Nicola Upson Books In Order

An Expert in Murder

March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.

Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.

Angel with Two Faces

Inspector Archie Penrose invites Josephine Tey down to his family home in Cornwall so she can recover from the traumatic events depicted in An Expert in Murder. Josephine welcomes the opportunity, especially since Archie’s home is near the famous Minack open air theatre perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea. However, Josephine’s hopes of experiencing a period of rest are dashed when her arrival coincides with the funeral of a young man from the village who had drowned when his horse inexplicitly leapt into the nearby lake. When another young man disappears and the village’s curate falls from the cliffs of the Minack Theatre onto the rocks below, Josphine and Archie begin to suspect the involvement a cold blooded murderer. As Josephine and Archie try to unravel the mystery, they begin to see death as an Angel with Two Faces one gazing at the violence in the present, the other looking back to the crimes hidden in the past.

Two for Sorrow

London, 1903. Two women are hanged in Holloway Prison for killing babies. More than thirty years later, their crimes resurface with shocking consequences When Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious Finchley baby farmers, she can have little idea that the research for her book will be needed to help solve a modern day killing the sad*istic murder of a young seamstress, found dead in the Motley sisters studio, amid preparations for a star studded charity gala. The girl’s death seems to be the result of a long standing domestic feud, but Josephine s friend, Inspector Archie Penrose, is unconvinced; and when a second young woman is involved in an horrific accident soon afterwards, the search begins for a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past where it belongs. Moving between the decadence and glamour of a private women s club, the bleak surroundings of Holloway prison, and the deprivation of London s slums, Two for Sorrow is a dark and unsettling exploration of the way in which the crimes of the past destroy those left behind long after justice is done.