Fear Stalks the Village

De: Ethel Lina White

Narrado por: Oona Beeson

A novelist ambles down the lanes of a cosy country village, replete with Tudor houses and quaint cottages. In her writer's mind she pictures the sordid truth beyond the veneer, a seemingly laughable proposition - until the coming of the letters. Anonymous letters from a poisoned pen, sowing discord and defaming everybody from the Rector to the 'queen of the village' Miss Decima Asprey. Naturally, where there is venom in the air and dark secrets are threatening to come to light, the shadow of death is not far behind.

Ethel Lina White's 1932 classic is one of the foundation stones of the village mystery sub-genre of crime fiction. Revelling in the delicious contrast of angelic outer appearances and the wickedness behind the facade, White's novel is a witty and satisfying interwar mystery.

©2024 Martin Edwards (P)2024 Soundings

Good listen

Good story, clever prose. Pacing stalls in a few places but did not affect my interest.

Unsatisfying

Just not much here in terms of an engaging story or mystery, I like something a bit more challenging

Interesting Classic

I enjoy descriptive writing so I don't mind a slow moving story, but this got a bit long for me. However, it is fascinating to read that time period through the eyes of an author living in that era, so different then modern writers looking back. It was worth the read and I can recommend it if you have patience and like this sort of classic writing.