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Overview
Summer 1936. Mystery writer Josephine Tey joins her friends in the resort village of Portmeirion, Wales, to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are there to sign a deal to film Josephine's novel, A Shilling for Candles. But things get out of hand when one of Hollywood's leading actresses is brutally slashed to death in a cemetery near the village. The following day, as fear and suspicion take over in a setting where nothing—and no one—is quite what it seems, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose becomes increasingly unsatisfied with the way the investigation is ultimately resolved. Several years later, another horrif ic murder, again linked to a Hitchcock movie, drives Penrose back to the scene of the original crime to uncover the shocking truth.
Synopsis
Nicola Upson blends biography and fiction, excitement and menace, and a touch of Alfred Hitchcock in Fear in the Sunlight, a mystery starring real-life writer Josephine Tey.
Summer, 1936: Josephine Tey joins her friends in the resort village of Portmeirion to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are there to sign a deal to film Josephine’s novel, A Shilling for Candles, and Alfred Hitchcock has one or two tricks up his sleeve to keep the holiday party entertained—and expose their deepest fears. But things get out of hand when one of Hollywood’s leading actresses is brutally slashed to death in a cemetery near the village. The following day, fear and suspicion take over in a setting where nothing—and no one—is quite what it seems.
Based in part on the life of Josephine Tey—one of the most popular, best-loved crime writers of the Golden Age, Nicola Upson’s Fear in the Sunlight features legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock as a prominent character—and features the classic suspense and psychological tension that fans of Hitchcock films love.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
British author Upson surpasses herself with her mesmerizing and psychologically complex fourth whodunit featuring real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey (after 2011’s Two for Sorrow). In part one, set in 1954 London, an American detective informs Scotland Yarder Archie Penrose that a suspect who has confessed to the murders of three women on the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in California has also confessed to three other murders committed 18 years earlier in the resort town of Portmeirion, Wales. At that time, Penrose, the model for Tey’s Inspector Grant, and Tey were in Portmeirion celebrating the writer’s 40th birthday. Also present was Hitchcock, already a legendary director, who hoped to persuade Tey to allow him to adapt one of her works for the screen. The brief prologue’s account of the carnage to come in the sections set in 1936 Wales enables Upson effectively to delay the reader’s gratification and to develop a large cast of fully realized characters. The melancholy tone and pitch-perfect prose add depth to the sinister plot. Agent: Gráinne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (Apr.)Booklist
“A deft and agreeably darker addition to the series.”Library Journal
The year is 1936, and English crime novelist Josephine Tey is turning 40. A celebratory weekend has been planned in the idyllic resort village of Portmeirion, but the holiday is not entirely focused on leisure because famed director Alfred Hitchcock will also be present to discuss transforming one of her mysteries into a film. The festivities quickly turn sour when Hitchcock’s penchant for mischief transforms a relaxing respite into a violent and deadly weekend. As usual, Tey’s close friend CI Archie Penrose is close at hand to investigate.Verdict This novel is the fourth installment (after Two for Sorrow) in Upson’s mysteries featuring real-life playwright and novelist Tey. This latest work is more concerned with concocting a tale about Tey’s personal life, of which very little is actually known, than with weaving a compelling mystery. An abundance of characters and an overly intricate plot make for a long slog to the finish line. Recommended for purchase only if you have a strong following of the series.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, MI
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