RogerBW's Blog

The Case Is Closed, Patricia Wentworth 02 August 2025

1937 mystery/thriller. The Everton case has been closed for a year; everyone knows that Geoffrey Grey shot his uncle in a rage at having been disinherited, and even his wife Marion has her doubts of his innocence. But her cousin Hilary meets someone in a train who drops dark hints…

There are themes repeated from Grey Mask, certainly, but not in such a way as to make it dull. Hilary is a moderately foolish young woman, but she's also the viewpoint character and principal investigator (Miss Silver, as before, is largely a dea ex machina). She's recently broken her engagement to Henry, because he got all high-handed with her, and honestly by the end I was more in sympathy with the breaking than with the inevitable reconciliation. (Though he does provide some help, once he can finally be brought to believe her.)

Still pulp nonsense, of course, and unashamedly so. Rather than the far-reaching conspiracy of Grey Mask this is a rather smaller affair; it's clear from the start who must be the responsible party, and most of the narrative is spent in trying to find out how they did it, with unimpeachable alibis all round. There's duress, and disguise, and casual pragmatic murder.

There's also a fine atmospheric section of bicycling, and then walking, in the fog, with murderous enemies nearby.

Freely available from Faded Page.

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Previous in series: Grey Mask | Series: Miss Silver

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