The Key (Miss Silver Mystery Book 8)

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He calls Sir George Rendal to let him know of the success and makes arrangements to turn his findings and all his notes over the next day. It's an appointment that he'll never keep. Harsch goes to the church to relax with music and is It's the s. Harsch goes to the church to relax with music and is later found dead beside the organ. And a German pistol is found beside him. The door is locked and key is in his pocket. There are other keys--but they all seem to be accounted for. A coroner's jury brings in a verdict of "suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

Miss Silver's years as a governess have given her plenty of insight into human nature--a skill that she turns to her advantage as a private detective.

While it is true that Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries tend to run on a certain formula--someone dies; either it's mistakenly called suicide or an innocent person is fingered as the culprit sometimes both happen in quick succession in the same story ; former client or former charge of the governess suggests bringing in Miss Silver; there is a young romantic couple or two who need things straightened out so they can live happily ever after; and the police repeatedly go down blind alleys while Miss Silver whips clues out of her knitting bag faster than she can knit one of her endless supply of socks, baby layettes, etc.

She also has quite few tricks in her own bag. I changed my mind repeatedly on who the culprit was and just barely managed to settle on the correct one before Miss Silver did. It's always pleasant to be fooled for most of the book and then edge out the detective by a nose at the finish line. This particular outing begins like a spy thriller--and there is always the possibility of enemy agents seeking to gain control of Harsch's discovery--but Wentworth never really takes us out of the cozy realm.

The events are firmly lodged in the typical British villages with all the trappings and Miss Silver plays the part of the talkative older lady to the hilt. It's amazing how she shrewdly leads witnesses to produce evidence that the police would never be able to pry out of them with a crowbar. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to war-era Britain. A satisfying read and nicely plotted mystery for four stars. This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion.

I "bit", and was immediately drawn in to the story. This is pathetic, but I can't for the life of me remember who was the 3rd person to die. If anyone knows, please tell me. It's making me nuts! Feb 03, Learnin Curve rated it liked it Shelves: Not the best one she's ever written.

Plot seemed to be devised around war time propaganda and felt like she's churned it out for the war office without taking any real pleasure in it and didn't devise her usual twists and turns. I couldn't really theories who it was because the answer to the puzzle kind of came out of nowhere. Dec 26, Ahmad Sharabiani marked it as to-read Shelves: She had the long, sharp nose and reddish eyes of a ferret, and the thinnest lips that Garth had ever seen.

The fact that she never opened them far enough to allow anyone to see her teeth had given rise to a legend which had terrified his infancy.

It was said, and was possibly still believed amongst the young of Bourne, that she had real ferret's teeth, and that if she caught you alone after dark almos "Miss Doncaster eyed him with the dislike which her features were so well qualified to express. It was said, and was possibly still believed amongst the young of Bourne, that she had real ferret's teeth, and that if she caught you alone after dark almost anything might happen. She said, "I cannot take any case with such a condition attached to it.

It is beyond my province to attempt the proof of either innocence or guilt. I feel obliged to make this perfectly clear. I can only take a case with the object of discovering the truth. Sometimes this truth is at variance with the client's wishes and hopes. As Lord Tennyson so aptly says - "Oh, hard when love and duty clash! They may be unexpected, they may be unwelcome. They may deepen a tragic situation instead of relieving it. I say this to every client.

May 24, Jennifer Kepesh rated it liked it.

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These are all of equally good quality, quite predictable in their broad strokes, full of twists and turns when up close. I am finding it interesting to realize that Miss Silver is always able to solve the mystery through interaction with the suspects and relying on the police for physical evidence. She prefigures Vera, from the British television series. Brilliant she may be, but sexism X ageism guarantees that she would never be employed by the police, o matter how many rings of logic she runs These are all of equally good quality, quite predictable in their broad strokes, full of twists and turns when up close.

Brilliant she may be, but sexism X ageism guarantees that she would never be employed by the police, o matter how many rings of logic she runs around them. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, she never disguises herself, because an aging spinster is already invisible and forgotten two moments after one turns away. She is harmless, so she is trusted. Unlike any other detective, her name never makes it into the paper, so she can move from one case to the next as a cypher.

