Bill Waring, collecting his wits in hospital after a train crash, receives only one letter from Lila Dryden, his fiance. When he discovers Lady Dryden, Lila's guardian, has pressured her into an engagement with Herbert Whitall, he is furious.
Herbert Whitall is aggressive, with a cold-hearted possessiveness that expands past the bounds of his ivory collection he can't bear to lose. His employees hate him, Lila is terrified of him and it appears he has a hold on Lady Dryden.
When a dagger in Whitall's collection becomes the instrument of his own death there are many suspects. Maud Silver must see that justice is done, not merely to punish the guilty, but to protect the innocent.
Patricia Wentworth was born in Uttarakhand, India but as a young girl moved to London to study at Blackheath High School for Girls.
After writing several romances she turned her hand to crime fiction.
She wrote dozens of bestselling mysteries before her death in 1961, and is recognised as one of the mistresses of classic crime fiction.
Praise for Patricia Wentworth:
'Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot'
Manchester Evening News
You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver
Observer
Miss Silver is marvellous
Daily Mail
Miss Wentworth is a first-rate storyteller
Daily Telegraph