The village was beautiful. It was enfolded in a hollow of the Downs, and wrapped up snugly — first, in a floral shawl of gardens, and then, in a great green shawl of fields. Lilies and lavender grew in abundance. Bees clustered over sweet-scented herbs with the hum of a myriad spinning-wheels.
With its Tudor cottages and cobbled streets, the village depicted in Ethel Lina White’s 1932 novel seems at first sight to be an idyllic place to live. There’s no poverty or unemployment, an endless round of tea parties and tennis games, and once settled there, people find that they never want to leave. Joan Brook is a relative newcomer to the village, having arrived to take up a position as companion to Lady d’Arcy, and she has already fallen under its spell.
When a novelist friend from London comes to visit, she entertains herself and Joan by imagining the secret scandals taking place behind closed doors. Perhaps the village doctor is poisoning his wife, she says, and the saintly Miss Asprey is bullying her companion; the Rector is leading a double life, and Miss Julia Corner, President of the local Temperance Society, is a secret drinker. The visit is a brief one and the friend soon returns to London, but when the inhabitants of the village begin to receive anonymous poison pen letters, it seems that the scenarios she had imagined were not so far from the truth after all.
Fear Stalks the Village is an unusual crime novel; although there are several deaths, it is not a murder mystery and the plot revolves entirely around finding out who is writing the spiteful letters threatening to expose the private lives of the villagers. Other reviews compare it to The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie, but as I haven’t read that one yet it reminded me most of Henrietta Clandon’s Good by Stealth. There’s lots of witty, satirical humour and a large cast of strongly drawn characters, all of whom appear at first to be happy, well-adjusted people…until the letters begin to arrive. The question the novel raises is whether the cracks have always been there beneath the surface or whether they have been created by the letters and the suspicion and anxiety they cause.
The mystery is quite a clever one, with some red herrings to throw us off the track, and I didn’t guess who was sending the letters. However, it took me a while to get into this book as the pace is quite slow and, despite the title, I didn’t feel that there was any real sense of fear or menace. Still, this is the second book I’ve read by Ethel Lina White, the first being The Wheel Spins (the book on which Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes is based) and I think it’s my favourite of the two – probably because with the other book I couldn’t help comparing it unfavourably to the film, which I love! I would be happy to try more of her books so let me know if there are any you would recommend.
She Reads Novels 
White isn’t an author known to me, but you’ve tempted me to give her a whirl, though possibly without a sense of urgency.
I wasn’t aware of her until just a few years ago either. She’s definitely worth trying.
👍
This sounds a bit like the plot to the film that I keep seeing trailers of in the cinemas… poison pen letters. I wonder if it was inspired by this book, although I suppose there are others to choose from on this theme.
Wicked Little Letters? It does sound very similar, although as you say it’s not really an original story anyway.
That’s the one! Funny how I must have seen the trailer 3-4 times but cannot remember the name of the film, just know it’s starring Jesse Buckley and Olivia Colman.
I liked the Ethel Lina White I read. I hope to get this one in the mail soon!
I hope you’re able to read this one soon.
Not one I’ve read (or own!). It does seem to have a ‘Moving Finger’ vibe about it – but that is one of my favourite Miss Marple books, so…. I’m hoping that I can pick up a few more BLCC books when I visit my fave Indie bookshop mid-Feb. [crosses fingers]
The Moving Finger is one of the few Miss Marples I still haven’t read. Hoping to get to it this year!
She’s not an author I’ve read before. I do like the sound of this one with the small village setting and all those spiteful letters. (And I love Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, too.)
The small village setting gives this book a lot of atmosphere. And yes, The Lady Vanishes is great – glad you love it too!
I have a copy of this on the TBR, and it does sound entertaining – will look forward to it now!
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it!
I don’t seem to have read a BLCC for ages and I feel bereft, may be I’ll get myself to a bookshop soon, this one sounds great, I love the title!
Yes, the title is what drew me to this one. I hope you have some new BLCCs to read soon!
I received this from the BL a few days ago, however as I have read it already ( a cheap kindle cooy) I passed it on to my mum. That cover is perfect for it though.
The cover is lovely, isn’t it? I hope your mum enjoys it.
This one is waiting on my TBR, so I’m glad you enjoyed it! I enjoyed The Wheel Spins but wasn’t so thrilled by Some Must Watch, so far the only two I’ve read.
I hope you enjoy this one! I would like to try more of her books, but will maybe leave Some Must Watch for now.