Her superiority of intelligence and social sense makes her perfect for this insider role, but interestingly, she is always outside of power. So, who is she most like? Jun 22, FangirlNation rated it it was amazing. In The Key by Patricia Wentworth, it is , and the German- Jewish scientist Michael Harsch is working hard to complete his special secret weapon to win the war.

Just as he announces that it is completed and makes an appointment to hand it over to a British government official, he decides to go to the church to play the organ, his method of relaxing. After all, with the completion of Harschite, the death of his wife and daughter five years earlier at Nazi hands is weighing on him. Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation Mar 03, Laurel Hicks rated it it was amazing Shelves: Miss Silver to the rescue—again. Jun 19, Christine Cody rated it really liked it.

One of those books that make me want to start the next book in the series immediately after finishing it. Miss Maud Silver, former governess and detective extraordinaire, is one of the best "amateur" sleuths in British crime fiction. Set in World War II Britain, this murder mystery takes place in an English village replete with German spies, finely drawn spinsters of every nature, young lovers, old drunks, and every other sort to round out a thoroughly delectable tale. Guess I'd bette Wonderful. Guess I'd better head to the library soon for Miss Silver 9!

Pleasant, slightly uneven mystery involving Nazi agents in a small town. Unlike most British mysteries of this period, I found most of the characters moderately likeable. This is my first Miss Silver story and I plan to pick up one of the earlier installments eventually. This mystery has all of the period details that make reading classic mystery novels fun for me. The wartime setting details elegant breakfasts made from powdered eggs, garden produce as the centerpiece for an evening meal, evil Germans apologies to all the good Germanic people--but this is a WW2 story , noble scientists working on secret projects.

This could be any period mystery story IF it didn't feature Miss Silver. The mouse-like, maiden detective who inevit This mystery has all of the period details that make reading classic mystery novels fun for me. The mouse-like, maiden detective who inevitably is the smartest person in the room. She is not a show-off sleuth, just a wise woman seeking justice. In this book, like many of Wentworth's Miss Silver stories, the detective doesn't appear in the book until the reader is well in to the novel. I love Miss Silver.

The characters are beautifully crafted and the story unfolds at its own pace. Highly recommended for readers who like smart ladies and policemen in support roles. Jun 17, LeAnne rated it liked it. This was my first reading of the Miss Silver series. I learned a new word or rather an old word The writing is very good, awfully wordy at times, but typical of those times.

That's why I like reading stories written in the 20s through 40s. The lifestyle was in some ways simpler but more formal, more polite, more appreciative of what they had and made more so because of what they didn't have. This story takes place in a village in England during WW2 when there was food rationing as well as saving of metals, paper, and other hard to find commodities. The story is a little naive in that two pretty sharp police inspectors still need Miss Silver to arrive to figure it all out.

Not too different from Miss Marple of Agatha Christie's mysteries. Patricia Wentworth was part of a group of popular women mystery writers which included Agatha Christie. I'll be reading more of the Miss Silver stories. This one comes close to deserving 4 stars, except that I found the mystery far too easy to figure out and was a bit frustrated by how long it took the characters to suspect the to me obviously suspicious person. Sep 15, Sep rated it really liked it. Printed in and Hitler is mentioned, "The Key" takes place in a small town with limited suspects.

Still, it is a clever puzzle and I could not figure out who the murderer was. May 23, Sherry rated it really liked it. I thought the pacing of this book with Miss Silver arriving sooner was perfect! Always reliable The country cast of characters, the John Bull police detective, the romance, the big oak pin, those are the ingredients Wentworth mixes up for a pleasant read. Yes her books are formulaic but who cares? Jun 06, Silvio rated it really liked it. When I first encountered Miss Silver, in book 1 of the Series Grey Mask , I was disappointed that her characterization was so wooden and she had such scant interactions with her client.

