London rain - BookWyrm

329 pages

English language

Published 2016

ISBN:: 978-0-06-241815-9
OCLC Number:: 913332623

"Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson's popular series--perfect for fans of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Jaqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs--that unfolds in 1930s London as England prepares to crown a new king. London, 1937. Following the gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals. Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain's most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford--and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at …

"Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson's popular series--perfect for fans of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Jaqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs--that unfolds in 1930s London as England prepares to crown a new king. London, 1937. Following the gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals. Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain's most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford--and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony. Josephine's dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets ... caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making. Charming and provocative, thick with the atmosphere of prewar England, London Rain is a captivating portrait of a city on the edge--and an unforgettable woman always one step ahead of her time"--

"May, 1937, London: The country is still reeling from Edward VIII's shocking decision to abdicate the throne in order to marry the woman he loves, Wallis Simpson. As London prepares for the historic Coronation of his brother, George, bestselling writer Josephine Tey is in town to oversee a BBC radio production of her play, Queen of Scots. When one of the BBC's best-known broadcasters is murdered at the height of the Coronation celebrations, Josephine has a front row seat. Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose is called to investigate--and then another killing occurs. The victim? The leading actress in Josephine's play, who happened to be the broadcaster's mistress. Adultery, treachery, and pent-up jealousies clearly haunt the BBC, suggesting the motive lies close to home, but Josephine suspects that the killings are linked to a decade-old scandal. His hands tied by bureaucracy and his attention taken by another, seemingly unrelated death, Archie is unable to solve the case. It's up to Josephine to untangle a long-hidden web of love, deceit and betrayal. As her own relationship with Marta Fox reaches a turning point, she must confront the consequences of romance gone awry"--

5 editions

Shiyana reviewed London rain by Nicola Upson (Josephine Tey mystery)

Review of 'London rain' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Good but not great. A slow burn of a mystery. I could picture this being a cozy re-read at a later date when looking for something lighter. I like the authors writing style a lot and almost gave an extra star for that but decided 3/5 was good enough. 3.5 is probably more accurate.

I did, also, struggle to get into this book. I haven't read any others in the series. My generous outlaw aunt left it at mine to read when I liked. I generally love a murder mystery but have been reading a lot more sci-fi and fantasy lately. While waiting for a book from the library, and to give me a break from reading Hannah Arendt, I picked this up. It suited my purposes overall, enough that I would consider reading other books in the series. However, I think the main reason I struggled a bit at …

Good but not great. A slow burn of a mystery. I could picture this being a cozy re-read at a later date when looking for something lighter. I like the authors writing style a lot and almost gave an extra star for that but decided 3/5 was good enough. 3.5 is probably more accurate.

I did, also, struggle to get into this book. I haven't read any others in the series. My generous outlaw aunt left it at mine to read when I liked. I generally love a murder mystery but have been reading a lot more sci-fi and fantasy lately. While waiting for a book from the library, and to give me a break from reading Hannah Arendt, I picked this up. It suited my purposes overall, enough that I would consider reading other books in the series. However, I think the main reason I struggled a bit at the start was due to the period of time. I had very little cultural reference for England at this time. I thought I did, I grew up watching a lot of British TV, but I really didn't nd that made it hard to connect with the story. It didn't feel alien in the fun way of sci-fi or fantasy, but in an annoying way were it felt like I missed the homework.

Subjects

Murder
Investigation
Women dramatists
Fiction

Places

Scotland