Patricia Wentworth (1878 - 1961) was a British crime fiction writer. She wrote a series of 32 crime novels (classic-style whodunits) many featuring Miss Silver, the first of which was published in 1928, and the last of which was published in the year of her death. Miss Silver is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. Miss Silver is a retired governess who becomes a private detective. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott.