Blindfold by Patricia Wentworth

Blindfold by Patricia Wentworth

She was looking at the place where the mirror had hung. It didn't reflect anything because the glass was gone. Instead there was a blackness, a dark hole full of shadows. There was a shuffling and a sighing, and a deep and dreadful groan. Then something moved.

Flossie Palmer worked in the kitchen at 16 Varley Street. It was her job to see that the trays were carried up to Miss Rowland on time. But the job lasted only a few hours and Flossie found herself running, her heart pounding in her throat, down the foggy street, not daring to stop or to listen for the footsteps that might be following her. She had been exploring the drawing room of the great house and had suddenly seen the big six-foot mirror move - and reveal a human face. In the thickness of the fog Flossie met Miles Clayton and told him her story. Miles has a story of his own which explains his presence in London - searching for a 19-year-old girl who, if found, would become heir to a vast sum. How these two mysteries coincide, and how they are resolved, form one of the author's most beguiling adventures.

Blindfold was originally published in 1935. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself--and I always do. Mary Dell, Daily Mirror

Patricia Wentworth (1878-1961) was a master of the traditional English mystery novel. Dora Amy Elles was born in India, and following the loss of her first husband, she began writing, publishing her first novel in 1910. Miss Maud Silver, the former governess whose heavy figure, liking for Tennyson, and enthusiasm for knitting served to mask a bright brain, was introduced in the 1920s and became her most famous character. Miss Silver is the definitive representation of the English style of cozy mysteries, alongside Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.