Fiction Short Take: The London Rain – Nicola Upson

This is the sixth installment in Upson’s series that imagines the real-life mystery novelist Josephine Tey as a crime-solver in pre-WWII England.

For those who may not know, the real Tey is one of Britain’s best-loved crime writers and a member of the Golden Age of British crime literature. Upson’s series celebrates Tey’s work in a way designed to appeal to more contemporary audiences. Critics always praise Upson’s historical research so this series is really perfect for the legion of fans who adore Jacqueline Winspear.

The coronation of George VI in 1937 provides the backdrop for Upson’s psychologically complex and twisty sixth whodunit featuring real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey. At BBC headquarters in London, where Josephine has come to view the rehearsals of a play of hers that has been adapted for radio and will air as part of the celebration…. [A murder born of marital infidelity], which is handled by Josephine’s close friend at Scotland Yard, Det. Chief Insp. Archie Penrose, seems to be open-and-shut, but that perception changes when a second corpse turns up. Upson adroitly confounds the reader’s expectations, and her subtle and emotionally intelligent exploration of Josephine’s relationship with her lover, Marta Hallard, adds depth.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Revenge, murder, and royal pageantry…. The complexity of the overlapping relationships and a burst of momentum make [this] fictionalized heroine’s sixth case a worthy sequel to its predecessors.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“For fans of period British crime fiction, this sixth series entry…delivers deft plotting and evocations of the era through charming descriptions of London….Intriguing.”
— Library Journal (starred review)

London Rain: A New Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey (9780062418159) by Nicola Upson. $15.99 trade paper original. 3/29/16 on sale.

Trade Paper Original: Fear in Sunlight – Nicola Upson

I’m tired of this spiffy little series not selling better. I mean, it sells fine—but it baffles me why it isn’t hitting the Indie Next and other bestseller lists.  Four consecutive starred reviews in PW, great review attention across the board, and a really neat premise. The series sleuth is real-life mystery author Josephine Tey, one of the enduring procedural writers of the mid-20^th century. Author Upson (who initially wanted to write a biography of Tey), places Tey within her own life in the 1930’s and the mysteries involve people and places she would have known. In this case Tey joins her friends in the resort village of Portmeirion to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are there to sign a deal to film Josephine’s novel, A Shilling for Candles, and Hitchcock has one or two tricks up his sleeve to keep the holiday party entertained—and expose their deepest fears. In fact the title comes from Hitchcock “Fear of the dark is natural, we all have it, but fear in the sunlight. . . where it is so unexpected—that is interesting.”

Bill Carl at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Crestview Hills, KY fired me up to write about this when he sent me this staff recommendation:  “A delightful read!  Josephine Tey, Alfred Hitchcock, and three murders that occur when they meet for a weekend to decide whether to make a film from one of her books.  I have always loved Tey, but I never knew anything about her.  Who knew she was a lesbian who hid herself for so many years?  The plot is terrific, the location is sublime, the writing is wonderful… What a find!”

Here’s PW’s latest starred review:

British author Upson surpasses herself with her mesmerizing and psychologically complex fourth whodunit featuring real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey. In part one, set in 1954 London, an American detective informs Scotland Yarder Archie Penrose that a suspect who has confessed to the murders of three women on the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in California has also confessed to three other murders committed 18 years earlier in the resort town of Portmeirion, Wales. At that time, Penrose, the model for Tey’s Inspector Grant, and Tey were in Portmeirion celebrating the writer’s 40th birthday. Also present was Hitchcock, already a legendary director, who hoped to persuade Tey to allow him to adapt one of her works for the screen. The brief prologue’s account of the carnage to come in the sections set in 1936 Wales enables Upson effectively to delay the reader’s gratification and to develop a large cast of fully realized characters. The melancholy tone and pitch-perfect prose add depth to the sinister plot.”

And here are excerpts from the reviews for her other books:

An Expert in Murder (9780061451553): “Some books just grab readers and never let go. Using classic mystery author Josephine Tey as her detective protagonist, debut novelist Upson has written an original mystery as finely plotted as any of Tey’s works. . . . We can only hope that the next adventure of Miss Tey will be out soon. Fans of Tey, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and other writers of mystery’s “Golden Age” (1919–39) will put this on their reserve lists. Highly recommended.” – Library Journal

The Angel with Two Faces (9780061451577): “No classic detective fiction aficionado will want to miss Upson’s compelling sequel to 2008’s An Expert in Murder. . . . The subtle prose succeeds both at evoking the quiet splendor of the Cornish landscape and in capturing the tragedy and torment that plague many of the characters. The psychological sophistication will resonate with Charles Todd fans.” – PW starred review

Two for Sorrow (9780061451584): “Excellent. . . . Upson upsets readers’ expectations with a surprise that keeps the suspense high to the satisfying conclusion. Puzzle fans as well as admirers of psychologically rich crime authors such as Ruth Rendell will find a lot to savor.” – PW starred review

Fear in the Sunlight (9780062195432) by Nicola Upson. $14.99 trade paper original. 4/9/13 on sale.