Two for Sorrow: Josephine Tey Series, Book 3

By: Nicola Upson

Narrated by: Sandra Duncan

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about the notorious Finchley baby farmers, her research helps to solve the recent sadistic murder of a young seamstress. The girl's death seems to be the result of a domestic feud, but when a second young woman is involved in an horrific accident, the search begins for a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden.

©2010 Nicola Upson (P)2010 WF Howes Ltd

great mystery with atmosphere

I got on to the Josephine Tey series because, somewhere online, someone recommended it as a good follow-up to Agatha Christie. I first tried something else by someone else, so undistinguished that I didn't finish it and can't remember anymore. Then I slowly grew into Upson.
As mysteries go, this one had pretty much all the ingredients you can think of, plus a few more things going for it: good writing, a solid build-up, pretty solid characters in the good old Golden Age style (by which I mean solid and recognizable, but not begging for sympathy, not attempting to sound out all the pop psychology textbooks).
I read the first three, I'll probably read the rest, too. And a thumbs-up for the excellent reader.

Engrossing.

Nicola Upson blew me away with 'An Expert In Murder', and now with 'Two For Sorrow' she's done it again. I found the switch between past and present a little confusing at times but that could have been because of the gaps between my listening sessions. As in 'Expert', the protagonist is Josephine Tey, a fascinating character in her own right, and extremely well-drawn and researched by Upson. The mood of both periods - the first few years of the 20th century and the mid-thirties - is beautifully evoked; the atmosphere of the jail is suitably chilling - in both senses of the word. Equally chilling is the murder of one of the characters, terribly cruel and vivid, yet so well written that, squeamish as I am, I found myself pinned to the tableau that Upson has created in this scene by the sheer excellence of the writing and narration. Nicola Upson is now right up there at the top of my list of favourite crime writers.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

I couldn't stop listening!

This is a wonderful book! It grabbed my attention from the first chapter and I couldn't stop listening. The narrator is excellent and the plot deals with historical issues while weaving in issues which are still relevant to the present day audience.

The author has created a cast of believable and compelling characters. I am really enjoying this series of books and I'm looking forward to the next book. I will also look out for other books with this narrator, she is excellent and she managed to bring a wide variety of characters to life in this story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Boring

I really tried to get to grips with this book. I was interested in the content and period enough to persevere but I only managed to just over half way through. It is rare for me not to "read" to the bitter end but I was unable to fix on any one of the characters to feel any empathy towards them. Sorry!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Good but maudlin and boring in parts

I mainly enjoyed this book but found the love interest to be utterly maudlin and boring. It has put me off a bit as I am not sure if this aspect is going to be carried through into later books in the series.

It seems to me that some modern writers somehow translate the ‘grey’ of the old black and white films of the period into a flat, colourless way of feeling and living.

Relationships taking over

Having enjoyed books 1 and 2 in this series I was much looking forward to listening to this - and indeed for the most part I DID enjoy it; that is to say the mystery side of it. I did however find the relationship side of things was beginning to get in the way of the plot and I note from a review of book 4 that this increases. I shall probably go back to the series and look to see if the author got herself back on track in later books but meanwhile I have discovered Josephine Tay herself. First impressions there first rate.

wonderful

I loved it this story,. so, much I have listened to it several times over
Performance by Sandra Duncan, was splendid as ever.

Engrossing, interesting, bit violent!

Big fan of Nicola Upson and this is a very well written and read book - although we start to get a few graphic and nasty murder scenes! Another one I had to keep listening to.