An Expert in Murder by Josephine Tey

Ahhh the joy of discovering a new mystery author

Reading this ,  I felt like a discovered a more complex agatha christie !!!

Here is a great review by Bobby Underwood 
I must read the other books she has reviewed as her expereince of the book was exactly the same as mine

In both crimes there was a terrifying lack of humanity, a mockery of the dead which chilled him (Penrose) even more than the loss of life itself."

There is an old-style elegance to this richly atmospheric mystery set in the world of the theatre during the early 1930's. Mystery writer and playwright Josephine Tey is the central character in this story of a shocking murder onboard a train. The investigation slowly reveals a tangled web of events harking back to the Great War, the complexity of which is only illuminated at the end, showing just about everyone remaining to be a victim in the tragedy.

Nicola Upson has written a beautiful and involving mystery which transcends the genre. By framing her novel around Josephine Tey, it allows her to paint a vivid picture of the period and the emotions still lingering after the Great War. You really feel like you are in Tey's era while reading this. While Tey could have become just a plot device in another author's hand, she becomes a real person, as do many of the other characters, including her romantic interest, Inspector Archie Penrose.

Tey's most successful play, which made Sir John Gieguld a star, is where danger lies. But it is on a train from Scotland to London where Josephine meets a special young woman full of life and simple charm. On her way to meet her boyfriend, Elspeth will meet evil and not live to know the reasons why. Upson paints a sweet and romantic picture of the times themselves, and Elspeth, giving her murder a poignancy which tells the reader right away that this mystery is going to be something special.

As Archie investigates and Josephine mingles, every character is fleshed out in a way we used to see during Tey's era of great mystery writers. Josephine takes a back seat during the middle portion of the book as we are treated to lovers and sickness and old wounds and bitterness, all creating an intricate mystery which has the reader wondering how any of this touched the far removed adopted girl who closed her eyes for the last time onboard a train to London. But then a second particularly vile murder much closer to Josephine's play takes place.

Archie and Josephine begin to untangle the ties which led to the murders from different angles in the last portion of the mystery. There is an exciting rush to reach the end for the reader, by now aching to discover the entire twisting series of events that began in a tunnel during the war and ended tragically on a train bound for London. There is a tenderness to the conclusion, showing the anguish and aftermath of the Great War and the many lives it took, some in ways unexpected and far reaching. Archie and Josephine's relationship does not go untouched by events either, giving the reader a thirst for more.

This is a fine, atmospheric mystery with much to offer those who enjoy a good novel which just happens to be a great mystery as well. Highly recommended!

Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante

I am so excited to start a new series that I enjoy listening to

The Hannibal Lecter- Clarice schema is getting tiresome though ( see it here just like it was in the Rizzoli and Aisles series )
Still it is very listenable
I like Anna
According to the reviewers on Amazon this is a good to middling book by this author so I look forward to reading more

From Amazon

When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect.

But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers?

The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying rage that will have disastrous consequences for Anna, who finds herself staring into the face of a desperate personal tragedy.

A Bitter Truth A Bess Crawford Mystery

Another book I sort enjoyed despite Bess Crawford dim wits and her propensity to be emotionally blackmailed 

Review at Amazon by Sharon Isch 

Christmas approaches and WWI battlefield nurse Bess Crawford arrives back at her London digs on leave from France only to discover a battered wife on her doorstep. She takes her in and, at the woman--Lydia's--request, accompanies her home to the dreariest corner of Sussex just as the extended family is about to gather together for a memorial event for Lydia's deceased brother-in-law.

Murder ensues. As do rumors of an illegitimate child. Then comes another death--is this one a suicide or is it also murder? Are all these things connected? And if so, how?

I think this third entry in the newest British WWI era mystery series by the American mother and son team that writes under the name of Charles Todd works a bit better than the first two because it puts Bess smack dab in the middle of the muddle from the get-go and thus her collecting of clues and conjectures requires fewer far-out coincidences and less Miss Marple-ish busybodiness to propel the plot.

I didn't love this book--I thought the "who" in the whodunit should have been a more prominent and better developed character--but I liked it, especially the scenes that involved Bess's being back in battle-torn France where her investigations were more in character and thus more believable than in the first two books of this series. And I look forward to the next one. But I remain a bigger fan of Scotland Yard Inspector Rutledge, star of the Todds' longer running series. At least so far.

The Case of the Missing Servant Tarquin Hall

Tarquin Hall is AMAZING

A lawyer- Mr Kasliwal -  in Jaipur has been  arrested.

He is accused of murdering his servant- Mary

The lawyer hires "Mr Vish Puri" - Most Private investigator -to  find out who actually murdered Mary .

Mr Kasliwal is convinced that he is being framed- as he is a lawyer fighting corruption

Indeed he is being framed -but the "murder" is about something else altogether

I loved everything about this story and had to read out several of the passages to my husband

If you have ever lived in Delhi - you must read this book !


Vish Puri has renamed his entire staff. - the employee that takes a while to get started in the morning is called "Tube light" , the employee from the village that happens to be the only man that has a toilet is called "Flush", his driver is called Handbrake and he himself is called Chubby

The whole world has turned PC - but not Delhi  and Tarquin Hall bring Delhi to full color in a stunning fashion

Love Lies and Liquor, M.C. Beaton

Another delightful escape!

I read this book on the couch next to a fireplace with the moonlight spilling all around me through the giant windows of our cabin after R went to bed and DH was watching a TV show that I am not interested in ( Breaking Bad )

Agatha Raisin is always in the grip of an obsession with her ex husband James Lacey.

She is delighted when he asks if she would like to take a vacation with him .

She packs a suitcase full of alluring clothes .

But James is taking her to a dreary town called Snoth-on-Sea

 Its a miserable place and Agatha finds that her dreams of a cosy idyll with James are so far fetched

While eating dinner, a woman on a nearby table is very rude to her Agatha is inflamed and threatens to "kill " Geraldine
 Of course, threatening to kill someone, is a manner of speech. A little hyperbole that we are all used to.

But Geraldine, turns up dead 

Unattractive, plump Geraldine turns out to have had three husbands in the past One of them was a jewel -thief , now serving time

 Turns out Geraldine has his stash !

Who has killed Geraldine? Of course I will not spoil the mystery for you.

 But be assured, the murderer will not be discovered, until the other subplot- relating to laundering money - is also solved

 There is yet another subplot in all Agatha Rasins - her romance with James Lacey

 He is cold and bachelor like and only attracted to her in this story because she seems to have recovered from him.

 This is the very first story in which Agatha finally seems to be growing up

 But does she like it? No she does not!

  Because love is the ultimate addiction