Hello, Friday Fiction Fans!

I’m so glad you stopped by today because I’m going to share a favorite series with you. I love to read books from off the beaten track, but I also adore British mysteries, especially ones that take place from the 1890s to the 1950s. The writers from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction thrived in England during this period and some of the best include Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, and G.K. Chesterton.

Patricia Wentworth is a writer I found later and while I enjoy all her mysteries, the ones I like most are the ones with the British governess turned sleuth, Miss Maud Silver. She is ordinary by appearance and blends in well in whatever surroundings she finds herself in. She is extremely interested in people and human nature so she is easy to confide in. Her ability to recall conversations word for word is an aid in her quest to bring justice to her corner of the world. I’ve read all 32 mysteries twice, the second time in order. Some are regular mysteries while others have a really well-written suspense element in them like The Dower House. They also include a light touch of romance which I always enjoy in a mystery.

Here are a few quotes from some of her books I like:

“Very few people want to know the truth. They wish to be confirmed in their own opinions, which is a very different thing–very different indeed.” From “The Case is Closed.”

“Fancy going out into the world under the impression that you can always have your own way. Would anything be more likely to lead to disaster?” From Death at the Deep End

“‘I think it is right that you should know I am here in the capacity of a private enquiry agent.’ If she had announced that she was there in the capacity of a Fairy Godmother or of First Murderer, she could hardly have surprised him more. In fact, the Fairy Godmother would have seemed quite appropriate by comparison.” From The Silent Pool

If you read British mysteries or want to give them a try, I suggest you check out Patricia Wentworth’s wonderful revered preceptress, Maud Silver.

Click to tweet: Friday Fiction: Miss Silver Mysteries. I love to read books from off the beaten track, but I also adore British #mysteries especially ones that take place from the 1890s to the 1950s. #FridayReads

Grey Mask Book 1

Governess-turned-detective Miss Silver investigates a deadly conspiratorial ring

Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, the hardy young man returns to the manor of his birth, where generations of Morays have lived and died. Strangely, he finds the house unlocked, and sees a light on in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime.

Never one for the heroic, Charles’s first instinct is to let the police settle it. But then he hears her voice. Margaret, his long-lost love, is part of the gang. To unravel their diabolical plot, he contacts Miss Maud Silver, a one-time governess who applies reason to solve crimes and face the dangers of London’s underworld.