The Girl in the Cellar

Miss Silver, Book 32

By: Patricia Wentworth

Narrated by: Diana Bishop

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.

Not this cozy author's best; maybe, worst

Patricia Wentworth has become a favorite of mine, since I discovered her Miss Silver books at audible. Diana Bishop, the narrator throughout the series, is, in my mind Miss Silver. Here as always, Ms Bishop gives her best. But the tedium of the material let's her down.
As I see it, here are 2 problems with 'Girl..'. First, far too much time is spent inside Ann's-the protagonist's- mind; and, as Ann is suffering from near total amnesia, time spent amongst her thoughts is necessarily arid and repetitive. To paraphrase: She didn't know where she was or how she came to be there or where she had come from or why or even... Some of this is necessary, granted. But it never lets up, and the smallest details are examined in brain-numbing detail. Second, and far worse, Miss Silver seems little more than a tag along in this particular story- I don't recall she had opportunity to 'cough' more than once or twice, so brief was her appearance. Though I usually find her peculiar governing tic annoying and bordering on the tubercular, I admit to almost missing it in this story.
I hope this is no one's first visit with this able detective; there are many, many better offerings with Miss Silver in proper charge.

A bit different mystery for Miss Silver’s last

The only negative thing about this book is that it is the last that includes Miss Silver. She is a one of a kind detective, or more properly, inquiry agent. It was published in 1961, the year she died, according to the Order of Books website. I would have liked her to go on with more cozy chats with Frank Abbott to wrap up the loose ends, though the last few books involved other characters in final scenes for that purpose.
As the heading above states, this story is a bit different. The main character is Anne, who finds a dead body and has lost her memory. Almost the entire story is told from her viewpoint, with very little from the investigative view, as has been used with most of the Miss Silver books. And it is Anne who provides the final details as to the why and how at the end. It is an effective approach for the story, though we do not get to see as much of Miss Silver’s abilities.
I do appreciate that Ms. Wentworth shows reverence for God and Christian beliefs throughout her books, rather than the more cynical disregard of faith and religion given to many detectives, including some from the Golden Age. Though many modern readers might find it too out-dated, I find it refreshing. Most of you who enjoy the Miss Silver series most likely appreciate it, as well, I would think.
As always, Diana Bishop is excellent. Her calm reading that avoids the overly dramatic yet effectively portrays the attitudes and emotions of the characters is perfect for a series in which the main character views remaining calm as an essential virtue. There are some in the series not available on audio, so perhaps Anne Hancock might record them, as she has some of the non-Miss Silver books. She is an excellent fit, as well, for Ms. Wentworth’s style of writing.

Unusual Mystery Plot

I really like Patricia Wentworth's books.....this story had an unusual plot and was certainly believable. Since she wrote over 30 "Miss Silver" mysteries I have a lot of listening pleasure ahead of me. The narrator was excellent. Ready for my next "read" with audible.

Not one of her best

This had a promising start, what with a Russian element and a body in a basement; however, it was all downhill after Anne departed a house early in the book. It then went nowhere for most of the book. Anne had amnesia and there was basically no character development, of hers or anyone else’s. The romance was inexplicable, considering it was based on about two brief conversations between amnesiac Anne and a man who was asking her questions. An exceptional amount of time was wasted in endless repetitions of Anne finding the body in a cellar. First it was described as it happened. Then it was described in excruciating detail each time someone had to be told about it. (In a better book, after the first time, the author would have said something like Anne told Miss silver what had happened.) Then the person had to respond asking are you sure she was dead, and that had to be discussed yet again. Miss Silver was fairly marginal, and even gave some bad advice, which seemed to be for the sole purpose of extending this fairly lame story. I believe it was published posthumously, so it may have been poorly edited, and possibly the author was ill at the time.

Love this author's Miss Silver books

I've been indulging myself with the Miss Silver mysteries. And I love this performer. She keeps me in the story.

First few chapters

If you can get past the first 1-2 chapters, it’s ok. Definitely not her best.

Beautifully rendered by Diana Bishop

Another reliably captivating entry in the Miss Silver series. I wish there were more of these to enjoy.

Terrible

Plodding, most of the narrative point of view is from two angst ridden characters who “suddenly know a thing to be true” instead of moving the story along with an actual, well- thought- out story. The ending is completely unsatisfactory for several reasons but mainly because the main arch enemy’s motivations are never explained. The entire plot hinges on an enormous coincidence that is never even addressed. If I could give less than 1 star I would.

Repetitive

I love the miss silver mysteries, but this one was really not your typical Miss Silver. She barely featured, and the protagonist’s repetitive, fainting coldness was so boring.  The end was super abrupt as well after suffering through hours of the same thing over and over again.