The Summerhouse

When a controlling old woman is murdered, her caretaking daughter is the prime suspect: "Miss Silver is marvelous" in this classic British mystery series ( Daily Mail ). Althea Graham might have had a life of her own, had it not been for her mother. But when her father died she inherited her bitter, temperamental parent along with the house, and she has borne that burden ever since. She nearly escaped once, but her engagement to Nicholas Carey caused her mother to fall into illness, convincing Althea to keep living with her until the sickness claimed her life.That was five years ago, and Mrs. Graham is as fit as ever. Althea's gloom lifts when Nicholas returns, and it appears that love may bloom again. Mother clings as tightly as ever, of course, but Althea has hope once more. Then murder comes to their household, and the young woman's last chance at happiness is dashed forever—unless Maud Silver, the gentlewoman detective, can save the day. Praise for the writing of Patricia Wentworth: "Miss Wentworth is a first-rate storyteller." — The Daily Telegraph "Patricia Wentworth has created a great detective in Miss Silver, the little old lady who nobody notices, but who in turn notices everything." —Paula Gosling, CWA Gold Dagger Award winner "Some of the best examples of the British country-house murder mystery." — Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine