The clocks are ticking, Miss Silver is on the case

The second book in the Miss Maud Silver mysteries.

There was a 10 years gap between Grey Mask (Miss Silver Book #1) and The Case is Closed (Book #2), in which she wrote a number of non Miss Silver mysteries. She brought Miss Silver back due to popular demand, and continued to write 30 more in the series, bringing the total up to 32 books.

The Miss Silver mysteries are my go to reads/listen, and have been since I was 14. I think that it is the fact that Ms Wentworth was an excellent story-teller, bringing mystery and romance to each book she wrote in the series.

There have been several narrators over the years, but I personally love listening to Diana Bishop, who I think brings the stories alive with her narration.

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-fiancé for help. He calls upon the services of Miss Silver to help solve another mystery, which she does in her own original style.

If you have not yet read any of the Miss Silver mysteries yet, you are missing out!

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2 people found this helpful

A bit predictable

The story was well read and it didn’t take too long to get into the story. The characters were not particularly well drawn and some aspects of the story were rather irritating. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to marry Henry when he had such a superior attitude and he treated the person he loved as if she was a child or a fool. Some parts of the story were quite unbelievable, there were far too many coincidences and the main character kept putting herself in the way of harm to a ridiculous extent.

It was quite easy to see who had committed the crime and how it had been achieved fairly early on in the story but it was still worth listening to while doing household jobs. I bought this book as part of a deal but I don’t think it would be worth paying full price for.

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Good enough to want to get to the end.

Of course it’s dated, the author died in the 1960s. The plot is ok and I did want to get to the end, but the characters just aren’t good enough to care much. And th detective, Miss Silver, doesn’t even turn up until chapter 16

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Interesting period piece.

The narrator is good - her upper class accent is perfect for the story.

The first half of the novel is incredibly repetitive and frustrating for a modern audience. I particularly wanted to scream with frustration when Hilary was reading the coroner's report!

However, the action picks up once Hilary goes investigating and there is a genuine sense of threat on a couple of occasions towards the end of the novel. The language and behaviour of one of the villains is quite shocking and violent- much more 'realistic' and 'modern' than similar crime novels of the period by Christie.

I found the central relationship between Hilary and Henry annoying - Hilary is an engaging creation- full of energy and intuition, whereas stodgy Henry acts like a patronising misogynist old man for most of the novel.

His refusal to believe Hilary and to ridicule her is grating to a modern audience. However, it is reflective of the period, a time when women were seen as both inferior to men, and in need of protection. The result of which, amongst the middle and upper class, was a kind of infantilisation of women, which is seen in Henry's treatment of Hilary. I think we are meant to infer that Hilary will stand up for herself- indeed emotional and physical abuse of women is one of the themes in the novel - but I couldn't help but wish Henry's behaviour had been allowed a transformation!

On balance I enjoyed this book better than the previous one in the series - once the tedious and seemingly endless repetition of events was put to one side in favour of moving the plot forward!

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Excellent Story

I was gripped from the start of this book. Considering it was written nearly 100 years ago the story didn’t feel it was, but the writing had to be compared with the era. The narrator was very good. This was the first book I have listened to or read by the author and can’t wait to find more. If you like Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers you will like this book.

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1 person found this helpful

Is you enjoy Agatha Christie, you'll like this.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If my friend likes a good old fashioned who done it, yes I would.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Case Is Closed?

I don't know you could ever answer this question without giving away spoilers.

What does Diana Bishop bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

She was a good narrator .

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listen in forty minute clumps, ( my drive to and from work) which was fine for this book.

Any additional comments?

This is a good old fashioned who dun it, it wasn't particularly difficult to work out who did do it, and why, from very early on, but it was a pleasant " listen" but not a story to stretch the listener.

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1 person found this helpful

Brilliant narration and a good mystery

This is a classic mystery novel that allows you to listen and use your own 'little grey cells' to work it out - the sort of book I love! Ending a bit predictable as a who-done-it, but not necessarily a how-they-done-it!, I enjoyed and liked the characters and have now started downloading the whole series! Well read as well.

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7 people found this helpful

Classic detection

Period piece which strings together well. The heroine wavers between plucky and gushing. Miss Silver sorts it all out.

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1 person found this helpful

Suspense and British Twee

I love these. The writing is excellent, the narration is superb and the language and expressions of early 20th century Britain remind me of my grandparents. they are quite gripping and full of atmosphere.
Not many writers in the history of crime writing can conjure menace and sinister tension like this. I love the character of Miss Silver, even though she is barely in the book. Her presence is rationed! So glad there are more of these and I'll be working my way through them all.

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2 people found this helpful

This is a lovely whodunit

A whodunit very easy on the ear with Diana Bishop narrating her voice is easy to listen to she just gets it right and doesn't go too near the microphone like a lot of narrator's seem to do.

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