Dear Little Corpses (A Josephine Tey Mystery) by Nicola Upson

Dear Little Corpses (A Josephine Tey Mystery) by Nicola Upson.

Published on 19th May 2022 by Faber & Faber.

From the cover of the book:

It takes a village to bury a child.

1st September, 1939. As the mass evacuation takes place across Britain, thousands of children leave London for the countryside, but when a little girl vanishes without trace, the reality of separation becomes more desperate and more deadly for those who love her.

In the chaos and uncertainty of war, Josephine struggles with the prospect of change. As a cloud of suspicion falls across the small Suffolk village she has come to love, the conflict becomes personal, and events take a dark and sinister turn.

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Josephine Tey is on a visit to her cottage in Polstead, Suffolk, for some time with her lover Marta before they are parted once more - Josephine heading back to Scotland and Marta to glamorous Hollywood for a project with Alfred Hitchcock. But this is not exactly the romantic sojourn they both envisaged.

The late summer of 1939 finds Britain on the brink of war and the country holds it's breath for the announcement from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that will confirm their worst fears - that the Great War to end all wars was nothing of the kind. A massive logistical undertaking to evacuate children from London to the relative safety of the countryside has begun, but despite all the forward planning, ferrying a mass of youngsters about the country is proving to be mayhem. No one notices that one of the evacuees has failed to reach her destination...

When far more children arrive in Polstead than anticipated, Josephine and Marta cannot refuse to help. They take in a young London lad called Noah, who is distraught after being split up from his younger sister Betty, who is lodging with the very peculiar Herron family nearby. Noah seems to be hiding something too...

On the eve of the village fete, another young child goes missing - this time, local girl Annie. Suspicion lies thick in the air, and some are pointing fingers at the Herron family. It's down to Scotland Yard DCI Archie Penrose to uncover the truth, despite being absorbed in a case of an unusual stabbing in a stairwell in Hoxton - with the help of Josephine, of course.

Nicola Upson has hit the jackpot once more with a many-layered crime novel that evokes all the wonderful Golden Age vibes of the books of her heroine Josephine Tey. The feel of the between the wars era floods the first part of this novel, cut through with the heart-rending fear of a nation stealing itself for dark days ahead, with people attempting to carry on with a stiff upper lip while fear grips their hearts about what the future holds - especially those haunted by the sorrows of World War One. 

The feeling of time and place in this book is delicious. I particularly loved the village fete scene, where Upson delightfully unites Golden Age Queens Tey and Margery Allingham (author of the Albert Campion books) in a double-handed venture to judge all the highly competitive events underway. This is such a wonderfully humorous episode in the story, full of close examination of splendid agricultural produce, closely fought cake tasting, and fancy-dress judging, that made my heart sing, and was an excellent way to get a closer glimpse at the villagers too - but underneath it all there lies the feeling that something dark is looming over them all, and not just from the impending war. 

This is a very fine period murder mystery, dear readers. Told through the narratives of a variety of characters, some of which are fabulously suspicious in the very best Christie way, the pieces of the puzzle come together slowly and keep you guessing in the most enjoyable fashion. I love a tale full of red herrings and misdirection, with an underlying sinister note of ghosts of the past, and Upson has this down to a tee in this book. The truth, when it comes, is shocking too!

Intriguingly, the introduction of war-time restrictions, closures and isolation from loved ones that Upson describes in this story are curiously reminiscent of the Covid lockdowns we have all been through in recent times, and this brings a poignancy and resonance to this story that was totally unexpected. There is such a feeling of connection with a period way back in time that I found really moving about this.

I have been working my way through these stories and this latest one has absolutely everything I love about them contained within its pages. If you are a fan of Golden Age crime, love great characters, authentic atmosphere, and intricately conceived plots then this is definitely a series for you too!

Dear Little Corpses is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Faber & Faber for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Nicola Upson is the author of four previous Josephine Tey mysteries, including An Expert in Murder, and two works of nonfiction. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist. A recipient of an Escalator Award from the Arts Council England, she splits her time between Cambridge and Cornwall.