Now, having reached book 8 of the series, The Key, I see that Patricia Wentworth has had time in about 15 years since the first book in to develop Miss Silver. I am completely satisfied now with Miss Silver's portrayal. In The Key, she characteristically appears in the story around page of the book. This has given us a chance to get to know the characters in the rural English village during World War II. I confess that it took me a while to sort out all the people in the first few chapters, but once I got a grip on it, I enjoyed the plot. You know, after you have repeatedly worked your way through all the Sherlock Holmes, all the Miss Marple, all the Poirot, all the Ngaio Marsh, and even all the Josephine Tey, it is delightful to come upon a whole new series of that ilk.

I would not exactly call Wentworth' s mystery novels "cosies," because the plots are just slightly more serious and the themes a bit more weighty than cosies usually impose on us, but they are entertaining and somewhat stimulating for their genre. I recommend this one. Jan 09, Courtney rated it liked it. Mystery set in small-town wartime England with the murder victim an escaped Jewish scientist who developed a "formula" for use against the Nazis.

Miss Silver Mysteries | Awards | LibraryThing

That sounds cool, right? The characters, especially Miss Silver, our former-governess-turned-private-detective, are likeable. The descriptions of the physical specs of the town are overdone and drag the narrative. The murder mystery itself is not twisty or turny, merely process of elimination. Miss Silver herself is a charming character. But t Mystery set in small-town wartime England with the murder victim an escaped Jewish scientist who developed a "formula" for use against the Nazis.

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I'm okay with a heroine who starts out being a drip but somehow that needs to change pretty quickly or I end up irritated with her. This was irritation run amuck. And third, why in the world did someone in a position of influence put that huge clanger of a spoiler in the first line of the description of this book? The whole purpose of the story is to try to figure out what's going on, but that opportunity was taken away before I even opened the Kindle download. My advice is to leave this novel until you've read them all. In a series as long as this one is you can expect to find some unevenness.

That's okay, just read some others before you take on this one. This was a pretty good early Miss Silver, even though she is not in the book for large parts of it. However, if you are triggered by gaslighting, do NOT read this book. There is so much gaslighting in it that the book should come with its own utility bill.

Writing in the Golden Age of mysteries, her sleuth, Maud Silver, is a retired governess who has started her own private detective agency. I have a full set in my library, but can no longer read them due to aging eyesight! Imagine my delight when I found them available on Kindle. I advise everyone who loves a good mystery series very difficult to find today follow her from first to last book.

Maudie and her knitting needles will keep you up late at night! Patricia Wentworth is very economical with her descriptions, but you can picture the old manor house, the windswept rocks, the foreboding atmosphere. Lisle is a damsel in distress, but not tiresome. You root for the young lovers in the end. One person found this helpful. Old Family feuds take center stage as Miss Silver happens upon a dysfunctional family with secrets and madness.

Every now and then, the author produces a heroine who is almost too stupid to live. This book features one. Pale and limp, wimpy and indecisive, she can't even articulate her thoughts to herself, much less to others. I had no sympathy for her, and when she refuses some excellent advice, all I could do was roll my eyes.

To make matters worse, the hero is so obnoxious that it's impossible to believe that the heroine can love him, and the reader can't understand why he'd love her.

It appears that everyone else in the book knows exactly what's going on, whodunit, and the motive, but the clueless pair. Although this is a Miss Silvers mystery, the sleuth makes only a fleeting cameo, as it is an early novel in the series. Unless you're a devoted Miss Silvers fan, skip this entry. Although I have read many Miss Silver mysteries, I had managed to miss this one.

I enjoyed it very much. Patricia Wentworth's detective, Miss Maud Silver, never disappoints, and this mystery had some clever twists.

A good read by a favorite of mine. If you like Agatha Christie, you may enjoy Patricia Wentworth. Hard to be sympathetic to the heroine. What a wimpy, dumb bunny! I did like the the 'period piece' though. That was right on and an interesting perspective of late 30's England inter war years. Just recovering from one, and about to enter another. See all 40 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Dragged on much too long. Published 1 month ago. Published 4 months ago. Published 6 months ago.

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A Surprisingly Good Wartime Mystery with Patricia Wentworth’s The Key (1944)

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