Book review: The Benevent Treasure by Patricia Wentworth

My reading has slowed considerably, but the latest book I've read was another mystery (shocker), called The Benevent Treasure. It is part of the Miss Silver Mysteries series by Patricia Wentworth, which are set in England in the early 20th century. I was excited to read a gothic-looking mystery with a lady detective. There are a couple of murders/dead bodies, so I was a little surprised to see this is billed as a cozy mystery, but I guess that's because Miss Maude Silver is always knitting.

The Misses Benenvent have always lived in their huge, old, gloomy mansion, the aptly named Underhill. When young Candida's aunt dies, they extend an invitation to her to live with them, as their only other family. However, Candida quickly learns that there is much creepiness to her new life: the great-aunts, one of whom rules the household and her sister (and wants to rule Candida) with an iron fist; the mysterious disappearance of a male secretary who might have been something more, and hidden treasure that has a curse over it. Add in some hidden passages/doors, a robotic butler, and a cook that knows too much, and you have a rollicking Gothic mystery.

I found it weird that this book is supposed to be a Miss Silver mystery, yet it features her so seldom. The main character is Candida, and it's mostly told through her perspective. Miss Silver is one of those proper matrons who is very observant and a good listener and always knows what to do or say, but she's not really a Mary Sue and is quite likable. I wish we'd seen more of her in this book. I suspected what had really happened to the missing secretary pretty early, but the twists and turns kept me guessing. I would recommend this book, and want to read the others in the series.

The cover has that old 1960s Gothic art, which misrepresents what the story is about. Candida has auburn hair, not blonde like the girl on the cover. The mansion is basically cut into the bottom of the hill (hello?!? Underhill!!!), not on top of it. And while Candida is SPOILER imprisoned in the hidden below-ground areas under the mansion, she is not put into a prison cell with a window, wearing rags and barefoot. She's dressed in her outdoor clothes and boots, and there are no windows in the stone room. END SPOILER I guess the aunts' characterization is mostly correct. I think I like this cover the best, although there are lots of good (and bad ones) in Google Images.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Read in: mid-late March
From: pretty sure the free books rack @ the library
Format: paperback
Status: might give away at some point