Old Jacob Taverner's father had many siblings, and now Jacob is gathering some of their descendants at the old smuggling inn--the Catherine Wheel--that's been in the family since the 19th century. He claims he's in search of an heir, but he keeps asking the diverse relatives--most of whom had never met each other before--what their grandparents told them about the Catherine Wheel, particularly about secret passages and rooms. Then the inn's bartender--a by-blow cousin, and an extremely unpleasant sort--is found murdered in the main hall. There are plenty of suspects, but fortunately Miss Silver, detective extraordinaire disguised as a mousy ex-governess with an irritating cough and perpetual knitting projects, had already weasled her way in at the request of Scotland Yard, to investigate possible smuggling. Now she has two things to solve--if the local inspector will listen to her.I must admit I like this kind of mystery. Smuggling, secret passages, old family secrets, Cornwall, and a detective completely un-tortured and un-wrapped-up in her own plot-stealing issues. It's old-fashioned, of course, and I can't love Wentworth's attitude towards women and what they want in a man--does any woman really want a man to bully her and tell her what to do and what not to do? I did appreciate that the main female character, young Jane Heron, could stand up to her attractive bully, but she fell for him anyway, and he's the male romantic lead. I preferred the Scotland Yard detective Frank Abbott, who brought in Miss Silver, and smiled when the local inspector fumed and fussed about her. Abbott never seemed to feel the urge to tell her what to do. But anyway, a good classic mystery with lots of atmosphere and interesting characters.
I've now read 19 of the 32 Miss Silver mysteries. This is the 15th in the series. They are all pleasant cozy reads, with different plots and new personalities for Miss Silver to observe and analyze, but other than giving a synopsis of the plot, it is hard to give a meaningful review of each one. It does seem that each one has at least one really disagreeable character that either becomes the victim of murder or turns out to be the perpetrator, and in a way that makes them satisfying. Patricia Wentworth really knew how to make you dislike certain characters. It also seems that more often than not, blackmail is involved and more central to the crime than the other big motivators of greed and hatred. I particularly enjoy how the relationship between Maud Silver and the Scotland Yard man, Frank Abbot continues to develop.Recently I viewed new presentations of a couple of Miss Marple stories on PBS Masterpiece Mystery and do think there are some similarities between Miss Marple and Miss Silver. It has been many years since I read the Agatha Christie mysteries, but I am finding that I really like Miss Silver, as a personality, better, and I think she is much more clever and subtle and not so doddering. I wonder why PBS has not done these mysteries, and if they did, who would they get to play Miss Maud Silver.
