Wednesday, May 23, 2018

On the TBR shelves: Patricia Wentworth novels

Actually I have many novels by Wentworth unread but the ones below I picked up at the Planned Parenthood book sale last September.

Outrageous Fortune (1933) is the only one that is not a Miss Silver novel.

A man survives a shipwreck—only to finds his memory wiped clean and a stranger at his bedside claiming to be his wife. See further description at Open Road Media.


The remaining books are all Miss Silver mysteries and were published during World War II or in the ten years after the war.

The Chinese Shawl (1943)   See a review by Katrina at Pining for the West.


The Case Of William Smith (1948)  See a review by Les at Classic Mysteries.


Through The Wall (1950)  See a review by Moira at Clothes in Books.


The Watersplash (1954)  See a review by Curtis at The Passing Tramp.



I also purchased these two at the book sale, and I have already read and reviewed them....
Grey Mask and The Clock Strikes Twelve.





20 comments:

col2910 said...

I will read something by this author someday, but I doubt I'll run to more than one book. Not sure which is on the pile because it's not yet logged - maybe The Clock Strikes Twelve.

NancyElin said...

Post has me asking who is Patricia Wentworth? I'll have to google her. Bookcovers....get illustrations!

Kay said...

I'm familiar with her name, but I've not read any of her books. Like the look of the first one - that's a plot that is being used these days and it looks like the one you mentioned was written in 1933. :-)

joan.kyler said...

I'm very fond of Miss Silver, as I am of Miss Marple. I've read a lot of Wentworth's mysteries and, fortunately, still have a lot to go.

Anonymous said...

I hope you'll like these, Tracy.Maude Silver is an interesting character, and Wentworth wrote some solid mysteries. I'll look forward to your review.

TracyK said...

I still haven't cataloged all the books I got from the book sale, Col. I have a big plastic box full of them, maybe two boxes. And it is only 4 months until the next book sale, and I have to have them all cataloged by then.

TracyK said...

Nancy, Wentworth is a Golden Age mystery writer that I read when I was younger and now am returning to. I thought my tastes might have changed over time, but in this case I like the books even better now. And there are lots of them.

TracyK said...

I wasn't aware until recently that Wentworth had written so many books that are not Miss Silver books, Kay. I will have to try a few of those too.

TracyK said...

Joan, I have a lot to go too, and I am glad of it. For Miss Marple, I have eight more to read but at the rate I am going, that will take me a while.

TracyK said...

In returning to the Miss Silver books, Margot, I found them very entertaining. So far, in the ones I have read, she shows up later in the story, but I like that approach.

NancyElin said...

Thanks for the feed back....I have ordered one if her books. Perfect for a sizzling hot weekend under a parasol! :)

Mathew Paust said...

I'm beginning to think it's high time for me to read at least one Miss Silver novel. Having read a couple of her Col. Frank Garrett mysteries--I believe thanks to you, Tracy--I've come to like her style. But I have this nagging feeling it would be like switching from the Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew.

Yvette said...

I am loving Patricia Wentworth even more on rereading her work. Little by little, I'm working through everything. Of those you're featuring, Tracy, I've read GREY MASK (the first Miss Silver) and liked it very much though it is VERY old fashioned in tone. I also think I read THE CASE OF WILLIAM SMITH and liked it. I can't seem to remember much of any plots and/or characters in the books I read lately, so it's entirely possible I read the others in your post and just forgot. Come to think of it, I do actually remember one Miss Silver that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend though it is the ULTIMATE cozy mystery, POISON IN THE PEN. I also like her Benbow Smith books and some of her girl in peril standalones. :)

Katrina said...

What a great haul. I've read some of them but I really want to read The Case of William Smith soon as I know it was loved by a friend.

TracyK said...

I hope you like it, Nancy.

TracyK said...

And I am the opposite, Mathew, I have not read any of her books that are not Miss Silver books. I wonder if there will be that much difference.

TracyK said...

I do have POISON IN THE PEN on my shelf, Yvette. It was one of those that I have had for a while but put off reading. Now I will get to it soon. I forget most of the mystery plots I read too, sadly.

TracyK said...

I see there are two votes for The Case of William Smith, since Yvette also liked it. I was very happy to find a good number of Patricia Wentworth books at the sale, Katrina.

Clothes In Books said...

When I first read Wentworth, years ago, I was rather disappointed: I thought they were routine and unexciting, and very much like inferior Miss Marple. But now I enjoy them very much - I don't know what's changed. Perhaps because of the blog I like the clothes descriptions and setting so much. Anyway, I also love the fact that she wrote so many that I will never run out, there will always be something there when I feel like a quiet enjoyable read. I read my first non-Silver one recently, and it was excellent.
So I think you and I are on the same page on this aren't we? Look forward to hearing the verdicts on these.

TracyK said...

I think we are on the same page, Moira. I do like the clothing descriptions too, and the romances are just the right amount, not too intrusive. And I like reading about the times.