In The Spiral Staircase, Helen is a fairly new arrival to an old country house that has great trouble keeping the help. The cantankerous old Lady Warren chases them away with verbal and physical assault, and a new, intimidating nurse (Barker) arrives on the night of a great storm. There have been murders in the area, and with one occurring that very night, the man of the house (the stepson of Lady Warren)—a professor—decrees the house shall be locked up tight. No one will get in, and those who leave will not be allowed to return. But Helen is sure that the killer has snuck in and is lurking, waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill her…

While the book is a bit of a slow start, the lyricism of the text is lovely. Straight from the jump the book has great descriptive text, like “on either hand rose the hills—barren sepia mounds, blurred by a fine spit of rain”.

The atmosphere is so delicious, how the tension builds like condensation on a window in the summer’s heat. I can just feel that something terrible is going to happen, but I’m not certain from which direction it will strike, like when the shutter is left banging and open, inviting in danger, or when Lady Warren had Helen fetch her revolver from the cupboard and crept over to it after Helen momentarily left the room. It doesn’t let up once it starts mounting until the very last sentence.

The dialogue is very 1930s (yes, I’m quite aware of its original publication year of 1933). I’m not sure how to describe it but if you’ve seen films from the 30s, especially thrillers like Hitchcock, and you enjoy them, then you’ll be pleased with this book. Example of a conversation with just the dialogue:

“I won’t disturb you any longer. Besides—I think you’re goofy.”
“You’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not.”
“What do you think of me?”
“I think you are very capable—and clever.”
“A fool?”
“Oh, anything but that.”

The specific delivery and pitch I can hear in my head delivered just as in one of those films.

I spook easily and if I read this alone at night, or in a thunderstorm, or both, I guarantee I would be on EDGE. The way each chapter ends on a cliffhanger had me eager to race forward to discover the conclusion, only to meet more cliffhangers which had me going and going; I simply had to know how each part would end.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who likes old thrillers, as it is nearly a century old. It really is a gem and had me just about breathless as it reached the climax.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Helen has recently started working in a manor house in the country. She has become somewhat accustomed to her job but there's a scare of a serial killer of young women in the area and they are happening closer and closer to the home. The book essentially covers one night and starts with Helen out for a walk when she notices someone in the woods. This starts her imagination going. Through the evening and night, various things start happening that all seem coordinated to make sure she is alone and unprotected. Or is it just her imagination running away with her?

I read the writer's work, The Lady Vanishes not long ago, and I thought it was quite good and really thrilling. This book is suspenseful and does something of a good job at building up, but I found it a bit more uneven in its execution. I found the character of Helen somewhat annoying at times and the constant inner monologue did grow tiresome. I think it might have done better had it been spread out a bit more. I did think the writer did well with bringing in characters and making sure it was difficult to work out their true intentions. There's the nurse who initially seems quite scary but then at times she seems an ally. There's the doctor who could be putting on an act but who sometimes seems to have a soft spot for Helen. Also, the student who seems to be something of an ally but has his own plans that might not include anybody else.
I must admit the ending while reaching a bit of a crisis, was rather abrupt.

While in many ways it was apt, I couldn't help wondering about some of the other characters who were meant to be coming back to Helen's aid but whose movements were never heard about again.

I know a movie was made of this called the Spiral Staircase but I haven't seen it. I just wonder the import of the title since it's not the book's original title and it doesn't have a particularly central role here.

Overall, I did enjoy this and will rate it 3 stars. I would like to thank Netgalley and Pushkin for giving me a free copy. My opinions as written here are completely voluntary.

The author's storytelling is fast-paced and immersive, painting vivid scenes and creating characters that suck you in. Ethel Lina White did a fantastic job here and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

A serial killer is killing young women and the bodies are getting closer and closer to the house Helen is working at as the domestic help. But when the Professor orders the house in lock down during a storm, Helen wonders if it is too late and the murderer is already in the house...

White does an excellent job ratcheting up the tension as people leave the house or are incapacitated. Is there a murder in the house or is Helen just imaging it. Helen as a character though is a little too emotional for me. Even before things really get to the point where she might think something is wrong she isn't acting rational.

So, a good suspense novel but the character is too much of a type that ends up just wringing her hands even if she shows a bit of spunk sometimes.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I'm giving this rerelease two enthusiastic thumbs up! A perfect mix of gothic fiction and psychological thriller. I love a slow burning, tension filled damsel in distress narrative, and it's made even better when tucked into the isolated Welsh countryside. Atmospheric and full of unease, this vintage classic takes you through the course of one very long day, building on the panic until its frenetic conclusion.

If you are one who finds joy in the simplicity of a creaking floorboard, the sudden banging of the shudder, or the unexplainable echo of footsteps from above... you will find your match within this timeless tale.

