The Watersplash [Hardcover]

Patricia Wentworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

To the innocent visitor the picturesque village of Greenings would appear to be a haven of tranquility. But every place has its secrets and beneath the calm surface lurk hidden resentments and dangerous passions. When a man is found lying face down in a nearby watersplash, the verdict is death by misadventure. But Miss Silver happens to be in the neighbourhood and she suspects foul play ...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver.' -- Observer 'Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot' -- Manchester Evening News 'Miss Wentworth is a first-rate storyteller' -- Daily Telegraph 'Miss Silver is marvellous' -- Daily Mail '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 '...some of the best examples of the British country-house murder mystery' -- Alfred Hitchcock Magazine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Patricia Wentworth was born in India and after writing several romances turned her hand to crime. She wrote dozens of bestselling mysteries before her death in the late Sixties, and was recognised as one of the mistresses of classic crime. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Buccaneer Books (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568493592
• ISBN-13: 978-1568493596
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,806,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Prodigal Son creates a crisis, August 10, 2004

By 

Jennifer McKenzie "Jen" (Fortuna, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watersplash (Hardcover)

When Edward returns when his family thought he was dead, there is rampant speculation on where he has been. When Edward refuses to tell anyone where he had been, the talk is that he was in trouble, maybe even jail. His uncle Arnold has inherited a large estate bcause James Random thought Edward was dead. But Clarice, his nurse, knows that there was another will, one that benefits Edward. She knows James Random had a dream that Edward is alive. Clarice wants Edward, so she keeps the information to herself hoping to use it to snare Edward into romantic gratitude. But then one of the witnesses to the will is killed in the watersplash and Clarice is nervous. Providence brings in Miss Silver and Clarice is warned not to use any information for personal gain. She does not listen and is found dead in the watersplash.
The solution to the mystery is another twist and very unexpected. The love story between the bitter Edward and Susan is a pleasure to read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good case for Maud Silver, August 9, 2004

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watersplash (Paperback)

This is the case where we encounter not only the watersplash but also a "yew tunnel" that is said to be over eight hundred years old. Can you imagine such a thing existing in the USA? When Miss Silver is shown the tunnel by Mrs. Ball, she pays it not a single thought, for her mind is elsewhere, trying to work out the complications of the terror running through the humble village of Greenings. "There is a lot of tea and chatter," the Inspector allows. In these cases we see the social snobbery that was Wentworth's speciality, prismed through the acutely keen gaze of Miss Silver, a relic from the Victorian era even more imaginative and superstitious than Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. "Miss Ora fingered the pinke edge of her shawl. 'Very interesting things can happen in a village,' she said. 'And you get to know about them, which is what makes them so interesting.'" This story THE WATERSPLASH is a pale imitation of Christie's similarly plotted EASY TO KILL, but it has charms of its own.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Vicious Little English Village!, February 24, 2005

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watersplash (Mass Market Paperback)

Miss Silver finds herself in the midst of quite a vicious little village when she visits an old friend's daughter in Greenings. There has been murder done, and blackmail, as well as lots of village gossip. Miss Silver follows her nose and the gossip to uncover a particularly vicious killer. Ms. Wentworth has done an admirable job here in portraying English Village life. It's gossip that makes the world go round in this setting, and Miss Silver is not above gathering up the gossip in order to discover who has committed murder most foul. This is a very good village mystery and it is a little darker than most of Miss Silver's efforts.