Helpful Score: 3
First Miss Silver mystery. First published in 1929. Excellent conspiracy within a mystery within a conspiracy.
Helpful Score: 2
Grey Mask isn't a new novel, it was originally published in 1928 and is the first in Wentworth's series of whodunit mysteries featuring Miss Silver as the amateur sleuth. It's easy to start comparing Miss Silver to Christie's Miss Marple, after all they're both elderly spinsters solving crimes in England in the best traditions of cozy mystery, but that's where the similarities end.
There's more energy to Wentworth's writing, you get to know her characters' quirks and she does a great job of getting to the bottom of people in dialogue. The point of view changes every once in a while and this not only makes the narrative more multi-dimensional but also gives the story a greater degree of intimacy - we actually know first-hand what different characters are doing and how they think and feel about the latest events instead of someone sitting us down at the end and telling us about it in the "great reveal" sort of way. I really enjoyed learning things gradually and having the satisfaction of discovering the identities of minor players as the story progressed. It was also great fun to read Grey Mask because while I figured out part of the mystery from the very beginning there were a number of secrets the answers to which caught me completely off guard. Oh, and there was mortal danger. And people fell in love. And I laughed out loud more than once.
A couple of things threw me off balance in the beginning of the book. One is the language. It is often very specific to the time period, some expressions I wasn't familiar with at all and it took me a bit to figure out what was actually being said. This tends to date the writing but if you're ready for it it's not that big of a deal. Another was that Chapter 2 introduces all kinds of villains but with so little description of them that several chapters later I felt like I missed something and had to go back and make sure that I didn't. Once the "character dump" was over I was able to enjoy the book without any discomfort. And the third thing, now that I'm thinking about it, is how much Miss Silver managed to accomplish in a short amount of time - she actually has an office where she sees potential clients but she also was personally present for all kinds of significant events. The little lady must've been in possession of a time machine! Or she's cloned herself. Wait, that's a different genre.
All in all this is a very enjoyable book that I'm sure will entertain lovers of cozy mysteries who are looking for a bit of light reading.
There's more energy to Wentworth's writing, you get to know her characters' quirks and she does a great job of getting to the bottom of people in dialogue. The point of view changes every once in a while and this not only makes the narrative more multi-dimensional but also gives the story a greater degree of intimacy - we actually know first-hand what different characters are doing and how they think and feel about the latest events instead of someone sitting us down at the end and telling us about it in the "great reveal" sort of way. I really enjoyed learning things gradually and having the satisfaction of discovering the identities of minor players as the story progressed. It was also great fun to read Grey Mask because while I figured out part of the mystery from the very beginning there were a number of secrets the answers to which caught me completely off guard. Oh, and there was mortal danger. And people fell in love. And I laughed out loud more than once.
A couple of things threw me off balance in the beginning of the book. One is the language. It is often very specific to the time period, some expressions I wasn't familiar with at all and it took me a bit to figure out what was actually being said. This tends to date the writing but if you're ready for it it's not that big of a deal. Another was that Chapter 2 introduces all kinds of villains but with so little description of them that several chapters later I felt like I missed something and had to go back and make sure that I didn't. Once the "character dump" was over I was able to enjoy the book without any discomfort. And the third thing, now that I'm thinking about it, is how much Miss Silver managed to accomplish in a short amount of time - she actually has an office where she sees potential clients but she also was personally present for all kinds of significant events. The little lady must've been in possession of a time machine! Or she's cloned herself. Wait, that's a different genre.
All in all this is a very enjoyable book that I'm sure will entertain lovers of cozy mysteries who are looking for a bit of light reading.
Helpful Score: 1
Charles Moray was jilted at the altar by Margaret Langton four years ago. He returns to London to find his ex-fiancée mixed up in a vicious plot involving kidnapping and other things. The victim is Margot Standing who stands to inherit a considerable fortune. But the sinister figure in the Grey mask has other plans for her. Margaret Langton is one of the conspirators, but Charles refuses to believe that she is a criminal. So how did she become involved? He turns to Miss Silver for her professional assistance in uncovering the strange truth behind the details of the situation, and the identity of the terrifying and mysterious individual behind the grey mask. This is the first book in the Miss Silver series. The characters are mysterious as they are notified as numbers. The plot is one that leaves me reading until the very end. I will be continuing with the series as I do enjoy Golden Age mysteries. If you like mysteries from 1928 then you will love this book.
