Consider the Lilies

by Elizabeth Cadell

Old Mrs. Lauder was as loathsome as her lilies were lovely. Every year the vicar had hoped for a change of heart in this sinister woman whose murder brought fear and suspicion to the village and, to the Church, the lilies she had denied them every Easter while she lived. But somewhere in those waxen blooms there was a message and a danger signal.

Genres: Mystery, Romance

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Violet Elizabeth Vandyke was born on 10 November 1903 in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of British parents, Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. During the Great War she studied music in London, but refused a musical career and returned to India where she married in 1928 Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock Cadell, and they had a son and daughter. After she was widowed ten years later, she returned to England.

Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.

She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.

Reviews

[Saralyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cadell is enjoyable, as always.

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another mystery and twas nice

[Sep · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful mystery that leans more towards the mystery than to the romance. The murder is understandable, the victim was a horrible person, and suspects are legion. The detective handsome and, as far as we and the heroine know, single. I also noticed the embryo stage of "the spoiled young man" and "the domineering older woman" that appear much more vividly in later novels.

[Morggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primarily a simple mystery with a little bit of romance thrown in at the end. As usual love the characterizations.

[angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read

Great, likable characters, a very suspenseful plot, a real page turner! An old lady that is hated by everyone. A lovely little village, and a lovely little family. A murder, of course, but it takes a while to figure it all out :) I had read Elizabeth Cabell books before and enjoyed them, "Fishy said the Admiral" is so good, but I didn't know she had written thrillers. I'll be looking for more of them now. She is adept at giving just enough information to keep you guessing and turning those pages. The ending is a little muddled, that doesn't take away from a very good read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad that these books have been re-issued! This is a title I had never come across and it turned out to be a real page turner. Elizabeth Cadell didn't do many romantic suspense novels but the ones of hers that I've read are well done. Of course it's a product of its time especially with the faithful family retainers (do these exist anymore?) but the romance was nicely handled, there is a genuine mystery and the build up to the denouement is appropriately tense! I also liked the way Cadell showed the story from a very different viewpoints, it made this one really work.

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I mean, this was a light and fluffy mid 20th C romantic suspense/gothic romance - which kind of book I, admittedly, love. But it had my Word for the Year in the title, so of course I thought I'd try it.

It was a good story, a different kind of solution, somewhat confusing characters between the sisters ... (although that could be my own inconsistent reading - you see I started in January and mostly didn't read it for months until I picked it up on my flight home yesterday)

I may look for some more Cadell; I hadn't run into her before.

[Bookosaurus (A book a day keeps reality away) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average read with average characters, average storyline and average mystery. It's readable if not thoroughly engrossing like other Cadell books. The love story was unbelievable, considering that it happened in less than a week's time, but then this book was written in the sixties, so that was forgivable. Other than that, it's okay.

[Diane Smeltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consider the Lillies

A good story. Considering the timeframe for when Cadell was writing. Her stories are refreshing. Nowadays there would be more in depth characterization. When reading Cabell I feel transported to a time that no longer exists.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder and more murder and the murderer(s?) lurk everywhere. The Church of England is even drawn into this one. A great Halloween read though it occurs in the spring at Easter. Blimey, it is a goodun!

[Ymt01 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little like a Georgette Heyer mystery, but less humour for leaven. Quite short

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Objectively, it's fine and somewhat slight, but not particularly great. However, it was exactly what I needed the night I read it, so pshaw on objectivity.

[Carla Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun cozy mystery

You are kept guessing to the end. It reminded me of a Georgette Heyer mystery. The characters are clever and engaging.

[Kay Robart · Rating 2 out of 5]

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2017...

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms Cadell should have stuck to writing the light romances.