The Case is Closed (Book Review)

     Patricia Wentworth The Case is Closed (1937) “A Miss Silver Mystery”.Wentworth was at one time mentioned in the same breath as Christie, Marsh, and Sayers, but she doesn’t really belong with them, if this book is typical. It’s a romance, of the type that came into its own in the 1950s and 60s and made the fortune of Harlequin Publishing. The crime plot adds a fillip if danger and propels the story, but the real focus is on Hilary Carew and her  wish to patch up her quarrel with Henry Cunningham, heir to his uncle’s antique shop, and the strong and usually fairly silent type. What these two have to settle is of course who will be boss, an issue that hasn’t gone away despite our modern, enlightened ways. In the end of course they “belong”, as Henry puts it, and we know that they will have a grand time married to each other and sparring about whose turn it is to do the dishes.
     The story’s told almost entirely from Hilary’s point of view, and a right little blighter she is. She’s a good deal smarter than she knows, she talks herself into whatever attitude will justify what she wants to do, she can react smartly, she notices odd behaviours that suggest sinister motives, all which make her a determined and moderately adequate sleuth. But she’s also naive, which endangers her life. Of course Henry (and Miss Silver) rescue her just as the murderer is about to stab her.
     Hilary has attitudes rather than opinions. We see three couples, and we see Hilary realising that what she has with Henry is better than what other people have. This is of course a common misapprehension (why do we assume that other people aren’t as clever,  enlightened, and mature as ourselves?) The other two women gain a measure of happiness, but any reader who has identified with Hilary will share her relief at being reunited with Henry, this time for always.
     A good read if you’re in the mood for romantic fluff with a dash of crime. **