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The Josephine Tey series by Nicola Upson
Aug. 13th, 2010 12:00 amOkay, I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for historic British mysteries. Some of my favorite books on my reading list of late definitely lean this way (the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander, and re-reading the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries by Anne Perry). I suppose it goes back to Agatha Christie, who my grandmother introduced me to at a young age. The BBC didn't help much, either, with some excellent Poirot series, and a Doctor Who ep featuring Agatha Christie.
An Expert in Murder and The Angel with Two Faces by Nicola Upson are much along the lines of the Who episode: Mystery novelist Josephine Tey (herself a pseudonym for author Elizabeth Mackintosh) finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation, centered around the production of her play, Richard of Bordeaux, produced in the West End in the 1930s. Along with Inspector Archie Penrose, written as the "inspiration" for her Inspector Grant, she sticks her nose into everyone's business to try and find out whodunnit.
( After reading the first book, I was a bit ambivalent. )
There's a lot of potential here. Upson has drawn me in with the setting and characterization of her protagonists, and I really feel there's something there worth salvaging. But the overall novels leave me so ambivalent, I think I'll simply have to take the series on a book-by-book basis.
ETA: Did some research and the new Tey mystery released in the UK already. Early spoilers lead me to believe I won't be reading any further. Ah well. I need to find something else as a palate cleanser. Maybe I should bust out the old Christie novels...
An Expert in Murder and The Angel with Two Faces by Nicola Upson are much along the lines of the Who episode: Mystery novelist Josephine Tey (herself a pseudonym for author Elizabeth Mackintosh) finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation, centered around the production of her play, Richard of Bordeaux, produced in the West End in the 1930s. Along with Inspector Archie Penrose, written as the "inspiration" for her Inspector Grant, she sticks her nose into everyone's business to try and find out whodunnit.
( After reading the first book, I was a bit ambivalent. )
There's a lot of potential here. Upson has drawn me in with the setting and characterization of her protagonists, and I really feel there's something there worth salvaging. But the overall novels leave me so ambivalent, I think I'll simply have to take the series on a book-by-book basis.
ETA: Did some research and the new Tey mystery released in the UK already. Early spoilers lead me to believe I won't be reading any further. Ah well. I need to find something else as a palate cleanser. Maybe I should bust out the old Christie novels...
