Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Some Must Watch” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Some Must Watch

Ethel Lina White

3.68 · Rating details · 527 ratings · 107 reviews

Also published as The Spiral Staircase. This book has been the inspiration behind three movies.

As Professor Sebastian Warren battens down the shutters and locks all the doors of their isolated country house, the eight occupants start to feel safe. Somewhere outside lurks a murderer of young girls, the latest only an earshot away. Is there really safety in numbers and what ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 256 pages

Published June 30th 2004 by Kessinger Publishing (first published 1933)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Some Must Watch, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Some Must Watch

Lists with This Book

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

Classic Film Adaptations: The 1940s

71 books — 36 voters

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Classic Mysteries (fiction)

166 books — 151 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.68 ·

Rating details

· 527 ratings · 107 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Some Must Watch

Dec 20, 2019 Ian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, 4-star-crime-fiction, fiction, england, wales

Another writer that I’ve investigated after reading “The Book of Forgotten Authors”. Even her GR author page comments that she “has faded into obscurity”, although it seems she was very well known in her day.

Before moving onto the book I wanted to highlight that the blurb at the top of the page is misleading and I think relates to the plot of the Hollywood film “The Spiral Staircase”, which was adapted from this novel. In the book the main character, Helen Capel, is not mute, and neither does th Another writer that I’ve investigated after reading “The Book of Forgotten Authors”. Even her GR author page comments that she “has faded into obscurity”, although it seems she was very well known in her day.

Before moving onto the book I wanted to highlight that the blurb at the top of the page is misleading and I think relates to the plot of the Hollywood film “The Spiral Staircase”, which was adapted from this novel. In the book the main character, Helen Capel, is not mute, and neither does the serial killer target disabled women in particular. I read the blurb before starting the book and it confused me when in the novel Helen was given dialogue!

The book is a psychological thriller in which the central character works as a domestic help in an isolated country mansion near the Wales/England border. The author was herself from Abergavenny, so the setting was home territory for her. The book was published in 1933 and timewise the story seems to be set in the early 1920s.

In the novel the area is being terrorised by a serial killer, and Helen has the distinct feeling that she is to be the killer’s next target. As night falls she is reassured by being in a house with a number of other people, but during the night the others gradually leave. One servant is sent on an errand, several guests leave after an argument, and so on. What’s more, Helen begins to wonder whether she can trust those left in the house, and her feelings of panic start to build.

I really enjoyed this one. The author builds the tension gradually but effectively, and I found the last third of the book riveting. The story takes place over a single evening and night, but the author effectively conveys the feeling Helen has, of an unbearably long night. It probably helped that I’ve never seen “The Spiral Staircase” so I didn’t know how the book would end. It’s decently written, and the various characters are an interesting bunch, especially the female ones. The author really concentrates on the relationships between the women in the house. By comparison most of the male characters are incidental.

I think that Ethel Lina White is deserving of a revival! ...more

flag 29 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2014 ``Laurie Henderson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, pbo, gothic-suspense, superior-mystery, fiction, mystery-detectives

If you're in the mood for a good old-fashioned gothic, damsel in distress book then this is the book for you.
The scene is set in 1930's England at the mansion of the aristocratic Warren family, in a remote location bordering on Wales.

Newly hired maid young Helen, all alone in the world, is delighted to have landed any job and just can't believe her good luck to finally find employment, even if the mansion is in a desolate location.

She just can't understand why they have problems keeping any he ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2016 Bettie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Laura, Wanda et al

Shelves: film-only, north-americas, us-new-england, mystery-thriller, gothic, halloween-2016, serial-killer, autumn-2016, published-1933

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hwzw...

