Golden Age of Detective Fiction

This book was originally published in the United Kingdom under the title The Gazebo in 1955.

It’s been five years since Mrs. Graham managed to spoil her daughter Althea’s engagement to Nicholas Carey. The intervening years have been good to Mrs. Graham, who dominates her daughter totally with her narcissistic and histrionic antics. She uses her frail health to run Althea’s bleak days and delights in torturing her daughter by mocking any moments of happiness that flit her way.

However, Nicholas Carey is back in town and has surreptitiously rekindled his romance with Althea, bolstering her to leave her mother’s abusive clutches. The two lovers plan to meet secretly in the night at the Gazebo on her mother’s property. Just before Althea can make her escape, her mother discovers her plot to flee and has a violent quarrel in the Gazebo. The following day, Mrs. Graham is found dead in the Gazebo, and suspicion falls on Althea and Nicholas Carey.

Thankfully, Althea knows Miss Silver and begs her to investigate her mother’s murder. Miss Silver, suspicious of everyone, promises to find out the truth of what happened the night Mrs. Graham died, even if it tears the two reunited lovers asunder for good.

The Review

The Summerhouse captures what it’s like to live in an abusive household with a narcissistic family member, and it was agonizing to read at times. Mrs. Graham is very well drawn; her needling and histrionics, her pathological lying and delighting in harming others, drawn so true to life that I, like Althea, felt quite relieved when Mrs. Graham was brutally murdered.

I was also incredibly hopeful that despite Patricia Wentworth’s best efforts to convince me otherwise, the two lovers would not be the culprits. Wentworth has a penchant for writing romances as central to her books—usually enemies to lovers—and they always have a happy ending. So, I hoped there wouldn’t be a twist where these two seemingly happy people are destined for ruin.

I went hunting for murderers elsewhere, and a very compelling story seems slightly overshadowed by Mrs. Graham’s story about the sale of the house she and her daughter are living in. The house, which is Althea Graham’s property outright from her father’s will, is suddenly in the middle of a bidding war between two seemingly wealthy businesspeople. The large, run-down property has become a fixation for these two factions. Althea is bewildered as to why her rather unfashionable family home has become the hottest property on the market.

Miss Silver unravels past and present secrets and how Mrs. Graham’s murder has been a long time coming. It’s a rather twisty investigation that holds up well against the very compelling love story. I had such a fun time trying to figure out how these shady people were somehow involved with the friendly, naive Althea and which, of many, many suspects, had the means, motive, and opportunity to kill Mrs. Graham during a relatively tight and well-established timeline.

The Summerhouse was a quick and gripping read with well-developed characters, a meticulously crafted mystery, and a stirring love story. I highly recommend it to devotees of Miss Silver readers and newcomers alike.

Miss Silver Reviews

Miss Silver #11: Latter End (1947)

Miss Silver #14: Eternity Ring (1948)

Miss Silver # 23: Out of the Past (1953)

Miss Silver #25: The Silent Pool (1956)

Patricia Wentworth Biography

Patricia Wentworth was the pen name of Dora Amy Elles, a British author best known for her prolific output of detective fiction, notably her series featuring Miss Maud Silver, a spinster detective. She was born on November 10, 1878, in India, where her father was a high-ranking official in the Indian Civil Service. Wentworth was educated privately and later attended boarding school in England.

After her marriage to George Dillon Turnbull in 1906, she settled in Surrey, England. It wasn’t until she was in her forties that she began her writing career, which spanned several decades. Wentworth’s first novel, “A Marriage Under the Terror,” was published in 1910. However, she didn’t find her niche until she ventured into detective fiction with her novel “The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith” in 1923.

Wentworth’s most enduring creation, Miss Maud Silver, made her debut in “Grey Mask” in 1928. Miss Silver is often compared to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple for her similar traits of unassuming appearance and astute observational skills. Wentworth went on to pen a total of 32 novels featuring Miss Silver, solidifying her place in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction alongside other renowned authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Throughout her career, Wentworth continued to write novels outside of the Miss Silver series, exploring various themes and styles within the detective fiction genre. Her works were praised for their well-constructed plots, intricate characterizations, and evocative settings.

Patricia Wentworth passed away on January 28, 1961, leaving behind a legacy of entertaining and enduring detective fiction that continues to captivate readers around the world.