In the first book in the beloved detective series, Miss Maud Silver is called upon to investigate a sinister plot. A young man returns to England, where he believes his ex-fiancée is involved in a plan to murder a wealthy heiress and steal her fortune.

“Miss Wentworth is a first-rate storyteller.” —The Daily Telegraph

An entire family falls under suspicion when the prospect of an inheritance stirs up passions in this novel in the beloved British mystery series.

“Miss Silver is marvelous.” —Daily Mail 

Miss Maud Silver must untangle a web of blackmail accusations, family drama, and a wife’s dark past to solve the murder of one of Britain’s most powerful men.

“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

A gardener’s death sends a country house into a frenzy, and a governess-turned-sleuth digs in to the case. Did he drown by accident, or was he murdered? Only Maud Silver, the demure but brilliant detective, can say for sure.

“You can’t go wrong with Miss Maud Silver.” —The Observer

The great Vandeleur House once hosted the brightest of the Victorian era. Now divided into eight flats, it is an apartment building whose glorious façade conceals a nest of diabolical secrets. And it will take the full force of gentlewoman detective Miss Silver to go behind closed doors and sort them all out.