Miss Silver Comes to Stay

The British governess-turned-sleuth visits a small village hiding big secrets in this “timelessly charming” cozy mystery series (Charlotte MacLeod).

 The citizens of Melling are perfectly ordinary. Some might even consider them boring, but not Miss Maud Silver. It’s been some years since she gave up work as a governess to become a detective, and her fascination with people has served her well during that time. Now, she’s come to Melling to pay a long-postponed visit to an old school chum—but Miss Silver’s vacations never last long.

The town’s prodigal son has returned, wealthy and not exactly nostalgic for his hometown. He intends to sell his manor house and be done with Melling forever. But this cozy English hamlet hasn’t finished with him yet . . .

Patricia Wentworth (1878–1961) was one of the masters of classic English mystery writing. Born in India as Dora Amy Elles, she began writing after the death of her first husband, publishing her first novel in 1910. In the 1920s, she introduced the character who would make her famous: Miss Maud Silver, the former governess whose stout figure, fondness for Tennyson, and passion for knitting served to disguise a keen intellect. Along with Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Miss Silver is the definitive embodiment of the English style of cozy mysteries.