Description (from wiki): In early 20th century New England, a serial killer murders disabled young women in the community. His next victim apparently is Helen (McGuire), a mute girl working as a live-in companion for the wealthy, bedridden Mrs. Warren (Barrymore). Mrs. Warren urges her to leave the house, as does Dr. Parry, who knows the reason for Helen's loss of speech and hopes to help her get her voice back. Rounding out the household are Mrs. Warren's ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2018 Sandy rated it really liked it

There is a word that film buffs like to use to describe a type of motion picture that, because of its tautness and high suspense quotient, almost seems as if it had been directed by the so-called "Master of Suspense" himself, Alfred Hitchcock. The word, naturally enough, is "Hitchcockian," a term that might be fairly applied to such wonderful entertainments as "Gaslight" (both the 1940 and '44 versions), "Charade," "The Prize" and "Arabesque." But of all the pictures that have been honored with There is a word that film buffs like to use to describe a type of motion picture that, because of its tautness and high suspense quotient, almost seems as if it had been directed by the so-called "Master of Suspense" himself, Alfred Hitchcock. The word, naturally enough, is "Hitchcockian," a term that might be fairly applied to such wonderful entertainments as "Gaslight" (both the 1940 and '44 versions), "Charade," "The Prize" and "Arabesque." But of all the pictures that have been honored with the adjective "Hitchcockian" over the years, none, it seems to me, is more deserving than the 1946 RKO film "The Spiral Staircase," and indeed, after 40 years' worth of repeated watches, I have come to deem the picture the greatest horror outing of the 1940s...at least, that wasn't a product of Universal Studios or producer Val Lewton.

Featuring impeccable direction by Robert Siodmak (his close-up shots of the maniac's eyeballs in the film are legendary), who would go on to direct the noir classics "The Killers" and "The Dark Mirror" that same year; sumptuous set design; and spectacularly gorgeous B&W cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca, who would eventually work on no fewer than five of those Val Lewton horror films, the picture is a genuine classic, beloved by millions. A neo-Gothic suspense thriller starring Dorothy McGuire, giving an almost Oscar-caliber performance despite the fact that she only has three or four lines of dialogue, and abetted by a remarkable supporting cast that is just aces (George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Elsa Lanchester, Rhonda Fleming et al.), the picture has been one of this viewer's personal Top 100 favorites for decades now, and I have long wanted to read its source novel, Welsh author Ethel Lina White's "Some Must Watch." And fortunately, thanks to the fine folks at Arcturus Publishing, a reasonably priced edition can be easily procured today; "fortunately," I say, seeing that the original hardcover seems to now be completely unobtainable, even on the usually dependable Bookfinder website, and the fact that even the 1946 movie tie-in paperback can be a dicey proposition.

White, I should perhaps mention, was a new author for me. Apparently, White began writing somewhat late in life, and her first novel was not released until 1927, when the budding author was already 51. Over the course of 17 years, until her death in 1944, White came out with 17 novels. "Some Must Watch," her sixth, was released in 1933. Her ninth, incidentally, entitled "The Wheel Spins," was released in 1936 and, two years later, adapted as Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes." Ultimately, White would become known as "The Mistress of Macabre Mystery," and I suppose that "Some Must Watch" (an oddly unsatisfying title, for this reader) is a good example of why.

In the book, the reader meets 19-year-old Helen Capel, who has come to the lonely abode known as the Summit, on the Welsh border, to work as a maid in the service of the Warren family. While there, Helen, a diminutive slip of a girl whose small stature is constantly referred to, gets to know the members of this most unusual household: old Lady Warren, a bedridden, cantankerous invalid who is confined to her room upstairs; her stepson, Prof. Warren, an intellectual cold fish; his prissy sister Blanche; his married son Newton; Newton's wife, Simone, who is something of a nymphomaniac; Stephen Rice, who the professor is tutoring and whom Simone has set her sights on; and Mr. and Mrs. Oates, two other house servants. Helen seems happy at her new job, despite the loneliness of the locale, and despite the fact that a series of murders has just transpired in the vicinity. Four young girls have recently been strangled to death by an unknown madman, the last incident having occurred only a few miles from the Summit itself. And now, as a monstrous thunderstorm commences one evening, a fifth young woman is strangled almost on the very doorstep of the Warren residence! "Some Must Watch" takes place during the 12 or so hours following this last murder, as Helen becomes increasingly distraught. One by one, all the residents in the Warren household are rendered unable to assist (the youngsters, caught in their love triangle, take off for the local pub; Mr. Oates is away on an errand; Mrs. Oates is dead drunk; Prof. Warren has taken too many sleeping pills; Blanche is trapped in her room due to a faulty doorknob; the new nurse, Barker, who may or may not be a man, has vanished; Lady Warren is, of course, too infirm to be of aid), until Helen finds herself quite alone, in the middle of a raging storm, with a homicidal lunatic who has somehow found entry into the house....

