was an interesting storyline; set during WWII, Richard Jocelyn's wife has returned from the dead. Is it a case of mistaken identity? That is to be resolved. Throw - in possible Nazi spies, murders, while it's not full of action, the mystery is interesting and there is an ongoing undercurrent of menace and threat. Maude Silver is a retired nanny, become detective, who seems to do most of her work from her armchair as she knits wool socks for nephews and other family members. People who she meets, by chance, are drawn to her and she finds herself involved in this case almost by accident. Using her strong intuition, she provides valuable clues to the police; Sgt Abbott, who adores her and his boss, Inspector Lamb, who isn't quite so enamoured, but still doesn't mind using her skills at deduction. An interesting story, if you like writers in the vein of Agatha Christie and Marjery Allingham, you'll enjoy Miss Silver as well.
July 21, 2012
I liked this tight little mystery. It is classic Agatha Christie era with loads of background and character development in the first half and everyone seeming to have a motive. It takes place towards the end of WWII where the Germans appear to have essentially lost but there's still spies and the killing blow has not yet been dealt.
The author doesn't leave you pondering and guessing as long as some might. It seemed I no sooner asked a question that the author answered it. That was good and bad as I liked finding out what happened but Ms Wentworth could have wrung a bit more suspense out of me. I would have liked that too.
I also expected Miss Silver to play a bigger role in the story but her involvement was very subtle. I want to see if that was just in this book or all the books in this series.
The book ends on a surprise and I gave it high marks for the, "I didn't see that coming." I will definately look for more of her books.
The author doesn't leave you pondering and guessing as long as some might. It seemed I no sooner asked a question that the author answered it. That was good and bad as I liked finding out what happened but Ms Wentworth could have wrung a bit more suspense out of me. I would have liked that too.
I also expected Miss Silver to play a bigger role in the story but her involvement was very subtle. I want to see if that was just in this book or all the books in this series.
The book ends on a surprise and I gave it high marks for the, "I didn't see that coming." I will definately look for more of her books.
December 24, 2020
Number 9 in the series deals with a woman who was killed while trying to escape from France to England during WWII. Three and a half years later she appears in England, very much alive. Anne Jocelyn is met with varying degrees of welcome. Certainly her husband has the most to lose by her sudden reappearance.
This isn't one of my favorites in the series but it certainly was good enough to keep me totally focused on the book while the wind and rain turned the day into a definite shelter-at-home requirement. Even after almost four years have passed it seems the reader is being asked to swallow a pretty big plot device to believe everyone would easily accept this person is Anne Jocelyn and not Annie Joyce. The romantic interest is one of those where the man and woman only have to look at each other to perfectly understand all the words that are not spoken. So, a lot for a reader to swallow and yet I still read this one again and enjoyed it. Not the best of the series but good enough which just goes to show how much I love Miss Maude Silver.
This isn't one of my favorites in the series but it certainly was good enough to keep me totally focused on the book while the wind and rain turned the day into a definite shelter-at-home requirement. Even after almost four years have passed it seems the reader is being asked to swallow a pretty big plot device to believe everyone would easily accept this person is Anne Jocelyn and not Annie Joyce. The romantic interest is one of those where the man and woman only have to look at each other to perfectly understand all the words that are not spoken. So, a lot for a reader to swallow and yet I still read this one again and enjoyed it. Not the best of the series but good enough which just goes to show how much I love Miss Maude Silver.
February 15, 2012
Wartime London. The wealthy Jocelyn family is shocked by the appearance of a young woman claiming to be Anne Jocelyn, who was presumed shot during the evacuation of France three years earlier. Her own husband, Sir Philip, is less than enthousiastic to see his "wife" reappear after he had seen her buried- or so he thought. Part of his reluctance may be due to the fact that he has fallen in love with Lyn, and part of it may have to do with the fact that Anne's death made a nice fortune available to him. Most of all, he simply cannot believe that this plausible, smooth young woman is indeed the tempestuous and selfish girl he was once married to. He believes that this young woman is Annie Joyce, an illegitimate niece whose family resemblance to Anne Jocelyn was well known. But after pressure from his family and a discussion with Anne Jocelyn during which she reveals intimate knowledge of their honeymoon, he is reluctantly forced to accept that she is indeed his wife, but sufficiently altered by her experiences in occupied France to appear like a total stranger. The girl who was killed and buried must therefore have been Annie Joyce.
