Grey Mask (1928) by Patricia Wentworth (Dora Amy Turnbull)
Over four years ago Charles Moray was all set to marry the love of his life, Margaret Langton. But on the eve of their wedding, she suddenly broke their engagement with no warning and no explanation. England had nothing left for him and with ample funds to do as he liked, he set out to travel the world and try to forget the past. But now his father has died and he has come home to his inheritance. The house of his youth (and his family's for several generations) has remained closed for some time, save for the caretaker and his wife. Charles collects the keys and initially tells his lawyer that he won't go to the house for a few days. But a sudden fancy strikes him and he decides to go that very evening--only to find the Latterys out and mysterious men in what was his mother's sitting room. He creeps into a hidden cupboard and listens, appalled, to what can only be meetings between various members of a criminal organization led by someone referred to as Grey Mask. He overhears plans that seem to threaten the elimination of an unknown person. He's all ready to go for the police when a final person and enters and he hears a voice that he hasn't heard for four years.
What on earth is Margaret doing being number Twenty-Six for this dreadful group? Charles realizes that he can't possibly go to the police until he knows what Margaret's involvement is and can figure a way to keep her out of jail. Even if there's nothing left between them, he can't let her be arrested. He soon realizes that the gang's next victim is a new heiress who has just lost her father to a boating accident. When he confides in his friend Archie Millar who advises him to consult a trained detective, a sleuthess, and thus we first hear of Miss Maud Silver. Miss Silver has been simply a wonder tracking down lost jewelry and other odd little mysteries amongst Archie's cousin's set. Charles isn't at all sure that a female detective is what he needs, but he goes along to meet her anyway.
Between Miss Silver's investigation behind the scenes, the work of Charles and Archie to save the heiress, one Margot Standing, and Charles and Margaret coming back into contact--the group manage to foil the evil plot. But not without danger to nearly one and all. Margot is nearly run over by a bus and Charles and Margaret are shoved into a soundproof secret cellar by Grey Mask. Fortunately, Margaret is clever enough to leave a trail that only Miss Silver and Archie can follow and the cavalry (so to speak) gallup in to save the day at the last moment.
This is the first entry in the Miss Silver mysteries by Wentworth, appearing nearly ten years before the second novel, The Case Is Closed (1938), would be released. It has more in common with Edgar Wallace and the other thrillers of the 1910s and 1920s than it does with the more mystery-focused stories of the later installments. All of the Miss Silver mysteries have an element of suspense and danger, but this first one is focuses on those elements far more than on the identity of Grey Mask. And the Margot Standing character brings in a romantic gothic element as well--she thrills with the idea of being the romantic heroine with brave men to rescue her and suffering (but not too much) at the hands of the villain. Even when she briefly comes down to earth and realizes the very real danger she's in, she still pictures herself as the center of a romantic plot.
Very fast-pace. Lots of action and melodrama. It isn't difficult to spot the villain, but it is good fun to watch everything unfold. Knowing the later novels, I did miss seeing more of Miss Silver in this one, but I imagine that Wentworth was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her. I gave this ★★★ and 1/2 when I first read it about thirty years ago and I haven't changed my mind on that rating.
First line: Mr. Packer dangled the heave bunch of keys for a moment before laying them on the table.
Last lined: ...so she and Charles aren't really going to have a wedding--they're just going to be married. I call it frightfully dull...
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Deaths = 2 (two natural; one drowned)
I recently dipped into this series for the first time, after finding them online at fadedpage.com (https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20140339). I thought the setup on this one was fun - with the masked criminals around the table, like the Seven Dials. Once Miss Silver appeared, I was a bit disappointed when she would just announce her findings, but not mention *how* she found out certain facts. They seem to just occur to her. I got about halfway through this one and decided to set it aside for a bit, as no crime (other than a possible conspiracy) and certainly no murder had occurred by that point. Now that I read your review, I will go back to this one, as it sounds like I stopped just before the action really got going.
ReplyDeleteRick--also the rest of the series are much better. You actually get to see Miss Silver at work instead of all the sleuthing being done off-stage.
ReplyDeleteI am a big Wentworth fan (and having read them out of order originally, I am now trying to go back and read them chronologically) but heroines like Margaret - always whimpering and on the verge of fainting - are annoying. She has some who are much fiestier!
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