Longtime fans of Siodmak's 1946 film may be a bit surprised, after reading White's source novel, to discover just how many changes screenwriter Mel Dinelli made while adapting the author's work. For one thing, while the novel is set in contemporary times (in other words, 1933; both "King Kong," which had just been released, and Cecil B. DeMille's 1932 film "The Sign of the Cross" are mentioned), the film takes place a good 30 years earlier (when we first see Helen in the film, she is watching the silent movie "The Kiss," which had been released in 1896), and in New England. The character named Blanche becomes the professor's secretary in the film; the professor has a stepbrother rather than a sister; and Helen herself, as played by the 5'5" McGuire, is hardly as petite as White had described her. But shockingly, the biggest difference between the book and the film is that whereas Helen in the film is a mute, the result of a traumatic shock at a young age, White's Helen is anything but...she's quite the chatterbox, actually! Also, the jealous dynamic between her and Nurse Barker in the novel is excised in the film (Barker, a lonely and unattractive woman, is inordinately envious of Helen being able to enthrall the young Dr. Parry), and the killer's motivation in the motion picture (that is, the reason why he is compelled to kill physically afflicted women) is completely different, as well. Personally, I find the changes that Dinelli made work marvelously, particularly the idea of having Helen being a mute...most especially since it enables the film to deliver some of the most emotionally affecting closing lines in screen history. So yes, this may very well be one of those rare instances in which the cinematic adaptation eclipses the source material, at least in part. But still, White's book does have much to offer.

As might be expected, the book is genuinely suspenseful, and it really is remarkable how the author ratchets up her tension slowly, over the course of 250 pages. Every single chapter ends in cliff-hanger fashion, keeping the reader primed for anything that might ensue. During the course of her long, stormy evening, Helen is placed into what the author somewhere refers to as "perpetual postponement"; that is, "nerved up to meet an attack which did not come, but which lurked just around the corner." The book can fairly be accused of being all buildup, with not enough in the way of payoff, but trust me, although the novel ends a tad abruptly, the threat that Helen girds herself for is a genuine one; a wackadoodle maniac of the first water. My advice would be to not even try to guess the killer's identity (a simpler guessing game in the movie, I will admit, despite the red herrings), but to just put yourself in Helen's place (a remarkably well-written and likable character, I must say) and hang on tight.

As would be expected, "Some Must Watch" is a very British type of novel, employing any number of English expressions ("bally rot," "dripping toast," "one over the eight") and referencing then-popular English entertainers (such as the singer Al Bowlly, as well as bandleader Jack Hylton); yes, using the Interwebs as a recourse here might not be a bad idea. The book is often slyly self-aware, and Helen repeatedly thinks to herself that the situations she finds herself in, such as with the thunderstorm and the cut telephone wires, are like the "faithful accompaniment to the thrill-drama." White, as it turns out, was a very fine writer, especially when it comes to sharp and witty dialogue, but still, a close reading will reveal some unfortunate gaffes on her part. For example, in one late section, Lady Warren refers to Newton as her nephew, whereas he is in actuality her step-grandson. Her late husband is referred to as Sir Roger in some chapters and Sir Robert in others. The author tells us that Helen was "reliant and conscientious" when she obviously meant to say "reliable," and shows herself capable of turning an ungrammatical phrase, such as "Helen crossed to the walnut sideboard, where the glass and silver was kept," instead of "were kept." Still, quibbles aside, some very impressive and highly atmospheric work here.

