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The Girl in the Cellar

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The Girl in the Cellar

By: Patricia Wentworth
Narrated by: Diana Bishop
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About this listen

Miss Silver helps a woman with no memory reconstruct a terrible crime

She awakes in a dark place. A young woman with a shattered memory, she knows neither who she is nor how she came to be in this abandoned house. All she possesses is a faint sense that someone is lying dead at the foot of the stairs. Horrifyingly, she is correct. In the cellar lies a young woman, her body broken, her head split, her life undone by a revolver’s shell. The amnesiac flees and finally has a stroke of luck: She meets Maud Silver.

A dowdy governess turned daring detective, Miss Silver sees immediately that something is wrong. She comforts the confused young woman, and coaxes out of her what little story she can tell. The memory of the body sets Miss Silver on a fantastic adventure - the last written by Patricia Wentworth, and one of the most thrilling of them all.

©1961 Patricia Wentworth (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Amateur Sleuths Cosy Detective Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is the best Patricia Wentworth book I’ve listened to. Different to the others in terms of the usual detecting team playing second fiddle to the main character this time. A clever, can’t put the book down, kind of read. It’s got murder, betrayal, uncovering the truth, joining the dots, true love, and Miss Silver - what’s not to love?! The narrator is first class, her diction clear and well paced. The character definitions are so cleverly dealt with, and the sense of urgency, of a need to make sense of a bewildering situation, uppermost. With twists aplenty, and both joyful and upright, as well as downright dirty, rotten scoundrel characters in this mysterious case, you’ll be assured of an amazing adventure to find not only the truth, but also that forever kind of love.

If you want a gripping, chilling story, read on…

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Certainly the best and most intriguing of the Miss Silver books but sadly the last

Excellent

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I have listened to almost all of Miss Silver stories. The narration is perfect as always. I like the plot itself, and the ending is quite unpredictable. However, the story is a bit boring as there is really just one main character. What I missed was much more presence of Miss Silver, which made the book quite less enjoyable for me than others.

A bit on boring side

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What did you like best about The Girl in the Cellar? What did you like least?

I always like books in which the main character is battling through amnesia and this story has plenty of that, however I did find the plot pulled together very tenuously right at the end and hung on too many chance encounters of critical characters.

What other book might you compare The Girl in the Cellar to, and why?

The case of William smith, because of the amnesia in both stories.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The pace of narration could be quicker when it isn't Miss Silver speaking.

Was The Girl in the Cellar worth the listening time?

Oh yes.

Amnesia and Silver again

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

YES, IT IS VERY WELL WRITTEN. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT'S JUST ABOUT TO HAPPEN WHICH KEEPS YOU SPELLBOUND.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl in the Cellar?

I THINK WHEN THE GIRL WAS RUNNING AWAY AT NIGHT AND ENDED UP BEING TAKEN IN BY THE NEIGHBOUR.

What about Diana Bishop’s performance did you like?

SHE TOTALLY IS MISS SILVER ONE MINUTE AND THEN SHE'S SUDDENLY THE SCARY MAN.

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

I LISTENED TO IT OVER 2 DAYS - I WAS A CAPTIVE AUDIANCE!

Any additional comments?

PATRICIA WENTWORTH IS A FABULOUS CRAFTER OF A DRAMATIC MYSTERY.

BRILLIANT AS USUAL

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I enjoyed the story and was kept guessing. But the plot was reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes’s story. The unfolding of the tale was interesting.

Interesting plot

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This series,set firmly in the forties and fifties,with the attitudes and bias of the times, is enjoyable. However,they are not all of the same standard and this one is disjointed and has some terrible plot gaps. Miss Silver does less "sleuthing" and there is the obligatory romance each book contains. Inspector Abbott is almost static.
Despite this,the narrator does an excellent job of maintaining tension and narrative.

Not one of her best

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Beautifully written and narrated, if you enjoy gentle crime- this is perfect! Happy to have all of the 32 books in my collection!

Read entire series

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I Think that this must be an early Miss Silver book because it is really rather blah! She is only very incidentally in it in about four chapters! The other lead character (Frederick), is really rather pathetic! I don’t understand why? You get the initial impression of him that he is potentially some kind of spy or undercover agent, yet when he is having discussions with people he is really rather petulant! The lead female character, Ann, has lost her memory - it doesn’t make the book any more interesting, in fact it makes the story quite tedious.

Then there are the Scotland Yard people we know one of them from other Silver books, but they are also shadow characters and there appears to be very little point to their inclusion. They certainly do not take any action in the proceedings until the last two chapters. In all, it’s a very unsatisfactory, pedestrian, blind story and when you think about all of the coincidences and accidental meetings, it just seems a bit too unbelievable.

Add to that the very loose ending and you walk away thinking that this book is a bit blah! I do not recommend this book.

The narration is superb as always.

Blah!

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The details was repeated again and again. Perhaps to reflect the memory loss of the character. But it slowed the action. Also the main character was a bit of a drip who repeated‘I don’t know’ for most of the novel.

It’s very repetitive and slow.

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