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Genre - Mystery
The writer becomes the detective in this first novel by Nicola Upson. Josephine Tey was one of the best writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age. In this novel, she becomes a character, a suspect, and maybe even the next intended victim. Tey also wrote plays under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot, and had a great success in the 1930s with Richard of Bordeaux, her play about Richard II. On the train to London from Edinburgh for the final week of the play's run, Josephine meets a young fan, Elspeth Simmons, and is horrified when, on arrival at Kings Cross, Elspeth is murdered. There are hints that Josephine’s play had something to do with the murder. Was Josephine the intended victim? Detective Inspector Archie Penrose of Scotland Yard, a friend of Josephine’s, investigates. The novel gives a wonderful picture of London theatre life in the 30s, all the backstage gossip, the artifice behind the on-stage glamour. There were almost too many characters with too many hints of possible connections & motives. I enjoyed Archie Penrose, with his obvious echoes of Tey’s fictional detective, Alan Grant, but there was a little too much flitting from one character to another. I would have liked more emphasis on the police investigation. This is an enjoyable novel with a great deal of atmosphere, and I’m looking forward to the next novel in the series.
---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters
Genre - Mystery
The writer becomes the detective in this first novel by Nicola Upson. Josephine Tey was one of the best writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age. In this novel, she becomes a character, a suspect, and maybe even the next intended victim. Tey also wrote plays under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot, and had a great success in the 1930s with Richard of Bordeaux, her play about Richard II. On the train to London from Edinburgh for the final week of the play's run, Josephine meets a young fan, Elspeth Simmons, and is horrified when, on arrival at Kings Cross, Elspeth is murdered. There are hints that Josephine’s play had something to do with the murder. Was Josephine the intended victim? Detective Inspector Archie Penrose of Scotland Yard, a friend of Josephine’s, investigates. The novel gives a wonderful picture of London theatre life in the 30s, all the backstage gossip, the artifice behind the on-stage glamour. There were almost too many characters with too many hints of possible connections & motives. I enjoyed Archie Penrose, with his obvious echoes of Tey’s fictional detective, Alan Grant, but there was a little too much flitting from one character to another. I would have liked more emphasis on the police investigation. This is an enjoyable novel with a great deal of atmosphere, and I’m looking forward to the next novel in the series.
---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters
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