Two for Sorrow

Starred review from June 20, 2011
The 1903 execution of two women convicted for murdering babies, the inspiration for Josephine Tey's novel-in-progress, has serious repercussions more than three decades later in Upson's excellent third mystery featuring the author of The Daughter of Time (after 2010's Angel with Two Faces). Tey's former teacher, Celia Bannerman, who was the warder for one of the condemned women, aids Tey in her researches in London. Investigation of a seamstress's sadistic murder, which Tey fears may be a result of her own digging into the past, falls on Det. Insp. Archie Penrose, Tey's close confidante, whose relationship with the writer is complicated by her ambivalence toward another love interest. About three-quarters into the book, Upson upsets readers' expectations with a surprise that keeps the suspense high to the satisfying conclusion. Puzzle fans as well as admirers of psychologically rich crime authors such as Ruth Rendell will find a lot to savor.

May 1, 2011

Deep into her research regarding the lives of two executed baby killers, mystery writer Josephine Tey succumbs to a romantic crisis.

Staying at the women-only Cowdray Club in London, Josephine postpones contacting her sometime beau, Archie Penrose of the Yard, as she wonders who's left a gardenia for her at reception. By the time she finds out, Penrose has arrived at the club to deal with the horrific murder of former Holloway Prison inmate Marjorie Baker, who'd been working as a seamstress at the design atelier of Penrose's cousins Lettice and Ronnie. The girls had been stitching up costumes for the upcoming Cowdray fundraiser starring Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, a gala now in jeopardy. When an accident nearly claims the life of Lucy, a Cowdray servant and friend of Marjorie, Penrose zeroes in on secrets she and Marjorie may have shared involving Cowdray personnel—especially Celia Bannerman, a former warder at Holloway during the execution of Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, notorious baby killers, and Eleanor Vale, another incarcerated evildoer. Meanwhile, Josephine learns who her secret admirer is and wrestles with Sapphic yearnings. The night of the gala finds Noel and Gertie performing while Penrose sets a trap for Marjorie's killer, who has a major surprise in reserve.

Less a reconsideration of the plight of Victorian women and children via the story of Sach and Walters than a study of same-sex love and obsession focusing on Tey's relationships (Angel with Two Faces, 2010, etc.).

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from June 1, 2011

This is the third in the engrossing series (Angel with Two Faces) featuring real-life mystery author and playwright Josephine Tey. Tey is researching a true crime story about the hanging deaths of two midwives who were convicted of running baby farms at the turn of the 20th century. Trouble is, Tey's research overlaps with people in her immediate circle, some 30 years later. Tey's habit of observing others is challenged when she is forced to bare her own emotions, not just in the case at hand, but in her personal life. Inspector Archie Penrose smells danger and guilt, and the killer gets desperate. All illusions are stripped bare by the end of this meaty psychological thriller. VERDICT This excellent entry in this highly recommended series provides all the classic detective components with a contemporary kick. If your readers relish Tey's original golden age mysteries and know their details, Upson's series should have strong appeal. The case is intricate and surprisingly intimate, weaving in and out of two historical periods and featuring that Upstairs Downstairs class element. It showcases London's theater scene beautifully, as well.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
The real-life executions in 1903 London of Amelia Sach and Annie Walters for killing infants born of baby farming are at the heart of this third entry in Upson's series featuring mystery writer Josephine Tey as a part-time sleuth. Researching a novel based on the 30-year-old case, Tey consults her former teacher Celia Bannerman, who had attended Sach as a prison warder and later became the highly regarded secretary of a professional women's social club in London. As the club prepares for its fund-raising gala, seamstress and former prisoner Marjorie Baker is sadistically murdered, and her father found dead nearby. Tey does less sleuthing this time as she struggles with an unexpected declaration of love, but her close friend, Scotland Yard inspector Archie Penrose, ferrets out a connection between the Bakers and Sach and risks his career on a hunch to uncover decades-old secrets. Upson illustrates the ripple effects of misdeeds here, and her smoothly flowing dialogue and deftly handled plot mark this worthy addition to the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)