An Expert in Murder (Josephine Tey Mystery 1) Book

Josephine Tey was the author of the Inspector Alan Grant mystery novels that were particularly popular in the 1930s and 1940s. For her debut novel, 'An Expert in Murder', Nicola Upson has chosen to use a fictionalised version of Josephine Tey as the heroine of her own mystery story. Upson's version of Tey is still a popular author and a pseudonym employing playwright and, as 'An Expert in Murder' begins, Tey is travelling by rail from Scotland to London to attend the final West End performances of her hit play, Richard of Bordeaux. During the journey Tey makes the acquaintance of Elspeth Simmons, a fellow passenger and long-term fan of Tey's work. Simmons is on her way to London to see Tey's play for the second time. Once at the station in London, Tey and Simmons separate as Simmons realises that she has left her bag on the train and goes back to get it. When Simmons is later found murdered, Tey teams up with Detective Inspector Archie Penrose, an old friend of Tey's lover who Penrose watched die at the Somme, to solve the crime. Simmons had been stabbed with a hat pin and, as it is assumed that Tey herself was the intended target, the detective duo soon become embroiled in the intrigue, excitement and backstabbing of the London theatre scene. I enjoyed 'An Expert in Murder' a great deal and am pleased to hear that there is going to be a whole series of books featuring Josephine Tey and Archie Penrose. Overall I found the solution to Elspeth Simmons' murder to be convincing but I do hope that in future books Upson relies a little less on coincidence to help the detectives solve the crime. That's only a minor point really though as the plot of 'An Expert in Murder' and the historical detail that Upson captures are great. Since many of the characters are based on real people (for example, John Terry was based on John Gielgud) given slight protection through the use of pseudonyms, it's interesting to guess at who they might actually be. People will more knowledge of London's West End during the 1930s will probably find guessing to be a lot easier than I did!

An Expert in Murder : Paperback : Faber & Faber : 9780571237715 : : 28 Jul 2009 : James It's March 1934, and Golden Age crime writer Josephine Tey is travelling from Scotland to London to celebrate what should be the triumphant final week of her celebrated play, Richard of Bordeaux.