During the course of her novel, White shows us Stephen trying to forget his troubles and tension "in the excitement of a thrill-novel," only to become aware, presently, that "his attention was no longer gripped." A pity, then, that he did not have a book such as "Some Must Watch" to flip through, a novel that I personally found quite gripping and almost nerve-wracking (and that's a good thing!). As a matter of fact, I enjoyed reading this one so much that I now find myself wanting to take in White's 10th novel, 1937's "The Third Eye," which is supposedly another neo-Gothic thrill ride of sorts. Stay tuned....

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a very fine destination for all fans of scary books in general....) ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2016 Cphe rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, historical, vintage, gothic, suspense, cozy

A vintage mystery/suspense story that features an isolated mansion, a young inquisitive housemaid an eccentric aristocratic family and a murderer.

I wanted to rate this higher because it had all of the elements that I look for in these type of novels but this one just didn't work for me. Found it to be a bit too repetitive in places and the characters were glossed over in parts. Found it difficult to get a real sense of some of them. The ending was very abrupt with no real sense of closure. Inter ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2016 antiquarian reverie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, 1900, book-made-to-movies-i-have-seen, english-writer, own, ethel-lina-white

Suspenseful throughout!

I had seen the classic movie years ago & enjoyed it, but like every movie made from a book there are changes and that is one reason I enjoy reading books that were made into movies. I have usually seen the movie long before reading the book but it only makes it more interesting seeing the difference which there were many but still the same kind of end. Looking for a book uncertain of the direction or even if there is a reason for alarm, this is the book for you. A nice sus Suspenseful throughout!

I had seen the classic movie years ago & enjoyed it, but like every movie made from a book there are changes and that is one reason I enjoy reading books that were made into movies. I have usually seen the movie long before reading the book but it only makes it more interesting seeing the difference which there were many but still the same kind of end. Looking for a book uncertain of the direction or even if there is a reason for alarm, this is the book for you. A nice suspenseful thriller about a young girl hired in an uncertain house & waiting until day if it ever comes.

--I always enjoy reading books that were made into classic/older movies that I saw years ago & this is such a book that piqued my interested for that reason. Many times the book has many differences & the director has license to change the story to fit his ideas. The film noir psychological thriller directed by Robert Siodmak did this to Ethel's story. The movie was called "The Spiral Staircase" which RKO released in 1946 & the cast included Dorothy McGuire, George Brent & Ethel Barrymore."Some Must Watch" novel by Ethel Lina White, an English writer, (1876-1944) was published in 1933. Alfred Hitchcock made a movie with her book, "The Lady Vanishes"(1938) & also on my list. She started writing crime novels in 1931 & in her time, she was as popular as Agatha Christie & Dorothy L. Sayers. I always enjoy a good mystery & this story is a that & much more.I started out reading a different Kindle version & the mistakes were just too much to deal with because of errors of words & paragraph structure. I tried my current version & that had some mistakes but 95% less than the other but still a little annoying but it did not ruin my enjoyment of the story. I would have had finished this sooner but life was busy & I was just too tired. It can be a quick read.The story without giving the story away is about a young girl, Helen, who has to fend for herself & in a time where it is hard to find a good job. The depression years in the 1930's. She finds a girl helper kind of job in a country mansion far away from other houses. The occupants of the house are a professor & his older children plus his ailing step mother who is bedridden. Murders are taking place around the village & come closer and closer to the mansion. Is there safety in numbers & is it just an active imagination that is distressing Helen?An interesting discussion of faith in Providence & lack of any faith was added to the enjoyment. I had to laugh at Helen in so many thoughts of her were cinema & theater based. She took life as a kind of role in a movie as being center stage or an extra yet she rarely saw movies due to lack of funds, so she must make her own fun. I enjoyed the movie but the book was so much better and generally is filled with much more. The book starts with a passage from "Hamlet" "For Some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away." ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2015 Nancy Oakes added it