Takes a while to get into, and definitley has not aged all that well... but the same can be sad of most other mystery/crime novels of that time. It's certainly a product of its time, let's leave it at that. But if you're in the right mindset (i.e. looking for a slow burn that manages to be OTT and relaxing at the same time), you can do a lot worse.

Originally published as Some Must Watch in 1933, this is a reissue by Pushkin Vertigo under the title The Spiral Staircase – the name of the 1946 film adaptation. I’ve previously read two other novels by Ethel Lina White – The Wheel Spins and Fear Stalks the Village – and enjoyed both, although I found the former slightly disappointing in comparison with Alfred Hitchock’s wonderful The Lady Vanishes, which is based on it. This book has turned out to be my favourite of the three!

Almost the entire novel is set within the walls of the Summit, a lonely country house near the Welsh/English border. Adding to the sense of tension and claustrophobia, the main events of the story also take place over the course of a single evening. As the novel opens, we learn that four murders have recently been committed – the first two in the nearest town, which is over twenty miles away, the next slightly closer, and the fourth in another country house just five miles from the Summit. All four victims were young women and their deaths are on Helen Capel’s mind as she returns to the Summit after her afternoon off and is convinced that she sees a man hiding behind a tree in the dark.

Helen has just started a new job as ‘help’ to the Warren family – Miss Warren and her brother, known as the Professor, and their elderly, bedridden stepmother, Lady Warren. At the start of the novel, the Professor’s son and his wife are staying at the house, as is a student of the Professor’s, Stephen Rice. The rest of the household is made up of two more domestic servants, Mr and Mrs Oates, and the newly arrived Nurse Barker, who has been employed to look after Lady Warren.

When news of another murder, closer than ever this time, reaches the family, the Professor orders that all the doors are locked and everyone stays inside until morning. These should be easy enough instructions to follow, yet for a variety of reasons, one person after another leaves the house or becomes otherwise incapacitated. As a storm rages outside and the tension builds inside, Helen is forced to confront the idea that one of the remaining people in the house could be the murderer.

This book is good fun, but you do need to be able to suspend disbelief now and then (Helen is one of those heroines typical of this genre of book, who, despite knowing there’s a murderer on the loose, tries to open the front door every time someone knocks and spends most of the night wandering around the house on her own, along dark passageways and up and down dimly-lit staircases). Still, Ethel Lina White does a great job of creating an atmosphere of foreboding and fear, not just through stormy weather and shadows, but also through hints that various characters may not be as they seem. Is Lady Warren really unable to walk – and why does she have a gun in her room? And what if Nurse Barker isn’t really a nurse?

I found this a quick, entertaining read, let down slightly by the ending because the killer’s identity wasn’t particularly surprising and their motive was unconvincing. If you’re looking for a cleverly plotted mystery, I think you’ll be disappointed as I would describe this as much more of a psychological horror/suspense novel than a crime novel. It reminded me a lot of Benighted by J.B. Priestley and I think if you enjoyed one there’s a good chance you would enjoy the other.

When you get used to the old language and writing this is a real hoot! I loved the plot, the setting and the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

So Pushkin Vertigo is republishing this classic mystery. It’s cool that they are bringing classic titles to a modern audience. I liked this one. But I almost gave up at the beginning because the language was just so…pretentious and hard to understand. The first 40% or so was kind of boring but the second half was much better. I loved the ending. Helen was a plucky heroine.

**Thanks to Pushkin Vertigo for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

Helen has been employed by Professor Warren as a live-in help on his family's isolated estate. With nothing to do in her spare time but take long walks, a young woman like Helen might soon grow bored and restless. However, a murderer of young women is lurking nearby and as the murders inch closer to the estate, Helen and the Warren family wonder if they are truly safe, especially as the household numbers begin to shrink.

Set in 1930s England, with well-written characters and an empathetic heroine, the story has enough red herrings and unlikeable characters to keep you wondering who is responsible for the terrible crimes. The tension builds effectively and a dark mood is well-maintained, creating a stylish story reminiscent of the era.

If you enjoy a classic gothic crime read, this is a book for you. Written by Ethel Lina White, a well-known writer from the era of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, this atmospheric thriller will keep turning the pages, even if you have to keep the lights on to do so.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In this over-egged vintage chiller, a new-ish member of staff at a country pile populated by some right weird people, finds herself trapped in a psychological mystery. There's a serial killer out and about, and so first the people of the house try and keep themselves safe inside the house, knowing it is pretty secure – and then pretty much all disable their ability to defend their world, or just plain leave. Our girl, told she is going to be the one out of all of them the killer would go for, is forced to spend the convoluted night with fewer and fewer people to rely on – and of course the hope that when they locked the place tight, they locked the murderer out, and not already in…

This is not terrible, for it remains moderately effective, if definitely overlong. The problem is that the characters (especially the allegedly smart floozie who knows nothing about gay men, and the overly-masculine nurse taking her first shift for the bedbound old biddy in the attic) are just one step away from being OTT, and the whole thing is balanced on the thinnest of lines between playing it deadly serious and coming up as ripe as last season's plums. I certainly did want to know who was playing whom, but I wish the finding out had been a bit more worth the effort. A smidge over three stars.

