DIVMiss Silver visits the country to keep an eye on a friend who may be in peril/divDIV/divDIVIt is time for Judy to get out of London. Her sister and brother-in-law have just perished in an air raid, leaving her in charge of their four-year-old daughter, and Judy wants no more to do with death. She arranges for work in a piece of the countryside untouched by the war: a charming manor called Pilgrim’s Rest. But it may be that she has more to fear than the Blitz./divDIV /divDIVWhen she tells Frank Abbott of her plans, he warns her that strange things have been happening at Pilgrim’s Rest. The family patriarch is recently dead of mysterious circumstances, and his heir has just suffered a series of near-fatal accidents. He cannot sway Judy, for she needs the work. But he does convince the governess-turned-detective Maud Silver to follow Judy to the village, to be on hand in case country living turns dangerous./div

Governess-turned-detective Miss Silver investigates a deadly conspiratorial ring Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, the hardy young man returns to the manor of his birth, where generations of Morays have lived and died. Strangely, he finds the house unlocked, and sees a light on in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime. Never one for the heroic, Charles’s first instinct is to let the police settle it. But then he hears her voice. Margaret, his long lost love, is part of the gang. To unravel their diabolical plot, he contacts Miss Maud Silver, a onetime governess who applies reason to solve crimes and face the dangers of London’s underworld.

The British governess-turned-sleuth solves three of her most intriguing cases, in this “timelessly charming” series (Charlotte MacLeod). Retired governess and teacher Maud Silver has found a new calling: private detection. With her knitting needles and fondness for Tennyson, she may seem an unlikely sleuth, but Scotland Yard would be lost without her. “Patricia Wentworth has created a great detective in Miss Silver, the little old lady who nobody notices, but who in turn notices everything” (Paula Gosling, author of the Jack Stryker Mysteries). In the Balance: On a train back to London, Miss Silver meets a frightened new bride. Lisle Jerningham has fled her home after overhearing a seemingly sinister conversation. Her husband’s first wife died in an apparent accident, and the resultant infusion of cash saved his family home. Now he’s broke again. Will he attempt a second convenient mishap? The Chinese Shawl: Actress Tanis Lyle may lack professional training, but her natural charisma seems to hypnotize all who meet her. The rising star has just finished filming her first motion picture. Unfortunately, it will turn out to be her last. Who did Tanis fail to charm? The answer could lie with a distant cousin and a long-standing family feud. Miss Silver Deals with Death: In wartime London, the once grand Vandeleur House has been divided into flats, its glorious façade now concealing a nest of intrigue. When one inhabitant reports she’s being blackmailed by another, Miss Silver is brought in to sort out the suspects from the residents, which include a woman who lost her fiancé after their ship was struck by a Nazi torpedo and a sleepwalking maid with a curious past.

This mystery thriller features the Paradine family, who experience a most unpleasant start to their New Year as, on the stroke of midnight, the head of the family, Mr James Paradine, is found murdered. It transpires that he has previously upset another family member and that this may have led to his unfortunate demise. Miss Silver, the rather aristocratic detective, is called on to unravel the family secrets and the murder.

Governess-turned-sleuth Miss Silver takes on a murder case involving a surprise inheritance and a feuding family. Martin Brand always had a dark sense of humor. Surrounded by relatives he despised, he looked forward to the day when, dead and buried, he would no longer have to concern himself with them. As a last joke, he willed his entire fortune to a poor relation, and went to his grave a smiling man. After years of toil caring for her layabout sister, Marion Brand is shocked to learn her unknown uncle has left her his estate. Now, she can finally be happy. But claiming the riches isn’t so simple. Before long someone is dead—and it will be up to Miss Maud Silver to find the killer.

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 . . .

The first three Miss Silver Mysteries introduce the British governess-turned-sleuth and a “timelessly charming” series (Charlotte MacLeod). From a “first-rate storyteller,” here are three full-length mystery novels in one volume, set in England between the two world wars and featuring Maud Silver, a retired governess and teacher who embarks on a new career in private detection (The Daily Telegraph). Grey Mask After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. Strangely, he finds his family estate unlocked and sees a light in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime. His first instinct is to let the police settle it, but then he hears her voice: Margaret, his long lost love, is part of the gang. To unravel their diabolical plot, he contacts Miss Silver. The Case Is Closed Marion Grey is growing used to the idea that her husband will never be released from prison, especially after the horrors of the very public trial. But when new evidence suggests her husband may be innocent of murder after all, she hires a professional—the inimitable Miss Silver—to clear his name. Lonesome Road A terrified young woman asks Miss Silver for help unmasking someone who has threatened her life. Rachel Traherne has been receiving menacing letters about her deceased father’s fortune. The first two letters were vague; the third said simply, “Get ready to die.” These charming traditional British mysteries featuring the unstoppable Miss Silver—whose stout figure, fondness for Tennyson, and passion for knitting disguise a keen intellect and a knack for cracking even the toughest cases—are sure to delight readers of Agatha Christie, Ellis Peters, and Dorothy L. Sayers.