avrilhj 's review for:

An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson

4.0

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A very interesting book: a wee bit of a pastiche of the mysteries of author Josephine Tey (real name Elizabeth Mackintosh) with Josephine herself as the main character. Loads of paratextualism: the Detective Insector is presented as the model for Tey's Inspector Grant, when presumably the influence goes the other way round; and the actress Lydia Beaumont is similarly the model of/modelled from Tey's Marta Hallard (Lydia's lover is even called Marta). One character, John Terry, is obviously and definitely Sir John Gielgud, and the portrayal of the excitement around Mackintosh's play Richard of Bordeaux seems to be historically accurate. Lovers of Josephine Tey will enjoy all these resonances; and I imagine that any fan of Golden Age Detection Fiction would appreciate this murder, with its roots in the First World War. Not quite a 'cosy'; one for readers of Tey, Sayers, Allingham, and Marsh.