Shelves: crime-fiction-uk

This book was so much fun to read and it hit all of my classic mystery reading buttons -- an isolated family home, a murderer on the prowl and all of it set against the proverbial dark and stormy night, complete with banging shutters and an elderly bedridden woman predicting doom and gloom. How could it possibly be any better??? Having said that, I don't think it's a 5-star read but I definitely had a great time with it. In fact, just thinking about it right now makes me want to do that evil vil ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2015 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-mystery, mount-tbr-2016, bought-2015, british-mystery, mystery, suspense, vintage-mystery, thriller, memoir, hibk

As Helen opened the door of Miss Warren's room, a small incident occurred which was fraught with future significance.

It was a dark and stormy night....no, really, it was. Fortunately, Ethel Lina White was a much better author than the potboiler creators who are generally credited with starting their books in such fashion. The Spiral Staircase (1933; originally titled Some Must Watch) is a suspense thriller with a damsel in distress that makes excellent use of the dramatic storm-tossed night to p As Helen opened the door of Miss Warren's room, a small incident occurred which was fraught with future significance.

It was a dark and stormy night....no, really, it was. Fortunately, Ethel Lina White was a much better author than the potboiler creators who are generally credited with starting their books in such fashion. The Spiral Staircase (1933; originally titled Some Must Watch) is a suspense thriller with a damsel in distress that makes excellent use of the dramatic storm-tossed night to provide a top-notch novel filled with Had-I-But-Known moments.

She was visited by no prescience to warn her that--since her return--there had been certain trivial incidents which were the first cracks in the walls of her fortress. Once they were started, nothing could stop the process of disintegration; and each future development would act as a wedge, to force the fissures into ever-widening breaches letting in the night.

Things start off calmly enough. Helen Capel is over-joyed to find a position as lady's help at the Summit, Professor Warren's remote estate on the Welsh border. After all, apart from the loneliness of the locale, the post is a very good one--offering her a very nice room and sitting room of her own, good food, and she's even allowed to take her meals with the family. It is a bit worrisome that there is a murderer loose in the countryside. A mysterious killer who has chosen as his prey young women who work for their living. Some think he may be a man who believes these women have taken jobs away from men.

But, reasons Helen, all the girls who have been killed have been alone. And the murders have taken place at a good distance from the Summit. Surely she, and the others in the house, will be safe if they keep the place shuttered and bolted at night and they all stay inside. Yes, she's sure of it. Until a victim is strangled in a house just five miles away. Until the next victim is found murdered just on the other side of the estate. Death and terror creep closer to the Summit, but still Helen feels safe...until the stormy night when she bolts herself in the house only to find that the danger was somewhere inside and had chosen her as the next target.

White also provides the typical suspense-thriller heroine in Helen Capel, a self-identified independent-minded young woman who none-the-less does remarkably silly things for someone who suspects she's in danger. Through various plausible-sounding means, several of the inmates leave the house, a few of them are drugged, drunk or otherwise incapacitated, and Helen promptly goes about alienating one of the few people who couldn't possibly be the killer--thereby setting herself up to slip into the maniac's clutches.

White manages to bring about a quite nifty ending--I won't spoil it by giving even a hint of what I mean. The book is a classic example of good suspense done right without blood and gore or explicit scenes. It is also a terrific character study with plenty of misdirection to allow the reader to question each person's motives and whether they are really what they seem. A very good read for a dark and stormy night of your own. Just make sure to lock all the doors. You might want to check under all the beds first, though.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2014 Elisabeth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I saw the movie based on this book (The Spiral Staircase) several years ago and enjoyed it, and I liked the book just as well. In spite of some pretty significant changes—the setting moved from the Welsh border in the 1930s to Edwardian-era America, for instance; and character names and relationships being shuffled around—the main structure of the story and most of the key events are remarkably similar. The biggest difference, of course, is that in the book, heroine Helen Capel is most definitel ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2018 Leah rated it liked it

Amusing in parts...

