Okay–an admission. I’ve never read anything by Josephine Tey.
So, if I were to read something…my guess would be Daughter of Time, Miss Pym Disposes, and Man in the Queue.
But I’m open to suggestions, if anybody has them….remember, I like really traditional detective novels, when it comes to detective novels.
4 responses to “A Cry for Help”
I love Josephine Tey. Classic English with a twist. Of those three, the Man in the Queue was my least favourite, Daughter of Time was my favourite for a long time because I just loved the idea of Richard III as a misunderstood and betrayed person in a very treacherous period. And I liked the stuff about how history was taught. OK, now I know that Tey was presenting as much a biased picture of Richard III as the people she criticized were, but I still love the book. Miss Pym Disposes – good, very good, I think, but I didn’t like it as much as some of the others. I think the end didn’t satisfy my sense of justice, but I won’t say more in case you read it. Next to Richard III, I think I liked The Franchise Affair the best. It was a marvelous portrayal of the differences between appearances and reality.
There were others – Singing Sands, which also featured the Scottish detective, and a family drama I didn’t get into that I didn’t like very much.
Daughter of Time – hands down. But I also liked Brat Farrar.
Are you asking for Josephine Tey titles (I’ve not read her books either) or traditional detective fiction that you might not have read? I recommend anything by Peter Robinson, Stephen Booth or Jim Kelly. Two other writers’ works I recently bought for my library that look worth trying (on my to read list) are Susan Hill (Risk of Darkness) and Brian McGilloway (Gallows Lane.)
As I said Daughter of Time had the bit on the mental processes of the criminal, but it’s not–quite–a detective novel. As for detective novels, all would get a recommendation, but Franchise Affair, Brat Farrar, Miss Pym Disposes and To Love and Be Wise would just slightly rank Man in the Queue, The Singing Sands and A Shilling for Candles.
And that, I believe is everything she wrote which wasn’t a play except for The Privateer. (A life of Henry Morgan–good stuff, but not for you.)