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A review by lilylanie
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
3.0
I learned about Josephine Tey by accident, I think it might have been on Wikipedia, and was intrigued by the description of her mystery novels. Her first novel was published in 1929, and she wrote 8 or 9 books before her death in 1952.
I chose to start with her book The Franchise Affair because it was one of the few that wasn't part of her serial involving the character Inspector Grant (actually he does have a bit part in this book, but there's no background about him per se), and because it was described as one of her best.
The book has that early-20th-Century-British feel about it, making it seem a little more antiquated than the same era in North America would, with lots of interesting turns of phrase. I would definitely describe it as 'quaint', and of course there is a great deal of description and dialogue with relatively little action. Fortunately I like that sort of book on occasion, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It has that key element of likeable characters - the two mistresses of estate called The Franchise are very strange and not entirely friendly, and yet you can't help but like them. And their lawyer, the leading man of the novel, is not entirely exciting, but certainly sympathetic.
I will definitely be looking for more Josephine Tey mysteries.
I chose to start with her book The Franchise Affair because it was one of the few that wasn't part of her serial involving the character Inspector Grant (actually he does have a bit part in this book, but there's no background about him per se), and because it was described as one of her best.
The book has that early-20th-Century-British feel about it, making it seem a little more antiquated than the same era in North America would, with lots of interesting turns of phrase. I would definitely describe it as 'quaint', and of course there is a great deal of description and dialogue with relatively little action. Fortunately I like that sort of book on occasion, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It has that key element of likeable characters - the two mistresses of estate called The Franchise are very strange and not entirely friendly, and yet you can't help but like them. And their lawyer, the leading man of the novel, is not entirely exciting, but certainly sympathetic.
I will definitely be looking for more Josephine Tey mysteries.