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Top reviews from Canada

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Ren Carroll, British Columbia, Canada

Excellent !

Reviewed in Canada on September 12, 2019

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I was surprised to discover this was Mary Stewart's first book, as I regard it as one of her best. It leaves me feeling very nostalgic of a time and lifestyle now well in the past, while also telling a really good story.

Pegasus

Entertaining if predictable

Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2018

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The story moves along well and I enjoyed the descriptions of the French villages. A good read for a summer afternoon.

CF

Another hit from Mary Stewart!

Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2019

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Another hit from Mary Stewart!

dkowalchuk

Immediately intriguing

Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2019

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From the first sentence you are involved in the story. Absolutely captivating. It kept your attention so the way through.

ElizaB

As good as I remember

Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2017

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First read in the 1960's. Holds up extremely well, still a fascinating and well written story. Recommend to mystery lovers and romance fans

Emily

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2015

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Read this story years ago and have just re-read it. Its timeless..

Blue Dolphin

Surprising how good this is

Reviewed in Canada on December 18, 2014

This is Lady Stewart's début novel and, having read fifteen of her other works, I came to this book with fairly low expectations. What a happy surprise to find an absolutely excellent story which, way back in 1955, deservedly catapulted the author into best-selling status. If you are familiar with Stewart's later work, you will spot here and there places where the more mature word-smith would have done something even slicker, but this is a minor quibble and it seemed to me that the narrative improved as it went along and the slightly awkward bits are all near the start. These stories are representative of their time and offer some fascinating glimpses into behaviours that we now find surprising. Cigarette smoking, for example, was such an ubiquitous activity that here it is even used as a plot device.

The action takes place over a period of a few days in the South of France, in the aftermath of WW2 when its bleak spectre is still casting a pall over Europe. Charity, a young war-widow, and her friend Louise, an art teacher, have just driven from the UK to Avignon for a much-anticipated holiday. A chance encounter with a boy and his dog affect Charity deeply because she senses in the youngster a painful maturity at odds with his naturally ebullient personality. Very soon she finds herself enmeshed in a web of danger and deception, as a suspected murderer scours the countryside looking for the boy David.

On top of some masterfully fleshed out characters, an unusually prominent role is played by the touring car of the 40's, represented by a selection of the best: Riley, Mercedes and Bentley. Even if classic cars are not your thing, the narrative is compelling and the chase sequences particularly vivid. The descriptive powers for which Mary Stewart became so well known, are employed here with effective restraint while the fast action drives the book to a very satisfactory conclusion. Personally, I like it when all the loose ends are tied up and this story is wrapped up to perfection. For some reason as I was reading, I imagined a film version featuring the young Grace Kelly and Sean Connery … wonderfully vintage.

I should mention that this specific Center Point large print edition is really pleasant to read even if your eyesight is still excellent. The font used looks like Times New Roman 14 and the only small imperfection is that the text fills up the page leaving very small margins all around. Still I much prefer reading ease to large white margins.

Eva

A suspenseful read !

Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2015

A classic mystery such as "Madam, Will You Talk" never disappoints. Although Mary Stewart's novel was published in 1955, this 2015 edition keeps the reader in suspense and anticipating the next moment.

With the setting in the south of France, Charity and her good friend Louise are in an ideal place for a relaxing holiday. However, unexpected events occur which forces Charity to think quickly on her feet. The mysterious Richard Byron is not all that he appears to be.

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

Top reviews from other countries

Louise Marley

Madam, Will You Talk?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2017

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My grandmother was a huge fan of romantic suspense and I had a lovely time working my way through her bookshelves when I was about 12 or 13. I remember that Mary Stewart was one of my favourites but I couldn't remember anything much about the plots, so I was thrilled to see a selection on Kindle for just 99p. Would they be as good as I remembered? Yes, and no.

Mary Stewart probably invented the romantic suspense genre - more recently reinvented as domestic suspense: independent heroine falls in love with a man who might be a killer. In this particular story, Charity and her friend Louise(!) are on holiday in France. Charity is determined to visit all the historical sites. Louise would rather sit in the shade and drink grape juice. So Charity takes a young boy called David on her sight-seeing trips. David and his stunningly beautiful step-mother are in France hiding from his father - recently on trial for murder. When Charity realises David's father has finally tracked his family down, she tries to lead him away on a false trail. Will she succeed?

Madam, Will You Talk? was written in 1955 and unfortunately it shows, particularly in the way anyone who is not white, British, and middle-class is described. And I really wish someone had thought to edit out the (one occurrence) of the g-word. Having said that, Madam, Will You Talk? is an enjoyable, escapist 'romp' and I did enjoy it. There are lots of lush descriptions of France and thrilling car chases. The romance is glossed over - the hero meets the heroine all of twice before he falls madly in love with her. There are no sex scenes and only very mild violence.

