The Case of William Smith by Patricia Wentworth: A Review

He knew that his name was not William Smith. He had a head injury during the war, and when he left the German hospital, they had hung a dog tag around his neck which said William Smith. That was 1942. He spent three more years in German prison camps until the war ended, and he could return back to England. He had looked up the real William Smith, and knew that that was not him.

William had been good at drawing silly animals and he had learned to whittle. He had met a prisoner named Tattlecombe who had relative who had a toy shop in London. When William returned, he sought a job with Mr. Tattlecombe, and was now was now employed producing silly animals which were very successful with the customers. Then Mr. Tattlecombe had an accident. He was standing on the curb one evening, and he believed that someone had pushed him into the street in front of a car. Mr. Tattlecombe was now staying with his sister,  Abby Salt, and her rather peculiar sister Emily until his broken leg healed.

Katherine Eversley needed a job. She was a member of the supposedly well-to-do Eversley family. Her cousins Cyril and Brett ran the family business. It had not been doing well since the war, and the amount of money that Katherine received from her dividends had been decreasing. Katherine entered the Tattlecombe Toy Emporium, and asked about a possible position. The clerk, Miss Cole, was dead set against hiring her, but William Smith took one look and knew that she must be hired. After all, they were short one person since Mr. Tattlecombe was laid up with his broken leg.  Katherine was quite happy with her position painting toy animals and with working with William.

Then things started going wrong. Mr. Tattlecombe announced his decision to leave his business to William Smith in his will. Both Abby Salt and Emily heard this. When William left their house, someone attacked him with apparent intention of killing him. This attack was stopped by police inspector Frank Abbott who was passing by. Then someone tried to push William into the street in front of a bus. William was saved by the man standing next to him on the curb. Then William discovered that someone had loosened the tire on his car. It became very apparent that someone was trying to kill him.

Frank Abbott told William about the private enquiry agent, Miss Maud Silver who might be able to help him. It was Katherine Eversley who sought help from Miss Silver, because everything was becoming terribly complicated. Her cousin Brett wanted to marry her, and she did not want to marry him because she wished to marry William. Was Brett a suspect in the attacks on William, or were they carried out by Emily Able who did not want William to inherit the Tattlecombe business? Then, of course, William Smith had had a life before he had amnesia. Was there someone from this life who recognized him, and desired his death. There are more things which the reader and Miss Silver must learn before a decision is reached.

I have always been a great fan of Maud Silver. This sweet elderly lady diligently knits while she listens to people pour out their secrets to her. She always starts a new notebook for each case which is quite organized. She also does not waste her money on new and fancy clothes or on furnishings for her home which is positively Victorian. She always solves every case she undertakes.This book was published in 1948.  It is currently available as an e-book.