Reviews

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey

maplessence's review against another edition

4.0

4.5★ Can't make it 5★as the clues weren't there for the reader to solve themselves (although Tey did lead one up the garden path! I do love a good garden path wander!)

Mysterious and charismatic actress Christine Clay is found drowned. Initial evidence points a charming young wastrel that Clay recently befriended - but is Robin Tisdall the guilty party? Or is it someone from the past that Clay has been reinventing?

And she used to tell a different story each time. When someone pointed out that that wasn’t what she had said last time, she said: ‘But that’s so dull! I’ve thought of a much better one.’

I'm glad I read this on my kindle as I was constantly looking up different words & expressions. I now know that rend-me-downs are the same as hand-me-downs. But I'm hoping someone from the Reading the Detectives group can explain the significance of a King's Writ!

This novel was also wittier than the other Tey's I have read;

And Hopkins, seeing that Tisdall was unaware of Grant’s identity, rushed in with glad maliciousness. “That is Scotland Yard,” he said. “Inspector Grant. Never had an unsolved crime to his name.” “I hope you write my obituary,” Grant said. “I hope I do!” the journalist said, with fervor.

Tey also seemed to be exploring the injustices of the class system and racism rather than condoning it.

At a scant 195 pages this was told at a brisk pace. I very much prefer this to some of the bloated modern mysteries.

celina31's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

hooksforeverything's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

4.0

I could have sworn I'd read this before but there's no way I'd have forgotten Erica so I suppose I haven't. Well, it's a little jewel. 

staticdisplay's review

4.0

some interesting characters in this, primarily Christine Clay (there's a section where her house help person recounts a conversation in which Clay commented on how much she dislikes people and boy was that relatable) and Erica Burgoyne, who undertakes her own investigation. it was interesting to see Grant fix on Tisdall. there were many interesting characters. it's also an interesting snapshot of a different time or culture, as there's concern about interviewing an aristocrat and judgments are made based on how people look.

frasersimons's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A little bit improved over the first, but also filled with some really antiquated prejudice around antisemitism and gypsies and such, and it’s so casual that I think Tey was just like, this is normal. It goes unchallenged and seems to spout from nearly anyone. I do like that she writes women fairly eclectically, even if the characters similarly have antiquated views on how women are, that seems more understandable from the time she’s writing in, less so the other issues. Was she trying to show the Everyman as a social commentary, casually prejudiced? If so, it seems too surface level to be pointed. 

tombomp's review

3.0

Good, typical mystery story. Pretty Golden Age, although the ending is unfair and comes kind of out the blue, although it's pretty satisfying all the same. Nothing spectacular, but enjoyable all the way through. Worst parts are some clunky dialogue and a few weird editing slippages. The couple of action sequences she did were pretty neat, relative to the usual standard.

caroparr's review against another edition

3.0

This is more about the characters than the plot, at least for me. We have the cynical reporter Jammy Hopkins, a set of socialites that includes Marta Hallard (who's portrayed more positively in later books), the accused, something of an innocent, and best of all Erica Burgoyne, a sensible girl who immediately upstages everyone else in the story. A somewhat confusing ending, and when the murderer is found to be insane, I felt that Tey had given up a bit. Fun nonetheless, even reading a forty-year-old paperback that was so much more than slightly foxed that I immediately tossed it into the recycling when I was done.

purpleberryblue's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

ashleylm's review against another edition

4.0

I don't know what it is about Josephine Tey that I like so much. I love Agatha Christie: she knows what she does best, she drops heaps of red herrings and subtle clues and populates her books with mostly interesting characters and situations. I love Dorothy Sayers: she also is well aware she's writing a mystery, but she treats that as scaffolding upon which she will build entirely different books as she proceeds. But Tey? She writes mysteries as if she's unaware she's writing one, and as a result they're sort of graceful and haunting, 100% fitting into the mystery genre, and yet different in a way I can't explain (but will read other reviewers to see if they can nail their description of what I can't).

This isn't perhaps my favourite, in that the premise isn't tremendously exciting (a woman is murdered, there's a big clue with CLUE!! written all over it (a button!!), and the lead investigator has almost no personality whatsoever. And yet, it charms, especially as it gets closer to its conclusion. Some of the minor characters and situations (the victim's brother, the young girl's search for the coat, etc.) are especially keen, yet other chapters fall a bit flat by comparison.

Still, this was an early one. it's miles better than her first (the disappointing The Man in the Queue) and almost as good as the terrific later books.

Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.

salomongirl77's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5