Two For Sorrow (Josephine Tey Book Three) by Nicola Upson

 

Two for Sorrow (Josephine Tey Book Three) by Nicola Upson.

Published 1st February 2011 by Faber and Faber.

From the cover of the book: 

London, 1903. Two women are hanged in Holloway Prison for killing babies. More than thirty years later, Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious Finchley baby farmers. 

Meanwhile, her friend, Inspector Archie Penrose is investigating the sadistic 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 Archie 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.

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December, 1935. Josephine Tey is in London staying at the Cowdray Club, getting to grips with a new novel ahead of a charity gala being arranged for the benefit of both the Club and the adjoining nursing college. Hoping to stay under the radar for a few days, she has been avoiding meeting up with old friends DI Archie Penrose and his theatre designer cousins, the Motley sisters (who are deep in preparations for the gala), in order to get some serious writing and research under her belt.

Josephine's new book is to be about the infamous Finchley baby farmers, Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, who were hanged in 1903, and she is ideally placed to undertake some research about them through one of her own former teachers, who is managing the Cowdray Club - and was a prison warder at Holloway Women's Prison when the women were executed.

Josephine's peaceful writing time is thrown into turmoil when a young seamstress is murdered at the Motley sisters' studio, forcing them to relocate operations to the Club. Archie is now entangled in a gruesome investigation, and he is unconvinced by the stories of domestic strife that appear to be the root of the murder. When another young woman, who was friends with the murdered seamstress meets with a terrible accident, it seems someone is trying to keep them quiet... and Archie begins to suspect that sins of the past are behind the whole twisted affair.

Two for Sorrow is the third book in the wonderful Josephine Tey series by by Nicola Upson, based around the real case of Amelia Sach and Annie Walters. It is one of my favourites in terms of plotting, the wealth of social history it contains, and the impact it has on how Josephine views herself.

First and foremost, Upson pulls an absolute blinder in conjuring a devilishly clever murder mystery that really keeps you guessing, and which is filled with lovely deceptions and the most Agatha Christie like red herrings of the series so far - which is highly entertaining given some of the snarky comments Josephine makes about her literary colleague in this story. 

Upson builds delicious layers around sins of the past, and long shadows from the execution of Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, which allow her to get into the nitty gritty of all manner of subjects around baby farming, and crime and punishment in relation to women - notably prison reform, and execution - which anchor this novel firmly in time and place, and which are extremely thought provoking to boot. Much of this is pretty eye opening, particularly when it comes to the societal factors that fed the dark actions of the baby farmers, the treatment of women prisoners, and the celebrity of executioners as late as the turn of the twentieth century!

Josephine and Archie spend less time together in this novel with everything happening around them, although there are still lovely scenes between them that are ripe with the weight of things unsaid, and they end up pursuing crucial leads together too. Interestingly, they are forced to reassess their friendship somewhat, with the return of a character from the past, which opens up a really powerful storyline for Josephine - giving rise to intensely emotional moments, and provoking fascinating and poignant conversations about the relationship choices of women post the Great War. My favourite familiar side-kicks are also here in the crime-fiction-obsessed DS Bill Fallowfield, and the vivacious Motley sisters, along with a smattering of famous faces and some fabulous characters that Upson uses to great advantage by swapping between the present and past in sections of text from Josephine's new book about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters. 

I thought I could not love this series more, but revisiting the books through the voice talents of Sandra Duncan, who brought me to tears in this book, is proving to be a joyous experience. I had forgotten how powerful this particular instalment was! Superb!

Onwards to my reread of book four, Fear in the Sunlight. I cannot wait! 

Two for Sorrow is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Nicola Upson is the author the 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.