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emilyjia5080's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
showell's review against another edition
5.0
"'the trouble with you, dear, is that you think of an angel of the Lord as a creature with wings, whereas he is probably a scruffy little man in a bowler hat.'" this book is full of writing like that. And the story's good too.
rwolff16's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
greybeard49's review against another edition
4.0
Exemplary detective novel written during a period when different societal values were the norm. Tey's book is highly regarded by her writer peers and she writes prose exquisitely. Reading her immerses you in a different time period. You will have to put up with her ideas about how society should be ordered and the way that people should behave, most of which is laudable but certainly not PC today.
Her crime writing is 'gentle' if that makes sense. She ushers you along the road to her denouement and her heroes are certainly not in the swashbuckling mode. A strength of the book, however, is how it recognises and highlights the pernicious power of the press and the disastrous consequences that can result from the wielding of that power. The novel was published in 1949.
Take an enjoyable trip, with some very good company, down the country lanes of post war Britain.
Her crime writing is 'gentle' if that makes sense. She ushers you along the road to her denouement and her heroes are certainly not in the swashbuckling mode. A strength of the book, however, is how it recognises and highlights the pernicious power of the press and the disastrous consequences that can result from the wielding of that power. The novel was published in 1949.
Take an enjoyable trip, with some very good company, down the country lanes of post war Britain.
charmainslibrary's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I have kept thinking about this book since I read it and the more time has passed the angrier I get at it. It has good writing and an interesting plot, but the thing that stayed with me was the misogyny that is present throughout the book, important to the plot and basically proven to be correct in the end and practiced by all the "reasonable" characters(as well as some questionable ones). I absolutely loved the Daugther of Time and now this book has made me never want to read another Josephine Tey book again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Physical abuse
thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
4.0
A British howdunnit from 1951, I pickedup in a delightful new (to me anyway) Penguin imprint (called Penguin Crime & Espionage) while in the UK. It's a fun mystery, but extremely dated. The cheerful description of the different characteristics of Celtic Irish and Anglo Saxon Brits was a little toe-curling, and the breathless trust of the police is a bit much in a book where the main protagonist is a defense lawyer. Nonetheless a very enjoyable period piece.
nekreader's review against another edition
3.0
Another enjoyable read by Tey. As she does in Miss Pym Disposes Tey creates a wonderful peek into English country life before 1950. There's no great mystery here, and the ending seems a bit of a throw away, but again great characters and a fun read.
deegee24's review against another edition
3.0
Starts out strong but the criminal investigation doesn't reveal very much and the book gets mired in right-wing crankiness. You see, it's the fake news media who are unfairly prejudiced against the landed gentry, slandering them and inciting mob violence against them. Inspector Grant only appears briefly and somewhat pointlessly, as if Tey were merely accommodating the wishes of her publisher to market the book as an Inspector Grant mystery. Instead, the main investigator is a solicitor named Robert Blair whose initial hunch about the case proves more or less correct. Blair is a clever investigator but otherwise pretty dull. The best part of the book is its portrait of postwar suburban England, a time when old country manors like the Franchise were quickly becoming relics of the distant past.
whatarebooks's review against another edition
1.0
Tory, rushed ending, just sounds like you’ve got your grandparents round for Christmas. It’s kind of well written and paced but the content just makes is bad.
doctortdm's review against another edition
4.0
Great book, but a stretch to say Inspector Grant is part of the story.