The romantic story of the reappearing heiress appears in the papers, and a lonely old woman who knew Annie Joyce as a child decides to contact Anne Jocelyn to hear about Annie's last days. When she is killed, Miss Silver becomes involved.
This is one of the better Miss Silver books. The storyline feels a little dated in the age of DNA identification, but the emotional suspense (Who is she?) was still very palpable. Other interesting details were the description of daily life during WWII, including how hard it was to get any beauty products or nice dresses!
The romantic story of the reappearing heiress appears in the papers, and a lonely old woman who knew Annie Joyce as a child decides to contact Anne Jocelyn to hear about Annie's last days. When she is killed, Miss Silver becomes involved.
This is one of the better Miss Silver books. The storyline feels a little dated in the age of DNA identification, but the emotional suspense (Who is she?) was still very palpable. Other interesting details were the description of daily life during WWII, including how hard it was to get any beauty products or nice dresses!
August 14, 2019
Names! Character names! By page 30 I was ready to toss this book across the room. We have Anne Jocelyn and Annie Joyce, Richard Jocelyn - referred to simply as Jocelyn now and then…and besides, Jocelyn is a woman’s name in my brain. And the Jocelyn’s are a Sir and a Lady. And one of the women is an impostor but whoever it is wears the same blue dress and pearls day after day. Seriously? I almost wore out the pages looking back and forth trying to get things straight before I got totally lost.
There. I’ve gotten that off my chest but I guess I can’t complain too much because I did finish the book. Something was enough to overcome my initial frustration: decent writing? curiosity? humor? I will try another since I got a stack of them at a library sale…Oh and this was #9 in the Miss Silver Mysteries but dear Miss Silver didn’t appear until over half-way through the book. She played a minor (but crucial?) role unlike most series centered around a specific detective.
Quotes (possible reasons I kept reading)
"she filled her uniform to capacity.."
"...are you as stupid as you sound?"
" She smoked as she talked -in hearty jerks"
and "He had been sorry for her before, but at a distance, like hearing about a famine in China."
:)
There. I’ve gotten that off my chest but I guess I can’t complain too much because I did finish the book. Something was enough to overcome my initial frustration: decent writing? curiosity? humor? I will try another since I got a stack of them at a library sale…Oh and this was #9 in the Miss Silver Mysteries but dear Miss Silver didn’t appear until over half-way through the book. She played a minor (but crucial?) role unlike most series centered around a specific detective.
Quotes (possible reasons I kept reading)
"she filled her uniform to capacity.."
"...are you as stupid as you sound?"
" She smoked as she talked -in hearty jerks"
and "He had been sorry for her before, but at a distance, like hearing about a famine in China."
:)
January 27, 2017
Wonderful mystery, less sappy than others. Gripping story, would have been a 5* but for the fact that there were too many repeats. I think that was the fault of an editor, it's longer than other books and without the repetition it would have been the usual length.
September 21, 2020
“Would you mind saying that again?”
Milly Armitage felt as if she were going to burst. She said it again, separating the words as if she were speaking to a child.
“Anne-has-come-back.”
“I thought that was what you said -I just wanted to be sure. Would you mind telling me what it means?”
April 19, 2018
What an intense mystery!
January 31, 2020
World War Two provides the backdrop for this detective/espionage/romance novel. It managed to both interest and to irritate me.
