An Expert in Murder, by Nicola Upson

In the 1930s writer Josephine Tey travels from Scotland to London for the final week of her play in the West End. A young woman is brutally murdered at the end of the train journey and her connection to the play draws Josephine into the investigation. Another murder then makes it clear that everyone involved in the play is at risk, especially its writer. Between the wars is a fascinating period to set a story. The legacy of the great war lingers, affecting former soldiers and civilians who lost people in different but equally damaging ways. And the prospect of another global conflict looms, with chilling effect. It is an interesting choice to base it on a real person, or the pseudonym of one. Josephine Tey was an accomplished writer of detective fiction, who never received the recognition of her (arguably) lesser contemporaries. This novel aims to emulate Tey’s skill, but falls a little short with too many coincidences and convenient connections between people inhabiting a world not that small.