Customer Reviews

Angel with Two Faces: A Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey (Mysteries Featuring Josephine Tey)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If I want to be depressed and read excellent writing I will pick up another book by Nicola Upson. I feel that when an author writes a book with such skill and yet the book continually " beats you up" then what is the point. This author clearly does not like people or her readers, don't waste your time.

PLOT SPOILERS. I loved An Expert in Murder so I saved this sequel for my vacation. Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the wait. The mystery itself is well plotted, but too much of the the book was taken over by disturbing and, I think, entirely unnecessary exposes of sexual deviance by various characters. Incestuous rape, incestuous love affairs, one man's unrequited love of his best friend, the abortion of a young teen's pregnancy -- I couldn't help but feel that Upson had an agenda she was trying to put across in this book, but I couldn't pick it out from the general sexual despair that hangs over the whole novel. The book was so depressing I started finding it funny and the ending was just what I expected - how else could all that hopelessness end? All in all, Upson's writing continues to impress and her characters are endearing and interesting. I hope the next installment lives up to Upson's promise. I left this book in the hotel room.

BEWARE. PLOT SPOILERS:

As far as the mystery went, it was marginally well put together. Yet there seemed to be a strange empathy for the incestuous relationship between a brother and sister. And not just from one character, but from several. I didn't find it very believable. On top of this, there's an odd lack of sympathy for the parents that were murdered as a result of the relationship (almost as though they deserved to be burnt to death because they didn't support the relationship). Odd, and disturbing.

After an enjoyable first novel, the author has hidden heavy-handed moralizing behind a "Golden Era" mystery. However, there's nothing golden about this bleak and bizarre justification of incest and murder. The novel is at once depressing and aggressive, as if the author has an axe to grind and wants to make the reader pay. Incest and murder are both justified in the name of "love," which is sickening enough, but then incestuous rape, forced prostitution, and cruel violence are thrown in for good measure. I don't understand why the author tries so hard to defend the revolting acts of her characters, but it definitely has a "The Lady protests too much, methinks" quality. The mystery behind the story sadly offers little enjoyment to offset the bleak nature of the book. I'm definitely disappointed after her first book, and I won't be bothering with her third.

Angel with Two Faces - Nicola Upson
3 stars

This is the second book by Nicola Upson featuring the author Josephine Tey as the protagonist in a murder mystery. It's important to realize that the Miss Tey of this book is a completely fictional character, based loosely on the historical author. For the most part the story was compelling, had good atmosphere and a few plot twists that weren't completely predictable. The story takes place in Cornwall, between the world wars. There are wonderful descriptions of the setting and good historical detail. I thought the character development was very good, but I had some difficulty identifying which characters were speaking. It wasn't always clear, with a chapter break or some kind of editorial spacing when the scene had changed and a different character was speaking. This became important at the end of the book when the action was taking place in two different settings. Some good editing would have made all the difference.

In this second of Upson's mysteries based on the real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey, the author is visiting friends in Cornwall for the summer while starting work on a new mystery. Nearby, her friend Inspector Archie Penrose has come back to home soil to attend the funeral of a friend, an accidental death which seems less accidental the more he investigates. Both Josephine and Archie become entwined with those closest to the case: the victim's twin sister and younger sister, a well-loved neighborhood schoolteacher, a young minister full of doubts, and more.

I did not like this second book so well as the first. One of my delights about the first book was how much like a 1930s-written book it was in language and attitude. This one seemed less so, and several events happen which all the characters, including Archie and Josephine, treat with a modern-day sensibility instead of the way people of the 1930s would have reacted. I did find the mystery fairly absorbing, and also enjoyed the description and information about Cornwall and the real-life Minack Theater, but there were reactions to relationships that I didn't understand the protagonists' calm acceptance of.

And while I hate to give spoilers, I feel I must on this one: even though the relationship was consensual, this is NOT a book I would give to read to someone who has familial sexual abuse in their past. Please be warned about this aspect if you purchase this book for yourself or another.

I finished the author's first novel "An Expert in Murder" only because P.D.James gave
it a glowing review. In my opinion the writing was leaden, the plotting obvious, the
characters wooden and predictable, with the exceptions of Ronnie and Lettice. The only
saving grace was the atmosphere of the theatre, which the author seems to know well. I
excused that novel as being the author's first; and hoped she would grow in technique
and authority.

"Angel with Two Faces" is just awful. Leaving aside the author's attitude towards
the morality of the plot twists (which other reviewers have bemoaned), I found the
writing even more heavy-handed than in the first book. The style is lifeless and
plodding; the "atmosphere" is laid on with a trowel. You can see the author planting
obvious clues and red-herrings every few pages, then slowly linking them together; and
yet the final revelation is a cheat. The book feels like a novel where the author first
devised an intricate plot, then forced characters into molds to carry out the action.
In the first book, Josephine Tey had an integral relation to the plot. In this one,
she has no essential connection to the events; any intelligent woman would have
served. Josephine's relationship with Archie, which seemed hopeful at the end of the
first book, does not develop. And Ronnie and Lettice make only brief and disappointing
appearances.

This is the second book in the JOSEPHINE TEY series which began with AN EXPERT WITNESS. The premise for the series is that author Josephine Tey, rather than being only the pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh, is a real person. This novel begins a few months after the close of the previous story. Tey is joining her friend, Insp. Penrose for a holiday at his family home in Cornwall. The two had been looking forward to the opportunity to quietly sort out their rather complicated relationship but once again events seemed to conspire against them. A young local man had drowned casting a pall over the local village's annual celebration. When a second death occurs in the midst of the festivities old scandals and tragedies begin to emerge demanding all of Tey's and Penrose's attention.

The premise of making Tey a character in these stories, incorporating events and people from Mackintosh's life with the fictional events and characters could easily become too cute and cozy, particularly when Penrose is introduced as the inspiration for Tey's literary detective Gant. Upson manages to instead make the characters, both those she borrowed from Mackintosh and those she invented herself, come to life. Even though the series has the potential to be a cozy romance, Tey and Penrose are attracted to each other, there is a significant group of recurring characters the two novels of the series so far do not venture into this realm at all. The series is rather dark, touching on serious themes of an 'adult' nature. This one deals with brother/sister incest, child molestation and homosexuality - definitely not 'cozy' material. The plot is full of intriguing twists and turns that will keep the reader eagerly turning pages until all is revealed.

I was fascinated by the synopsis because Tey is one of my all time favourite authors. So, I couldnt help but pick it up.
It is a good mystery - no doubt about that. But often times i found the two main characters (Tey and Archie Penrose) a bit 'modern' for the times they were placed in. They also were superhumanly accepting about the secrets and truths that were revealed to them about others. Being accepting and compassionate of course is something we all strive for, but i never saw these two ever falter or waver in it - which made me extremely grumpy and question the realness of the characters.
The author explores some relationships that are not accepted by society (incest in particular) - which is OK with me - and sometimes comes across wanting to rationalize it - which seems a bit over the top.
This was my first book from Upson and would love to read others, but hopefully this doesn't set the tone for all her works.

This is the second book in a series which features author Josephine Tey as the main character. The setting in this book is Cornwall and the descriptions of the area are wonderful.

Josephine is invited to spend a holiday at a family home while she works on her new book which is not going well. She has never been to the south of England and accepts, thinking this will be the perfect place to settle in and really write. Unfortunately, there are too many local distractions including disappearances, a fey teenager,the death of a local man and the interactions of the family with whom she is staying.

This is not a quick read kind of book. I didn't really figure it all out until the conclusion. The book is set in the earlier part of the 20th century before the 2nd World War and has a distinctive feel for that period of time in England.