I thought it somewhat unlikely that the hero's bosses in Military Intelligence would have taken quite such a time to question the sudden return, from France and the dead, of a wife, just as her husband was taking up a sensitive post. I also had time to reflect on the author's ability to contrive such a glaringly naive heroine, who neatly combined reticence with right people and garrulousness with the wrong.
There were too many coincidences for my liking and the villain was not difficult to spot. However the characterisation was strong and the characters vivid.
Miss Silver books provide easy reading at bedtime. Patricia Wentworth has cornered the market in naive and irritatingly wet heroines and handsome long-suffering heroes.
I thought it somewhat unlikely that the hero's bosses in Military Intelligence would have taken quite such a time to question the sudden return, from France and the dead, of a wife, just as her husband was taking up a sensitive post. I also had time to reflect on the author's ability to contrive such a glaringly naive heroine, who neatly combined reticence with right people and garrulousness with the wrong.
There were too many coincidences for my liking and the villain was not difficult to spot. However the characterisation was strong and the characters vivid.
Miss Silver books provide easy reading at bedtime. Patricia Wentworth has cornered the market in naive and irritatingly wet heroines and handsome long-suffering heroes.
November 25, 2021
This series is becoming better and better..
Free download available at Faded Page.
3* Grey Mask (Miss Silver, #1)
4* The Case Is Closed (Miss Silver, #2)
4* Lonesome Road (Miss Silver, #3)
3* Miss Silver Deals With Death (Miss Silver, #6)
4* She Came Back (Miss Silver, #9)
3* The Case of William Smith (Miss Silver, #13)
2* The Ivory Dagger (Miss Silver, #19)
4* Out of the Past (Miss Silver, #23)
3* The Benevent Treasure (Miss Silver, #26)
2* A Marriage Under the Terror
2* Beggar's Choice
4* The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith: A Golden Age Mystery
TR Danger Point (Miss Silver, #4)
TR The Chinese Shawl (Miss Silver, #5)
TR The Clock Strikes Twelve (Miss Silver, #7)
TR The Key (Miss Silver, #8)
TR Pilgrim's Rest (Miss Silver, #10)
TR Latter End (Miss Silver, #11)
TR Wicked Uncle (Miss Silver, #12)
TR Eternity Ring (Miss Silver, #14)
TR Miss Silver Comes to Stay (Miss Silver, #15)
TR The Catherine Wheel (Miss Silver, #16)
TR The Brading Collection (Miss Silver, #17)
TR Poison in the Pen (Miss Silver, #29)
TR Devil's Wind
TR The Fire Within
TR The Black Cabinet
TR Danger Calling
TR Run!
Free download available at Faded Page.
3* Grey Mask (Miss Silver, #1)
4* The Case Is Closed (Miss Silver, #2)
4* Lonesome Road (Miss Silver, #3)
3* Miss Silver Deals With Death (Miss Silver, #6)
4* She Came Back (Miss Silver, #9)
3* The Case of William Smith (Miss Silver, #13)
2* The Ivory Dagger (Miss Silver, #19)
4* Out of the Past (Miss Silver, #23)
3* The Benevent Treasure (Miss Silver, #26)
2* A Marriage Under the Terror
2* Beggar's Choice
4* The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith: A Golden Age Mystery
TR Danger Point (Miss Silver, #4)
TR The Chinese Shawl (Miss Silver, #5)
TR The Clock Strikes Twelve (Miss Silver, #7)
TR The Key (Miss Silver, #8)
TR Pilgrim's Rest (Miss Silver, #10)
TR Latter End (Miss Silver, #11)
TR Wicked Uncle (Miss Silver, #12)
TR Eternity Ring (Miss Silver, #14)
TR Miss Silver Comes to Stay (Miss Silver, #15)
TR The Catherine Wheel (Miss Silver, #16)
TR The Brading Collection (Miss Silver, #17)
TR Poison in the Pen (Miss Silver, #29)
TR Devil's Wind
TR The Fire Within
TR The Black Cabinet
TR Danger Calling
TR Run!
