From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. No classic detective fiction aficionado will want to miss Upson's compelling sequel to 2008's
An Expert in Murder, which introduced mystery author Josephine Tey (1896–1952) as sleuth. In 1935, Tey's close friend, Scotland Yard Inspector Archie Penrose, has returned on holiday to Cornwall, his childhood home, where he ends up attending the funeral of estate worker Harry Pinching, who drowned in Loe Pool, rumored to take a life every seven years. Most locals believe Pinching's death was an accident, but Penrose and Tey, who joins the inspector in Cornwall, soon pick up on ominous undercurrents in the community that suggest otherwise. As the pair attempt to uncover the truth, Penrose witnesses another death that's unquestionably murder. The subtle prose succeeds both at evoking the quiet splendor of the Cornish landscape and in capturing the tragedy and torment that plague many of the characters. The psychological sophistication will resonate with Charles Todd fans.
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The death of a daredevil young man brings Scotland Yard inspector Archie Penrose back to his family estate in Cornwall for the funeral. Josephine Tey, the real-life playwright and author introduced as a part-time sleuth in Upson's An Expert in Murder (2008), is visiting friends at a Cornish estate. At this point in Tey's career, in the mid-1930s, she has written one novel (The Man in the Queue, under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot) and several successful plays for London's West End. Quicker than you can say, “Curl up with a cozy,” Penrose is consulting his longtime friend Tey about the drowning of the estate worker, which he regards as suspicious. The young man's drowning in Loe Pool embodies a local myth that the pond takes a life every seven years. Penrose and Tey set out to place the blame on human, rather than supernatural, causes. Brilliant Cornish scenery and village atmosphere make up for the somewhat pat plotting and unlikely pairing of Penrose and Tey. --Connie Fletcher
