judyward 's review for:

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

3.0

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This book is a good reminder that a mystery doesn't need to involve a murder. Solicitor Robert Blair was about to leave his office in a small English town when the phone rang. Marion Sharpe, who lived with her mother in a large, but very run-down country house called The Franchise, wanted him to come immediately because she and her mother were being accused of a crime. A 15 year old girl named Betty Kane arrived with the police and accused the two women of kidnapping her, holding her in their attic for a month, and regularly beating her. Robert doesn't believe the story for a second and decides to help the women by discrediting Betty's story. But once the story breaks in the tabloids and the nation takes Betty to their breast, the cards seemed to be stacked against him. This book, first published in 1947, examines the role of public opinion in a small town, the role of the media in forming national opinion, and one man's belief that the truth will always be revealed.