November 6, 2016
TRAVEL SICKNESS
Oh dear. I was in the mood for a gentle dip into a gentle little mystery of days gone by, where the heroines are gorgeous yet demure, the villains nefarious, the detective a proper hawkeye and the butler always guilty of something, the whole caboodle dripping in cocktails, priceless gems and awe-inspiring country houses. So strong was my urge for nostalgia that I grabbed a load of Patricia Wentworth's novels, since they were being offered free and gratis to Prime members. I was hoping for agatha Christie, but what I got was agatha raisin. Miss W has but one plot, the denouement of which is obvious on page 2. Being frugal in matters of imagination, she has one stuttering, wet-as-a-dishrag romantic heroine, one mentally defective yet manly romantic hero (who are fated to come together at the end, after a few silly misunderstandings), and one plot, all of which she rehashes under different names in novels whose only point of difference is the title. Her detective, the priggish miss silver, is one of those that feel dated at conception. There's no attempt at atmosphere or verisimilitude, and the thing is so infantile I'm amazed it ever found a publisher.
Ghastly, darling, as one of her characters might say.
Oh dear. I was in the mood for a gentle dip into a gentle little mystery of days gone by, where the heroines are gorgeous yet demure, the villains nefarious, the detective a proper hawkeye and the butler always guilty of something, the whole caboodle dripping in cocktails, priceless gems and awe-inspiring country houses. So strong was my urge for nostalgia that I grabbed a load of Patricia Wentworth's novels, since they were being offered free and gratis to Prime members. I was hoping for agatha Christie, but what I got was agatha raisin. Miss W has but one plot, the denouement of which is obvious on page 2. Being frugal in matters of imagination, she has one stuttering, wet-as-a-dishrag romantic heroine, one mentally defective yet manly romantic hero (who are fated to come together at the end, after a few silly misunderstandings), and one plot, all of which she rehashes under different names in novels whose only point of difference is the title. Her detective, the priggish miss silver, is one of those that feel dated at conception. There's no attempt at atmosphere or verisimilitude, and the thing is so infantile I'm amazed it ever found a publisher.
Ghastly, darling, as one of her characters might say.
December 26, 2016
Great Spy Thriller
This novel was written shortly after World War Two but takes place in wartime. If you enjoy espionage thrillers but dislike the gore and violence and crude language so many of today's novelists seem to think it is necessary to include, you'll love this episode in the famous "Miss Silver" mystery series.
This novel was written shortly after World War Two but takes place in wartime. If you enjoy espionage thrillers but dislike the gore and violence and crude language so many of today's novelists seem to think it is necessary to include, you'll love this episode in the famous "Miss Silver" mystery series.
April 20, 2016
It's nice to see several recurring characters. I'm glad that I'm reading this series in order.
April 21, 2025
Anne Jocelyn was supposed to have died tragically. So how come her miraculous return did not lead to universal rejoicing? Instead someone ended up dead, and Miss Silver had to find out why.
My problem with this book is that I find its basic premises ridiculous. There is a set-up that gives us Anne, married to Sir Philip Jocelyn, with a fairly identical cousin of illegitimate descent, and a chain of circumstances before the book opens where both cousins are in France as the Germans invade during WWII, and a rescue under German attack on a French beach in circumstances which are supposed to make it believable that it might have been either Anne or the cousin who survived. Then Sir Philip, cold, full of family honour and now in love with one of Wentworth’s ingenues like a cut-price Maxim de Winter, is perhaps her most unlikeable ‘hero’. Then there is a spy ring centred on a London hairdressing firm, with a mysterious chief who comes from The Big Comic Book of Spies. Wentworth in the middle of all this farrago creates a surprisingly believable picture of Lyndall, the girl who is torn between a childhood fascination with Anne that makes her determined to believe and a growing sense that her gut feeling of unease contradicts the evidence of her senses. Wentworth is always good at examining the ways in which women are pressured or gaslit into not knowing what is real, and Lyndall’s dilemmas here are well done. But she is in such an unbelievable world - and one where, until Miss Silver’s summing up gives a different point of view, we are supposed to sympathise with the aristocrat over the unfortunate lesser mortal - that this book cannot be called a success.
