Nine Lessons

Really enjoyed this well written and well plotted mystery set in Cambridge England just befor WWII. Josephine Tey and Archy Penrose are engaging characters with complex psychologies. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Alto I began with a latter entry I had no trouble untangling the characters.

4.5 stars

When this series first began, I read the early installments through book 3 and enjoyed them. I guess the series fell off my radar, and I missed the next few because I recently came across this one and realized I had missed several books. Nevertheless, I easily picked up the story line and found this novel to be completely engrossing. The story line was creative and realistic, and I absolutely loved the ending. I thought I had figured out the identity of the murderer and was delighted to be wrong. Too many novels written today are easy to decode, and I was thrilled that Upson managed to pull off a surprise at the end.

While Nine Lessons is billed as a Josephine Tey mystery, the main character in Nine Lessons is really Archie show more Penrose, a Detective Chief Inspector for Scotland Yard. On the trail of a murderer with a very specific agenda, Penrose finds himself in Cambridge attempting to solve the puzzle before the murderer has completed his rampage. Josephine Tey and Penrose’s old flame Bridget have both recently moved to Cambridge where a serial rapist has begun terrorizing single women. Penrose and Tey team up to try and solve the murders while Tey also assists the local police with tracking down the identity of the rapist. In the midst of the crime-solving, Archie, Josephine and Bridget must resolve personal issues that attempt to destroy their individual relationships. While the plot is complicated, it is highly creative and clever and a ton of fun to read.

The story takes place in 1930’s England. Upson focuses on the role of women in that era and the great price they paid when something like a horrific crime spree in their midst sends progress back in time by decades. I always find this topic incredibly fascinating and enjoy learning more about fashions, women’s role in society, and other issues faced by women in earlier eras. As a woman living in 2017, I marveled as I read at how different life would have been if I had been born 60-80 years earlier and send up my thanks to those brave women who paved the road for my girls and me.

Nine Lessons is an intelligently crafted tale that will be a hit with anyone who loves a good mystery and clever writing. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

I wonder how the extremely private Josephine Tey would have reacted to finding herself as a central character in a murder mystery series.

I do enjoy a good story which posits a real person into a fictional setting - even more so when there are certain elements in their own lives that can afford the author such artistic licence; and when done well, the fictional account often blurs the lines between what is fiction and what just might be real.

As Robert McCrum of the Guardian wrote: "Shy Miss Mackintosh [Tey's real name] had a fascination with disguises, pseudonyms and hidden identities." - I think Tey would have been slightly amused, if not a little intrigued.

Coming late to the table at #7 of these Josphine Tey mysteries has left me show more wanting to go back to the very beginning and read them all in order. Well worth seeking out Tey's own books to compliment this collection. show less

Once again, Upson combines real people with fictional characters and what is, I assume, a very fictionalized Josephine Tey (not her real name). Specifically, M.R. James wrote ghost stories and told them to his students at Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Some of his stories are referenced in the book.
Josephine is alone in Cambridge, England, setting up an apartment. She is involved with a serial rapist, who really terrorized Cambridge, but in the 1970s, while Archie Penrose (who I assume is based on Inspector Grant in Tey's books) is trying to find a serial killer. There is some connection between the two sets of crimes. The mysteries work; as usual, I did not guess whodunit.
In Josephine's personal life, people must deal with balancing the show more openness of friendship and promising to keep a secret. It seems to me that someone is killed because it may be useful for future story lines. show less

There's a serial rapist  on the loose in Cambridge (we're talking inter-war period !)where Josephine Tey is taking care of her friend's house. Meanwhile a body (apparently burried alive)is found in a London churchyard and certain clues are left with this victim .But as more bodies are discovered they all seem to lead to Cambridge, more precisely to King's College and their famous choir.
Fact is, I never read anything by Josephine Tey but I liked the idea of having a real(crime)writer on the premises .The interaction between Miss Tey and a very gallant (and still smitten )inspector is adorable (not corny, not sugary,just from time to time awkward ).The mystery (a serial KILLER on the loose )is of a very sound quality. I,personally, show more enjoyed it. Who needs more... show less

I had a little trouble getting into this book. But, I think that is because of the fact that this is number seven in the series and my first book to read.

I really liked the characters in this book. From the way it read, I thought the book was about Archie Penrose being the main character, not Josephine. Although she was in the book quite a bit.

I really liked Josephine Tey and her attitude. I laughed several times at her.

I also really liked how the author wrote the mystery revolving around a teacher's books that taught at Cambridge. While in the acknowledgement the author wrote that this teacher was a real person, I had already felt that during the book.

A very twisted tale with a whole lot of twists. A jaw dropping solution to the show more question of who was raping the girls of Cambridge was really well written.

In fact, just a really good read that kept me mesmerized.

I hope to read a lot more about Josephine Tey in the future.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. show less

procedural, law-enforcement, relationships, serial-killer, serial-rapist, historical-fiction ----------
There are two simultaneous horrors to be investigated by DCI Penrose and his sometime assistant playwright Josephine Tey. One is a complicated series of murders which appear to be inspired by revenge. The other is a series of home invasions which include rape and the use of a knife. Set in the 1930's, it exposes attitudes that are not much better today. But the plotting and character development is excellent, and it maintains the suspense til the end.
I had originally requested and received a review copy via NetGalley, but was unable to sight read it. Recently, I bought an audio copy and feel that Wanda McCadden gave an excellent audio show more performance as narrator. show less