The Chinese Shawl - Classic Mystery Review

 Goodreads:  The Chinese Shawl by Patricia Wentworth

Rating: Really Liked It!
Source: Purchased

Description:  All London loves Tanis Lyle. A beautiful amateur who happened accidentally on a career in the theater, she has just finished filming her first motion picture. Though not classically beautiful, she does have an enormous amount of charm and style, and seems to hypnotize all who meet her. This is the effect she has on Laura Fane, a distant cousin who has long heard rumors of the relative who, because of a long-standing family feud, she has never been allowed to meet until now. But then someone dies, and Miss Silver and Laura quickly learn that a desirable woman may invite hate just as readily as she does love.

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  I adore Miss Silver and Patricia Wentworth so I'm trying to do a read all the Miss Silver books in order.

My Impression:  Oh I do love Miss Silver.  I think I start smiling as soon as she appears on the page no matter how grim what's going on around her happens to be.  In the case of this book it's all very civil grimness.   Tanis is a somewhat typical Wentworth villain.  She seems beautiful and polished and everyone loves her but what's behind that shiny façade is rotten.  And on the other side Laura is a somewhat typical Wentworth heroine.  She's lovely but in a somewhat reserved way with a tendency to go very pale and shrink a bit.  But she's also intelligent and hardworking and very kind.  The side characters are interesting and I loved Petra and would love to see more of her. 

The mystery is especially good.  It's hard to find someone who didn't want to kill Tanis but did any of them really have a strong enough motive to pull the trigger?  Throw in a decades old family feud and a seriously strong personality and this was an entertaining mystery that could go all kinds of different ways.  

Miss Silver takes a bit more of an active role in this investigation then she has in the previous books but I still want more!  I'm already looking forward to the next book.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Definitely!  I love seeing Miss Silver and I can't wait for the next book.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy classic mysteries then is definitely one to pick up.  I don't find her as strong as Agatha Christie but she does hold her own.