My problem with this book is that I find its basic premises ridiculous. There is a set-up that gives us Anne, married to Sir Philip Jocelyn, with a fairly identical cousin of illegitimate descent, and a chain of circumstances before the book opens where both cousins are in France as the Germans invade during WWII, and a rescue under German attack on a French beach in circumstances which are supposed to make it believable that it might have been either Anne or the cousin who survived. Then Sir Philip, cold, full of family honour and now in love with one of Wentworth’s ingenues like a cut-price Maxim de Winter, is perhaps her most unlikeable ‘hero’. Then there is a spy ring centred on a London hairdressing firm, with a mysterious chief who comes from The Big Comic Book of Spies. Wentworth in the middle of all this farrago creates a surprisingly believable picture of Lyndall, the girl who is torn between a childhood fascination with Anne that makes her determined to believe and a growing sense that her gut feeling of unease contradicts the evidence of her senses. Wentworth is always good at examining the ways in which women are pressured or gaslit into not knowing what is real, and Lyndall’s dilemmas here are well done. But she is in such an unbelievable world - and one where, until Miss Silver’s summing up gives a different point of view, we are supposed to sympathise with the aristocrat over the unfortunate lesser mortal - that this book cannot be called a success.
August 10, 2020
Anne Jocelyn was shot trying to escape from France during the Dunkirk mayhem. Her husband brought back her body, and she was duly buried. Yet, 3 years later, Anne returns. Her husband's initial refusal to acknowledge Anne as his wife gives way in light of the family's acceptance and Anne's knowledge of facts knowable only to her. Yet Anne is so changed, not just from the hardships of occupation but in the very way she thinks. Miss Silver becomes involved after a chance meeting with a woman who raised Anne's cousin, who also failed to get out of France.
September 19, 2021
I've become a huge fan of the Miss Silver mysteries. You're never sure if you're going to get a spy story, a gothic, or a traditional whodunnit. Well, this one is more of a procedural with a bit of an espionage element, and not at all a proper whodunnit. Like Agatha Christie, Wentworth has a real gift for bringing characters to life with just a few sentences. Unlike Christie, Wentworth's puzzles are less baroque; whether that is a weakness is a matter of taste. Personally, I'm fine with it.
This one starts strong but ends predictably. Very entertaining.
This one starts strong but ends predictably. Very entertaining.
September 13, 2018
This story takes place around the end of the WWII. Another good mystery from Ms. Wentworth. It is a while before Ms. Silver makes an appearance. Be patient she will get into thick of things. My only problem was trying to keep up with who was Anne and who was Annie and their family tree. I had a feeling all through the story of what was going to happen next. However, I was completely surprised at the ending. I missed a major clue or maybe I would have figured it out. Good Luck!
February 21, 2020
This Miss Silver was interesting--the whole "doppelganger" idea was a bit of a problem, but as usual, there was plenty of sleuthing and knitting, so all-in-all, a satisfying "what I read when I wake up at 2 a.m." entry. >^..^<
September 17, 2022
I honestly quiet enjoyed the premise of this book even though it was more on the unrealistic side. In general it was quiet an exciting read but it did drag on a little at the end since most things were already revealed to the reader and you just needed to wait for the characters to figure it out as well. Overall, I enjoyed the book though.
February 22, 2022
Very unique plot line with a woman who is supposed to have died escaping back to England after three years. Too many characters to sort out initially, but of course it all came together delightfully. This and The Key have had definite WWII themes--this one has a touch of espionage--which make them more interesting. Once again, the repartee between the two Scotland Yard stalwarts makes one laugh out loud. And Miss Silver's involvement is more coincidental than as a hired private detective, which also lends a different feel to the story.
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