An insane murderer is rampaging through the countryside, killing young women. Helen, a young woman, has taken a job with the Warren family in their manor house right slap bang in the middle of where the murderer is doing his thing. But she's perfectly safe, because there are lots of other people in the house with her. Except that, for one reason or another, gradually all the other people either leave the house or become incapable of helping. Soon Helen is on her own... or is s Amusing in parts...

An insane murderer is rampaging through the countryside, killing young women. Helen, a young woman, has taken a job with the Warren family in their manor house right slap bang in the middle of where the murderer is doing his thing. But she's perfectly safe, because there are lots of other people in the house with her. Except that, for one reason or another, gradually all the other people either leave the house or become incapable of helping. Soon Helen is on her own... or is she??

There are good things about this book and overall it's a light, entertaining read for the most part, although I did find myself beginning to skim in the last third, feeling that I was more than ready for the thriller ending. It has a nice Gothic feel to it, with the rambling old house and a bunch of eccentric and not very likeable upper class characters, whom White, via Helen, has some fun showing up as arrogant snobs and relatively useless members of the human race. The servants come off much better, though they're not exactly saints either. To call Helen curious would be an understatement – she pokes her nose in everywhere and always has to be where the action is. The cook likes to drink her employer's brandy, while her husband's main feature is his laziness. But still, they all have good hearts, which is more than can be said for the Warrens. On the whole, I enjoyed the characterisations although unfortunately Helen annoyed me intensely throughout.

My first real problem is with Helen's position in the household. I have no idea what she's actually employed to do. She refers to herself as “the help” but beyond dusting the bannisters occasionally so she can eavesdrop on conversations, I couldn't work out her duties. If she's supposed to do housework, then how come she'd never been in the Professor's study before that night? If she's a maid, she most certainly wouldn't don an evening gown and eat her meals with the family, as she does. In fact, I can't think of any servant other than a governess or a companion who would ever have eaten with the family in a household like this one, and she's neither of those. So right from the start, credibility was gone.

It is assumed by everyone that Helen is to be the murderer's next victim – no idea why. Perhaps she was the only remaining young woman in the district. The assumption is also that he'll come for her this dark and stormy night (despite him having committed another murder just that afternoon – prolific!). So Professor Warren puts all kinds of safety measures in operation which everyone then promptly ignores, even Helen, who doesn't seem to be able to remember basic things like don't open the door to potential murderers late at night. Gradually all the people who could have protected her either leave the house or become incapacitated in one way or another, until she is left only with horrible old Lady Warren, whose hobby is throwing things at menials, and Lady Warren's even more horrible nurse, whose hobby is tormenting Helen. It's a fun premise, but it takes far too long to get there. The ending when it finally came sadly didn't surprise me – it had seemed increasingly obvious as time went on, both whodunit and what form the denouement would take.

I didn't dislike it as much as this critical review is probably suggesting – for the most part, it held my attention and was quite amusing. But I'm afraid my recommendation is half-hearted at best. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2020 Shiloah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british, adult-fiction, mystery, era-1930s, gothic

What a thrilling classic. The perfect setting consists of a lonely old Victorian mansion and a killer on the loose. Prepare for a non-stop reading experience.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2018 Kirsty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, february-2018

Whenever I cannot decide on which genre I want to read, I tend to be selecting mysteries at the moment. I have really enjoyed a couple of White's books to date, but was rather disappointed by the last which I read. Still, I had rather high hopes for Some Must Watch. White writes wonderfully, and I found the novel engaging from its first page. I love country house mysteries, and this is one of the better ones which I have read for a while. The real strength here, aside from the well developed and ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 Richard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime

