Reviews

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

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tessyoung's review against another edition

4.0

I always look forward to a new book in this series and tend to ration them when published knowing it will be while before the next, soo much so that I generally try to stay one book behind just in case, of what I'm not sure!
I was especially pleased when I saw that this instalment in the series was in part tribute to the Franchise Affair, the Josephine Tey novel that it appears brought both myself and Nicola Upson to her work.
Both books share a complexity and deftness of plotting, a strength of characterisation, and an ability to communicate suspicion and hatred and turn it into a visceral reading experience.
I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this novel, some elements I suspected before they became clear, but even doing so, the full answer to the mystery only revealed itself slowly through the narrative. The real enjoyment however is in the relationships in this book and how the characters reveal themselves through their relationships with others.
I will take this opportunity to also recommend the Franchise Affair which and Upson herself says 'If you've never reedit, go and find a copy; you're in for such a treat'.
For those who love textiles and like to see their centrality to everyday life reflected in literature, I'll share a couple of paragraphs with you here and challenge you to find an example where a simple tray cloth has been object around which so much characterisation of people and place has been communicated:

"So he sat there, in the lazy atmosphere of a spring evening in a little market town, staring at the last patch of sunlight on his desk (the mahogany desk with the brass inlay that his grandfather had scandalised the family by bringing home from Paris) and thought about going home. In the patch of sunlight was his tea-tray; and it was typical of Blair, Hayward, and Bennet that tea was no affair of a japanned tin tray and a kitchen cup. At 3.50 exactly on every working day Miss Tuff bore into his office a lacquer tray covered with a fair white cloth and bearing a cup of tea in blue-patterned china, and, on a plate to match, two biscuits; petit-beurre Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, digestive Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Looking at it now, idly, he thought how much it represented the continuity of Blair, Hayward, and Bennet. The china he could remember as long as he could remember anything. The tray had been used when he was very small by the cook at home to take the bread in from the baker, and had been rescued by his young mother and brought to the office to bear the blue-patterned cups. The cloth had come years later with the advent of Miss Tuff. Miss Tuff was a war-time product; the first woman who had ever sat at a desk in a respectable solicitor's in Milford. A whole revolution Miss Tuff was in her single gawky thin earnest person. But the firm had survived the revolution with hardly a jolt, and now, nearly a quarter of a century later, it was inconceivable that thin grey dignified Miss Tuff had ever been a sensation. Indeed her only disturbance of the immemorial routine was the introduction of the tray-cloth. In Miss Tuff's home no meal was ever put straight on to a tray; if it comes to that, no cakes were ever put straight on to a plate; a tray-cloth or a doyley must intervene. So Miss Tuff had looked askance at the bare tray. She had, moreover, considered the lacquered pattern distracting, unappetising, and "queer." So one day she had brought a cloth from home; decent, plain, and white, as befitted something that was to be eaten off. And Robert's father, who had liked the lacquer tray, looked at the clean white cloth and was touched by young Miss Tuff's identification of herself with the firm's interests, and the cloth had stayed, and was now as much a part of the firm's life as the deed-boxes, and the brass plate, and Mr. Heseltine's annual cold."

If you do read it you'll also be in for a lovely reference to Peter Pan collars, again courtesy of Miss Tuff.

In 'Sorry for the Dead' Upson, placing Tey at the book launch for the 'Franchise Affair, uses kntting as a metaphor in the mouth of her heroine as Josephine refers to having mistakenly described her crime novels as her 'yearly knitting', which she goes on to explain, 'By knitting, I simply meant that discipline and structure are important, but what's more important still is to write about what interests you and troubles you.'

There are few references to knitting in fiction, so it's good to appreciate them when they appear and appear in a way that suggests the novelist knows their needles.

bologne's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bigboyskog's review against another edition

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slow and boring set up, too many names, anything remotely exciting feels like a flash in the pan

carodonahue's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

abikale's review against another edition

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5.0

Not the twist I was expecting but a twist nonetheless. Even though this is the eighth book I tried to skim the spoilers so feel like I can now go back to the beginning now without too much given away. Really well written mystery would definitely recommend.