Fear Stalks the Village

Written by Ethel Lina White

Narrated by Oona Beeson

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soundings
• Release date: Feb 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9781399167772

Ethel Lina White

Ethel Lina White was born in Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales in 1876. She initially worked for the Ministry of Pensions but quit her job in order to write. She is the author of over 15 mysteries and thrillers, several of which were made into films. The Wheel Spins, a masterpiece of suspense writing about a beautiful young girl on a train and her missing companion, was immortalized by Alfred Hitchcock as The Lady Vanishes. Vastly successful in her day, White was as well-known as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers but fell into obscurity following her sudden death in 1944.