Angel with Two Faces: Josephine Tey Series, Book 2

By: Nicola Upson

Narrated by: Sandra Duncan

Inspector Archie Penrose has invited Josephine Tey to his family home in Cornwall, a struggling but beautiful country estate on a magnificent stretch of coastline. But death clouds the holiday from the outset.

When the local theatre proves to be a stage for real-life tragedy, Archie's loyalties are divided between his friends and his job, and he and Josephine must confront the violent reality which lies beneath a seemingly idyllic community...

©2009 Nicola Upson (P)2009 WF Howes Ltd

Two is Too Many

As a Josephine Tey fan, I quite enjoyed the first in Nicola Upson's series, "An Expert in Murder," which featured Ms Tey as protagonist. By the end of it I was thinking, "Fine, Gay Crime Fiction; a non-event, really." Ms Upson has undeniable talent.

I'm not going to finish "Angel with Two Faces." You know that annoyed feeling you get when the author seems to be pushing a personal agenda? The author also repeatedly denigrates Christian belief. It's irritating being patronized. Can't we just get on with the plot?

[spoiler alert!]

In the case of "Angel with Two Faces," the "twist" is a sickly sweet justification of a long-term incestuous relationship between twins. After all, "love" is all that matters, right?

Too much for me. It's also completely unrealistic to the 1930s that everyone except the most repressed or villainous would sympathise with these characters.

It's not often that I stop reading in disgust. As a mystery lover, there's the usually-overriding desire to know "who dunnit." Not this time.