Would suit fans of old-school romantic suspense and authors such as Anne Stuart. Fans of vintage cosy crime, such as Agatha Christie, will probably find there is not enough of a mystery to get their teeth into.

Angie W

Enid Blyton for adults

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2020

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This is the first book I have read by this author. Would I read another? Probably.

It's light-hearted (most of it anyway) and an easy read, a mystery story with a sprinkling of romance. I'm not a fan of romantic or love stories, so I was pleased that there wasn't much, just a sideline of the main story. Set in the 1950's, it's often quaint and amusing in our enlightened times - the expectations of how women (ladies?!) should behave may well put a wry grin on your face.

Charity and Louise are on holiday in the South of France together, and Charity explores the local area by herself (Louise prefers to sit by the pool and read a book), which gets her involved with something shady going on. Charity is not one to sit back, and throws herself into protecting a young boy from his father who got away with supposedly murdering someone, and is now looking for him.

The story is quite fast paced, and the book is well-written and easy to read.

I haven't read Enid Blyton since I was a child, but this book brought to mind the Famouse Five and the Secret Seven books - a dash of mystery and suspense and some fun, all written in an engaging way that invites the reader to turn the page again and again until the end is reached.

E. Smith

Pleasant Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2019

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I fancied reading a book set in the south of France and this came up in the search. It's about a well-to-do Englishwoman holidaying in Avignon, when she gets caught up in a mystery involving a young boy and a murderer.

By modern standards, it's pretty tame, but it's still a very pleasant and easy read, nevertheless. You get a sense of simpler times, when a woman driving a fast car was something of note, and when most people are unfailingly polite and respectful, with no gore or hanky-panky getting in the way of the story.

It was a pleasant enough read to inspire me to read more from this author.

A. L. Addams

Madame will you just keep talking and tell us more. Fabulous darling!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2019

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Another rich, inviting and almost tangible description and sense tingling episode almost. Athough all the characters differ between books, i find the heroine (1950's style) in each to follow a pattern, perhaps the alter-ego of the writer and indeed the reader. They could easily be put together and create a modern day version for tv series. Madame Will You Talk feels like another warm and comforting chapter following our stong female lead, fast cars, secret rendevous, a family with hidden issues which on the surface appear quite normal, and yet...stage left we have our well timed arrival to become entwined and follow the intrigue through its inevitable twists and turns. All the time you are treated to the exceptional and spectacular description of the scenery, the heat/chill, food, light/dark and a romantic dalliance often tinged with danger. Mary Sterwart will, after one of her books, capture your sensibility and ensnare it with her charming creative writing ability and you will be captivated, of that there is little doubt.

Blue Dolphin

Surprising how good this is

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is Lady Stewart's début novel and, having read fifteen of her other works, I came to this book with fairly low expectations. What a happy surprise to find an absolutely excellent story which, way back in 1955, deservedly catapulted the author into best-selling status. If you are familiar with Stewart's later work, you will spot here and there places where the more mature word-smith would have done something even slicker, but this is a minor quibble and it seemed to me that the narrative improved as it went along and the slightly awkward bits are all near the start. These stories are representative of their time and offer some fascinating glimpses into behaviours that we now find surprising. Cigarette smoking, for example, was such an ubiquitous activity that here it is even used as a plot device.

The action takes place over a period of a few days in the South of France, in the aftermath of WW2 when its bleak spectre is still casting a pall over Europe. Charity, a young war-widow, and her friend Louise, an art teacher, have just driven from the UK to Avignon for a much-anticipated holiday. A chance encounter with a boy and his dog affect Charity deeply because she senses in the youngster a painful maturity at odds with his naturally ebullient personality. Very soon she finds herself enmeshed in a web of danger and deception, as a suspected murderer scours the countryside looking for the boy David.

On top of some masterfully fleshed out characters, an unusually prominent role is played by the touring car of the 40's, represented by a selection of the best: Riley, Mercedes and Bentley. Even if classic cars are not your thing, the narrative is compelling and the chase sequences particularly vivid. The descriptive powers for which Mary Stewart became so well known, are employed here with effective restraint while the fast action drives the book to a very satisfactory conclusion. Personally, I like it when all the loose ends are tied up and this story is wrapped up to perfection. For some reason as I was reading, I imagined a film version featuring the young Grace Kelly and Sean Connery ... wonderfully vintage.

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