Nicola Upson

Josephine Tey, a sharp-witted amateur sleuth based on the celebrated Golden Age mystery writer, returns in the seventh in Nicola Upson's critically acclaimed series, perfect for readers of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.

A Josephine Tey Mystery

Nine Lessons

Moray Lyle McIntosh

An interwar mystery with the famous golden-age crime writer as sleuth. ⭐⭐⭐/5
TW: rape

DCI Penrose investigates a chilling murder when a man is found entombed in an old monument. Some picking clues suggest that this is a calculated killing and it soon becomes clear that this is a serial case, revolving around the famous choir at King's College, Cambridge.

Meanwhile, Martha has moved to the university town and Josephine travels to help her move. She finds the town terrorised by a serial and increasingly violent rapist.

Their paths cross once more and their long friendship is threatened by the unmasking of a very personal secret, decades in the making.

This is the first of Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries that I've read and it's definitely my fault that this undermined my enjoyment. Upson makes it perfectly possible to read the story this way but without the history of the characters and their relationships it lacks the emotional impact it would otherwise have. Again, entirely my fault. What surprised me was how dark the story is. I was expecting a Christie-like head-scratcher that prioritised the puzzle so I wasn't expecting the grisly murders and definitely not the upsetting rape scenes. Even though the most detailed of these is told second-hand I found it unnecessarily graphic. Some of the plot-points were unconvincing, too clearly occurring just to achieve certain ends rather than as believable events and the final death in particular was clumsily handled

Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John's-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The case leads Archie to Cambridge, where, coincidentally, his old friend Josephine Tey has recently settled. Before long, another body is discovered. In the shadow of King's College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims - as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack...

Nine Lessons A Josephine Tey Mystery

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