One of those rare books that genuinely deserves the epithet 'unputdownable' - and yet it's so restrained and small scale. All the action takes place in one evening and almost entirely in the one house. It's not a detective yarn but there is a mystery at the heart of it (several, actually). Even though it involves a homicidal maniac and the gothic staple of young girl as heroine in a house full of eccentrics it remains thoroughly believable. Most of White's books are out of print but this one was ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 20, 2020 Rowena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book is a real surprise!
A bit Agatha Christie but with much more suspense. From the beginning till the end!
Much advised.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2017 Anna Dowdall rated it it was amazing

Purely delicious had-she-but-known Gothic thriller of the (much) better sort written in the 1930s. A type of unJane Eyre, Helen Capel finds herself an upper crust dogsbody in a big house across the Welsh border that holds an even bigger secret. It is a dark and stormy night--and one by one those who might save her from the serial killer who has just killed a young working woman nearby leave or are foiled/incapacitated. The tension is masterful but it's the relations among the female characters t ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2018 Kim rated it really liked it

Shelves: r-r, favorites, read-again, classics, mystery, e-book-online, five-star-novels, white-ethel-lina

I just finished reading Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White, and I loved it. Most of the time anyway. It is also known as The Spiral Staircase, I don't know why, and it has been filmed as The Spiral Staircase and I don't know why to that either, I've never seen the movie. As for the book there are plenty of people going up and down staircases, more than one, but there are also plenty of people going in and out of bedrooms, kitchens, and basements. Also, there are plenty of people going in an ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2019 Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) rated it really liked it

Shelves: couldn-t-put-it-down, 1920s-1930s

AKA The Spiral Staircase, though the staircase has very little to do with the novel. Published six years before Christie's And Then There Were None, but the whole time I was reading this book I wondered if our Agatha had read it and been inspired to write her own version. It wouldn't surprise me.

Very well plotted, very Gothic, set in an isolated mansion in the middle of a terrible storm. White builds the tension very well as one by one the characters leave the house...or simply vanish. None of t ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2020 Ritika rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020, mystery

This book uses its atmosphere well- too well. I had to stop and take deep breaths every few pages. The tension builds from the beginning, and the setting is appropriately thrilling.

So it is a bit of a let down that the obvious murderer is obvious, at least half way through the book. The lack of the surprise factor and the very expected conclusion did mar the reading experience significantly. Also, perhaps we did not need the inner thought of some of the characters to such an extent. It did not a ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 20, 2020 Rebekah Giese Witherspoon rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this 1930s Gothic suspense novel while curled up by a crackling wood fire at my parents’ house (thanks, Dad!). It reminds me a bit of The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart in that I figured out who the bad guy was halfway through and spent the rest of the book yelling at the heroine: “Noooooooo! Don’t do it, silly girl! He’s going to get you!”

Minus 1 star because I would have preferred for the big reveal mystery solution to be at the end of the book, not in the middle.

Recommended for readers ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2020 Robert Vanneste rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 rounded up.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2018 Helena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This one is more of a Thriller than a murder/mistery, and it kept me wondering who was the evil in the shadows. It had to be someone I wasn't counting on, and for once I didn't get it until the end. So that's cool! :) ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2020 Luke rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT.

No, really, it was. That's the set-up for White's novel, famously made – with some alterations – into The Spiral Staircase in 1946. The film has, it seems, driven many to seek out the novel to sup at the story's source, though I'm coming at it from the position of a heathen non-watcher, which means I'm likely not as irritated by the material changes which some argue made the film.

Set in a stately home – well, a home fancy enough to have servants, at least – Some ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2013 Charlotte rated it really liked it

It took me a long time to get through this book, but that's in no way indicative of its quality. I almost exclusively read it in 10 minute bursts waiting for my tram to arrive in the mornings; luckily the chapters are short so nothing was too disjointed.

