Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: -978 1 40742 904 5
Pages: - 440pp (Large Print ed.)
Genre: - Cosy crime
Location:- London, 1934, West end theatre world
How I came across it: - Serendipity – noticed the name Josephine Tey (one of my favourite crime writers) on the cover.
Rating: - ***** ***
One sentence summary:- Josephine Tey travels down from her Inverness home to take the plaudits of her fans as the last week of her play ‘Richard’ commences but one fan gets killed on the train and more look set to follow.
Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
Using the real-life Josephine Tey as a basis for this crime novel the author gives her a fictional friend who just happens to work for Scotland Yard. When a fellow traveller on her train is murdered the connection between Tey’s play and the victim is soon apparent. More villainy soon follows...
General comments:- Well-written, a clever mix of using the real-life Josephine and the real setting of the New Theatre with a plot almost worthy of Tey herself. This has been followed up with a second Josephine Tey novel – “Angel with two faces”.
AUTHOR Notes:- Nicola Upson was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist, and is the author of two non-fiction works, and the recipient of an Escalator Award from Arts Council England. She lives with her partner and splits her time between Cambridge and Cornwall, where the next novel in the series is set.
This sounds like a good read. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Cozy In Texas