A Miss Silver Mystery
30 primary works • 33 total works
Book 1
Furious at being jilted at the altar by Margaret Langton, Charles Moray left England behind him. Four years later he returns only to discover that a criminal gang has been using his house to plan a vicious crime. The target is the beautiful Margot Standing, who stands to inherit a considerable fortune. But the gang has other plans for her.
Charles is appalled to discover that Margaret Langton is one of the conspirators. How did she come to be involved? And who is the terrifying masked man who has her in his thrall?
Book 2
The Everton murder case has long been closed. The culprit has been charged with the murder of his uncle and has served a year of his sentence already. Or has he?
The evidence against Geoffrey Grey is convincing but his wife believes in his innocence. And so does her young cousin, Hilary, who decides to solve the mystery herself.
But when Hilary herself is nearly murdered she turns in desperation to her ex-fiance for help. He calls upon the services of Miss Silver to help solve another mystery, which she does in her own original style.
Book 3
There were times when Rachel Treherne fervently wished that her beloved father had left his fortune to somebody else, so overburdened did she feel with the administration of her estate. And never more so than now for, although she was surrounded by relatives who depended on her, whom she loved and who must surely love her, there was no doubt in her mind that somebody was trying to kill her.Threatening letters could be ignored, odd tasting chocolates can be rejected but when snakes are left in her bed, Rachel is convinced that someone means here terrible harm. Her only chance of a future life lay with Miss Silver, and Miss Silver was well on the way to unmasking the murderer when they struck again.
Book 4
Book 5
Tanis Lyle was one of those passionate women who always get their own way. Her cousin Laura hated her. Most women did. But men found her irresistible and she used them mercilessly.
So when Tanis was found murdered there seemed to be any number of suspects on hand.
But Miss Silver had her own suspicions . . .
Book 6
New Year's Eve, 1940, is unusual for the Paradine family. Departing from tradition, James Paradine makes a speech that changes the course of many lives. Valuable documents have disappeared. A member of the family has taken them. The culprit has until midnight to confess and return the papers.
A few minutes after twelve James Paradine is dead.
It is left to Miss Silver to disentangle the threads that bind the Paradine family in a strange web of dislike, hatred and fear.
Book 7
When her fiancé, Giles Armitage, is lost at sea in the middle of the Second World War, Meade Underwood is left in the company of a middle-aged aunt with nothing but a monotonous round of bridge parties and war work to fill her days.
A chance encounter restores Giles to Meade but he has lost his memory, and their rediscovered happiness is threatened by the machinations of the scheming Carola Roland, a figure from Giles's forgotten past. So when Carola is viciously murdered, Giles becomes the chief suspect and it takes all Miss Silver's ingenuity to unravel the real significance of the crime and its electrifying consequences.
Book 8
Book 9
Anne Jocelyn and a friend were killed trying to escape the first German assault on France. Before leaving to join the war, it was up to Anne's husband, Phillip, to bury her body for burial. That was three years ago--and now Anne has returned to England.
Looking and talking exactly like Phillip's wife, the woman insists he mistook her friend's body for her own and buried it by mistake. After three years hiding from the Nazis, Anne has finally escaped and come back to him. Phillip doesn't believe her, but as far as she's concerned Anne Jocelyn's riches are her own. Only the brilliant governess-turned-sleuth Miss Maud Silver will be able to divine the truth . . .
Book 10
Book 11
Things had never been quite the same at Latter End since Lois had taken over. Suddenly life seemed to be an endless succession of bitter family rows which Lois, needless to say, invariably won.
More than one person at Latter End found themselves stretched to the limit by Lois and her bullying, and it was only a matter of time before somebody snapped. It was unthinkable of course . . . but if anyone ever murdered Lois Latter, it would be very embarrassing to discover just how many people might have wished her dead.
Book 12
Book 13
Mary Stokes was walking through Dead Man's Copse one evening when she saw, in the beam of a torch, the corpse of a young woman dressed in a black coat, black gloves, no hat and an eternity ring set with diamonds in her ear. But when she and Detective Sergeant Frank Abbott went back to the wood the body had vanished.
This would have been mystery enough for Miss Silver to solve if a woman had not also reported that her lodger had gone out on Friday dressed in a black coat, black beret, black shoes and large hoop earrings 'set all round with little diamonds like those eternity rings.' She never came back...
Book 14
Who was William Smith? And why was Mavis Jones so horrified to see him?
For seven years William had worked as a woodcarver for the local toyshop, ignorant of his true identity. The war had robbed him of his memory, and no one expected him to ever find the answer. So when he took his work to Evesleys Ltd, why was his life instantly in danger?
When William makes the frightening discovery that there are people determined not to let his memory return whatever the cost, Miss Silver is called in to investigate. But will she uncover their treachery before Mavis strikes again...?
Book 15
When he was 21 James Lessiter told Henrietta Cray that he loved her before all things and so broke Catherine Lee’s heart. But James has a side to him that most people do not see. When the engagement is broken off noone is sure why and Rietta refuses to explain.
Twenty years later James returns to the village an extremely wealthy man. Rietta is still unmarried and Catherine is a penniless widow living in a cottage on the Lessiter estate.
Trouble is inevitable, for Catherine has started to sell some of the valuable contents of the cottage to keep up a lifestyle she cannot afford but James has his suspicions and is looking forward to exposing her. He has always enjoyed seeing someone else suffer whatever the cost.
When he is brutally murdered there all too many people who would benefit from his death but fortunately Miss Silver is ready to investigate.
Book 16
There was a certain heavy air of intrigue and mystery emanating from the old inn high on the cliff top. The Catherine-Wheel had once been a home for pirates and smugglers, but now is looked like it was harbouring a murderer.
It had begun with an advertisement in the paper requesting descendants of the late innkeeper, Jeremiah Taverner, to stay for a weekend at the inn. They had arrived, a mixed assortment, to the family reunion eager to discover the secrets of their ancestry. But one of them had been hideously murdered, bringing the inn's stormy past into frightening focus.
Scotland Yard, already suspicious of dope smuggling in the area, sends Maud Silver to investigate before the fireworks start to fly.
Book 17
Lewis Brading loves only one thing - his collection of jewels. Not only are the gems extremely valuable but also every piece has a fascinating and bloody history attached to it.
However Lewis is a frightened and difficult man who sees thieves around every corner. When he asks Miss Silver for help, she gives him some sound advice and turns him away. A few days later, she receives a letter from him, again asking for help. But it is too late. In the morning paper is the news of his murder.
Book 18
Book 19
A classic mystery novel from one of the mistresses of the genre.
Bill Waring, collecting his wits in hospital after a train crash, receives only one letter from Lila Dryden, his fiancee. When he discovers Lady Dryden, Lila's guardian, has pressured her into an engagement with Herbert Whitall, he is furious.
Herbert Whitall is aggressive, with a cold-hearted possessiveness that expands past the bounds of his ivory collection he can't bear to lose. His employees hate him, Lila is terrified of him and it appears he has a hold on Lady Dryden.
When a dagger in Whitall's collection becomes the instrument of his own death there are many suspects. Maud Silver must see that justice is done, not merely to punish the guilty, but to protect the innocent.
Book 20
There is nothing more deadly than a friend betrayed.
There is no doubt in Thomasina Elliott's mind that her oldest schoolfriend is a creature of habit. So when, after three years of regular correspondence, Anna's letters suddenly stop, Thomasina becomes concerned. And even more so when it transpires that her friend has disappeared without trace, in extremely odd circumstances. Fortunately, however, the indomitable Miss Silver is on hand to investigate.