Fear Stalks the Village

'This village seems an earthly paradise, with a population of kindly gracious souls. But the flowers are growing on slime. When twilight falls, they light their lamps and draw down their blinds. And then – when no one can see them they lead their real lives.'

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.