I wanted to read this book as it's the text that inspired the film The Spiral Staircase, one of my favourite thrillers. Although the premise of the book is slightly different from the film, I still wasn't sure whether the protagonist was going t ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2013 Bibliophile rated it liked it

This vintage murder mystery takes place during one really, really, long night. A homicidal maniac is lurking around the countryside strangling women left and right, while the residents of a nearby manor do their best to get themselves killed. The plucky and supremely annoying help, Helen, is busy sticking her nose where it does not belong. Mrs Oates, the affable cook, is getting shitfaced in the pantry. The master of the house, a.k.a. the Professor, is O.D'ing on sleeping pills, while the sinist ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2015 Boris Cesnik rated it really liked it

What an amusing surprise! I was expecting the movie's script to be a faithful transposition of the book...instead I stumbled upon a couple of quite interesting dissimilarities.
First of all the protagonist is not mute in the book (for this I must compliment the script writer - it was an absolutely brilliant idea...). Some other characters are different and I have to say the book does depict them better. I can't remember now if the Nurse actually appears in the film...anyway I loved her character ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 11, 2015 Heidi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: golden-age-mystery, movie-or-tv

It's such a shame that Ethel Lina White is forgotten by today's readers, because this book was SO much better than I expected. I've never seen the old movie "The Spiral Staircase" which is based on this novel; for some reason, the filmmaker apparently made the heroine mute. This was completely unnecessary, because there is PLENTY of suspense as written. The atmosphere is just saturated with menace, which keeps building and building as the inhabitants of the Summit (a large and isolated old house ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2012 Kimberly rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-misc

Once I really started this book (i.e. past the first 30 pages) I just couldn't put it down. It is able to draw you in with the protagonist having thoughts most people have probably had: hearing noises in the woods or thinking you hear people walking around the house at night, seeing things moving and not sure whether it's a trick of the eye or actually there. Add to that the serial killer on the loose and you just have to finish this book to find out what happens. Brilliant read and wonderfully ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 14, 2013 Damon Suede rated it really liked it

Superb woman-in-peril mystery let down by a repetitious second act.

White's novel , which inspired the exquisite 1946 film THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE... is a craft class in mounting suspense and carefully constructed irony. YMy one quibble, and it's a large one is the misuse of the Nurse character and an abrubt climax that feels tacked on. Still, if you enjoy early-20th century mystery you should give this one a go. Well worth a look. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Megan rated it it was amazing

Very tense, couldn't put it down! Its almost four thirty am, it was too tense for me to stop reading. I think it was because of all the "Oh, did I hear something? Oh, did I really just see that?" scenes, which is often how I feel when I'm home alone. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 31, 2013 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-fiction

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress... ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

41 users

Fiction

16 users

Thriller

13 users

Classics

11 users

Mystery > Crime

10 users

Suspense

8 users

Gothic

6 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

5 users

European Literature > British Literature

5 users

Mystery > Cozy Mystery

2 users

See top shelves…

About Ethel Lina White

Ethel Lina White

42 followers

Ethel Lina White (1876 – 13 August 1944) was a British crime writer, best known for her novel The Wheel Spins (1936), on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes (1938), was based.

Born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1876, White started writing as a child, contributing essays and poems to children's papers. Later she began to write short stories, but it was some years before she ...more

Books by Ethel Lina White

The Lady Vanishes / The Spiral Staircase

More…

News & Interviews

The Most Anticipated YA Books of March

As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of...

Trivia About Some Must Watch

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Spiral Staircase

“Anyone acquainted with Helen's characteristics would know that she always manufactured leisure for an unfamiliar job, even if she had to neglect some legitimate duty. It was the infusion of novelty into her dull routine which helped to keep undimmed her passionate zest for life.” — 0 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White

Some Must Watch

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Ethel Lina White

Books by Ethel Lina White

News & Interviews

Trivia About Some Must Watch

Quotes from The Spiral Staircase

See a Problem?

Preview — Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White

Some Must Watch

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Ethel Lina White

Books by Ethel Lina White

News & Interviews

Trivia About Some Must Watch

Quotes from The Spiral Staircase

new topic
Discuss This Book