An Expert in Murder (Josephine Tey)

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The novel's backdrop is the hit of the 1934 West End season: Tey's Richard of Bordeaux, a success so considerable that groups of supporters attended multiple performances and - one of many striking period details - souvenir dolls of the characters were marketed. Even from a distance, there was an air of calm about her, a quiet containment in the resolute stance that held its own beauty. North London was the city at its most forbidding and, despite the widening of the streets, its most claustrophobic. When she arrived at the theatre section, which she had purposely saved until last, she smiled to herself at the news that Richard of Bordeaux–her own play and now London’s longest run–was about to enter its final week. Clues and circumstance suggest that Tey may have been the intended target, so the narrative follows her and her time at the theatre.

If you change the name Jospehine Tey to Wilhelmina Sausage, does it make any difference to the story?

In this tribute novel by Nicola Upson, the mystery pits Josephine Tey and her “friend”, Scotland Yard Detective Archie Penrose, against a killer whose motive for murder is well-hidden, in part by family secrets, in part by the passing of years.

I enjoyed the one Tey I’ve read hugely, so maybe I shouldn’t bypass these as I have been guilty of doing. Nothing about Josephine had changed since Lydia first became aware of her as a shadowy presence in the stalls during rehearsals.One of the passengers sharing Tey's compartment is traveling to London to visit relatives and to attend Tey's play with her new love interest.

I probably won’t actively seek out the other books in the series; I’ll pick them up if I come across them, but I’ll be fine if I don’t come across them. I waded on, not really enjoying it but not disliking it either, and then towards the end it picked up the pace and galloped to a really good ending.

But like most people of her generation, who had lived through war and loss, Josephine had acquired a sense of perspective, and the train’s mechanical failure foretold nothing more sinister to her than a tiresome wait in the station’s buffet. Sep Nov » Categories Categories adventure audiobook Berkley Prime Crime bullying California Chicago cold case contemporary corruption cozy dark fantasy dystopian ebook England family issues fantasy FBI agent Florida France friendship general fiction Harper historical historical fiction horror humor journalist kidnapping legal thriller London Los Angeles magic Maine middle grade middle grade/young adult Midnight Ink Minnesota Minotaur Books missing person missing persons mystery New York New York City noir nonfiction North Carolina novella paranormal Poisoned Pen Press police procedural post-apocalyptic private investigator private investigators psychological suspense psychological thriller romance San Francisco Scholastic Press science fiction Scotland secrets Self-published serial killer Seventh Street Books small town Soho Crime St. For a start, Tey’s life is still very recent to start using her as a character in fiction, and people in her life and plays (like Gielgud, who made his name in “Richard of Bordeaux”) still seem very recently alive to me – not enough time has elapsed. On the train she met Elspeth Simmons, who, coincidentally, was travelling to meet her boyfriend and to see the play yet again. It was hardly the sort of thing that Josephine would ever wear herself, and it made her own plain velvet seem bland in comparison, but she admired its delicate beauty nonetheless.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Aware that the journey would be more relaxed for both of them if she smoothed the moment over, Josephine broke the ice.

Yet occasionally there are so many characters known by both first and last names I got slightly confused and would have to back track some pages. These are small things but it would be wrong if I didn’t mention the weaker points as I would recommend this book to be read if you haven’t. A sizeable crowd had gathered at the head of Platform Eight, obscuring his view of the train in which the girl’s body had been discovered less than an hour ago by a young railway employee.