Judy Elliot, meeting an old friend, Detective Sergeant Abbott tells him that, having been left the custody of her motherless little niece, she is taking a domestic job in the country with a family named Pilgrim. Frank is appalled, mysterious deaths have been taking place there. A curse is on the house of Pilgrim's Rest and by the time Miss Silver investigates she has four murders to solve.

CLASSIC GOLDEN AGE MYSTERY PERFECT FOR FANS OF AGATHA CHRISTIE Miss Silver must foil a plot to murder a beautiful young heiress 'Ranks with the best of the golden-age detectives' Daily Mail Furious at being jilted at the altar by his once-fiance Margaret Langton, Charles Moray left England behind him. Now, four years later, he returns to his family home, only to find it unlocked and with a light burning in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, Charles soon discovers that a criminal gang has been using his house to plan a vicious crime. The target is the beautiful Margot Standing, who is due to inherit a considerable fortune. And what's more he recognises the voices of one of the conspirators - his lost love Margaret Langton. How did Margaret come to be involved? And who is the terrifying masked man who has her in his thrall? Charles contacts Miss Silver to unravel the mysteries of the case and, if she can, save Margot Standings life. 'A first-rate storyteller' Daily Telegraph 'You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver' Observer 'Miss Silver is marvellous' Daily Mail 'Better than Miss Marple' Mary Stewart 'A particular favourite' Andrew Taylor 'Miss Wentworth's plot is ingenious, her characterization acute, her solution satisfying' Scotsman 'Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot' Manchester Evening News

In this classic British mystery, a revised will, a troubled upper-class marriage, and a crazed witness shake up a seemingly solved murder case. Marion Grey is growing used to the idea that her husband will never leave prison. After the horrors of a very public trial she's almost able to find relief in her resignation. But when new evidence suggests her husband may be innocent after all, she hires a professional--Miss Maud Silver--to clear his name. It begins with a chance encounter on a busy train, when a friend of Marion's meets a half-mad woman who claims to know something of the Grey case. With her is a man who disappeared during the trial--and may have information that could set Marion's husband free. But who is he, and where has he gone? To find out, demure governess-turned-detective Miss Silver must track him down before becoming a victim herself. In a series that's a delightful blend of Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie, retired schoolteacher and sleuth Miss Silver "has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot" (Manchester Evening News).

Governess-turned-sleuth Miss Silver must follow a trail of poison-pen letters to save an heiress from murder. Rachel Treherne has always had a steady head on her shoulders; it's why her late father named her the sole trustee of his considerable fortune. But the decision galled a number of Rachel's relatives, including her married older sister, her socialist nephew, and her father's ambitious young cousin. Rachel fears she may be overreacting to the anonymous letters she's received threatening her life, but then someone tampers with the chocolates she bought herself. If her cousin hadn't partaken first and noticed an unwholesome taste, who knows what may have happened? Miss Silver suspects someone in Rachel's inner circle has grown tired of being a poor relation, and she travels incognito to the Treherne country home to unmask the culprit--before it's too late--in this intriguing entry in the beloved series featuring a contemporary of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Lonesome Road is the 3rd book in the Miss Silver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The "marvelous" British governess-turned-sleuth helps a new bride who fears her husband intends to murder her (Daily Mail). Former schoolteacher Miss Maud Silver is on her way back to London when, with a violent shudder of the train, a young woman is thrust into her compartment. She's beautiful, well dressed, newly married, and wealthy--a lethal combination. In a state of shock, Lisle Jerningham explains that she fled her home in a hurry after overhearing a sinister conversation. Her new husband's first wife died in an apparent accident, and the resultant infusion of cash saved his family home. Now, he's broke again--and attempting to engineer a second convenient mishap. Miss Silver is unsure whether the drama is real or a figment of Lisle's imagination--but if this frightened young lady is a target for murder, the killer will have to deal with the governess-turned-sleuth first. Starring a mature sleuth who "has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot", In the Balance is a classic British mystery (Manchester Evening News).

There was a certain heavy air of intrigue and mystery emanating from the old inn high on the cliff top. The Catherine-Wheel had once been a home for pirates and smugglers, but now is looked like it was harbouring a murderer. It had begun with an advertisement in the paper requesting descendants of the late innkeeper, Jeremiah Taverner, to stay for a weekend at the inn. They had arrived, a mixed assortment, to the family reunion eager to discover the secrets of their ancestry. But one of them had been hideously murdered, bringing the inn's stormy past into frightening focus. Scotland Yard, already suspicious of dope smuggling in the area, sends Maud Silver to investigate before the fireworks start to fly.

The landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region varies dramatically from parched desert lowlands to semiarid tropical forests and frigid subalpine meadows. Covering south easternmost California, much of southern and central Arizona, most of Baja California, and much of the state of Sonora, Mexico, it is home to an extraordinary variety of plants and animals. With a Natural History of the Sonoran Desert, this book takes readers deep into its vast expanse, looking closely at the relationships of plants and animals with the land and people, through time and across landscapes. In accessible language, more than forty scientists and/or naturalists examine the region's biodiversity, geology, weather, plants, and animals (from invertebrates to fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), as well as potential threats to the species and habitats. The text is supplemented throughout with anecdotes, essays, photographs, maps, diagrams, and 450 finely rendered drawings. This new edition adds chapters on the Sky Islands, Sea of Cortez, desert pollinators, and conservation issues. Taxonomic nomenclature has been updated and new color plates and figures have been added. This comprehensive natural history, like the original edition, will surely become an invaluable companion for nature enthusiasts, birdwatchers, hikers, students, naturalists, and anyone interested in the desert Southwest. Published in association with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.