Case of William Smith

William Smith suffers from amnesia and also from often being pushed into the path of oncoming cars - ideas for plots frequently exploited in films and crime novels of this book's vintage, 1950. Who is doing the pushing, a man or a woman? Who is William Smith who has lost his memory? Knitting together more coincidences than there are stitches on Miss Silver's knitting needles, Patricia Wentworth ravels out solutions to these mysteries in one of her most appealing crime novels. Miss Silver conducts investigations, coughing politely, always preferring "do not" to "don't" and advising and cautioning here and there. Dispensing coffee and cakes by the fire she explains all at the end. Diana Bishop's warm, mellow reading of this novel was released in audio book form during 2006.

Tight plot, good character development. This is one of Wentworth's best. One of the particular charms of the Miss Silver mysteries is the insight on post war London. This book tells a good story while reflecting an interest look on a different era. The mystery is obvious but the story is well told and has very interesting characters. Wentworth vividly describes people in a few words. Highly recommend.

This effort of Miss Wentworth's was quite a good one. I enjoyed it as much or more than any of her other works. We have a case of amnesia, (which I must admit is believably done), and not one, but two wicked witches that we can take turns hating. Throw in a little financial skulduggery, and two young lovers that certainly deserve their happiness and you have a commendable cozy Miss Silver mystery.

William Smith has lost his memory, but he's quite sure that William Smith is not his real name, little does he know that he needs to regain his memory back as soon as possible or immediate danger will arise. With the help of Miss Silver, William sets out to find out who he is and why he's been having near-fatal accidents repeatedly.Great characters and story.