** “She realised that she had just received a valuable object-lesson in the destructive power of uncurbed imagination.” **

Publisher Pushkin Vertigo has re-released Ethel Lina White’s “The Spiral Staircase,” originally published in 1933 as “Some Must Watch” and adapted for film several times.

Helen Capel is working as a housegirl at The Summit, an isolated estate with an odd family. The Warrens consist of three generations — Lady Warren, her stepson Professor Warren and his sister Blanche, as well as his son and daughter-in-law. Rounding out the residents are the professor’s tutor, Stephen Rice, and the Oates, married caretakers of the property.

When a series of murders occur near The Summit, including the latest on this very stormy night, Helen lets her imagination run wild dreaming up all sorts of horrors as to her potential fate — and who the murderer could be.

Can she trust her instinct and those around her, especially as more and more people leave or are rendered useless? Will she survive the night?

White does a good job of creating a sort-of closed door mystery filled with hints, clues and misdirections. Her writing at times is a bit bogged down and can drag a little, but overall the story is quite the thrill. And she develops a number of eccentric, quite unlikable characters.

She does remind us of a few good themes, like the impact of a curious nature; overcoming fear; dealing with jealousy; and determining who you can trust.

Fans of authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, as well as stories like early-era Alfred Hitchcock, will enjoy “The Spiral Staircase,” which is due out July 8.

Four stars out of five.

Pushkin Vertigo provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Set in the 1930s, this gothic, atmospheric mystery was chilling but so slowly paced in the beginning that I honestly wished that I had DNF’ed it. This sinister story begins in an English countryside town where a murder is on the loose, stalking the next victim. The whole premise of the story is a swelling thriller where the main character sits and waits for the killer. There is a great deal of fluff to get past in the beginning. Altogether, the book didn’t sit well with me and was just so eerie. It was hard to keep the story straight in my mind because the characters failed to make a mark and were immemorable at best. As shocking as it is to admit, I don’t think I was the right audience for this book as it bordered horror rather than mystery thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. This review is voluntary and all thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars. Delightfully fun classic suspense novel that takes place over the course of just one night--a dark and stormy night in which there in a murderous maniac roaming the countryside and perhaps already inside the large country house out protagonist works in. Helen is a delightful character, a bit earnest and naive, but also too curious for her own good and using her imagination to turn what others might consider to be a humdrum servant's life into a series of cinematic adventures.

My quibbles with this mainly come down to the villain reveal and the rapid escalation in crimes feeling cartoonish and silly and not at all psychologically grounded. But if you're looking for a suspense novel to keep you on the edge of your seat, this one is fun and engaging.

This is the third mystery I have read by Ethel Lina White, and I continue to be impressed by her work. Taking place over the course of a single stormy night in a remote English countryside home, this propulsive thriller follows a young woman trying to avoid the clutches of a strangler. I could not put this book down!

A novel set in the 1930's which would have been wonderful during that era but unfortunately it didn't quite resonate with me as a reader in the modern age, The beginning of the book was very slow paced (albeit mysterious in parts) and the characters didn't feel very memorable to me along with their actions as the story progressed- the second half of the story was more intriguing but unfortunately this just wasn't up my alley.
Thankyou to Net galley along with Pushkin Press for the ARC of this mystery thriller.

3.5 stars rounded up.
I truly enjoyed this classic thriller. I love books and movies from this era. The Spiral Staircase was very atmospheric and creepy. I will look for other books by Ethel Lina White.

I wanted to finish this but I couldn't. I guess that also says a lot about my interest level that I knew time was running out and didn't care.

A classic novel from the 1930's. This is a gripping tension filled mystery that stands the test of time, maybe except the writing style. This will keep you guessing till the end. Thanks to Pushkin press and Netgalley for this review copy

2.5 stars rounded down. A product of its time I think, with the writing style being of the format that it wasn’t “she wondered what the person had done”, so much as “‘I wonder what he has done,” she said to herself, “it’s such a queer thing to do.” This kind of internal monologue way of showing the characters’ thoughts just grated on me after a while.

The characters were hard to like really. And while it was building up tension with the dark stormy night and people being incapacitated or leaving, one by one, it didn’t really feel like a tense mystery to me. Perhaps it’s just me though…

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers, in return for an unbiased review.