Angel with Two Faces

Playwright Josephine Tey is back in Nicola Upson's Angel with Two Faces. Huzzah! It is 1935, and Josephine has escaped to Cornwall for a much needed rest from the world of London theatre. She is staying on the country estate of her friends Lettice and Ronnie Motley, who also happen to be cousins with Archie Penrose, Josephine's Detective Inspector complicated-sort-of-love-interest.  Archie has also come to his ancestral home for summer vacation, but of course, murder gets in the way. Will Josephine be able to help Archie sift through the secrets, lies and red herrings perpetuated by the tight-knit community of the Penrose Estate?  You'll have to read the book to find out!

What I find so interesting about Nicola Upson's work is that it has such a basis in real life events.  Josephine Tey was the pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh, a successful author and playwright.  This book is set on the Penrose Estate, which is a real estate in Cornwall now run by the National Trust.  The outdoor Minack Theatre featured in the story is also a real place, which actually did produce a 1935 production of The Jackdaw of Rheims, also part of this novel.  Nicola is an expert in weaving together fiction and non-fiction, leading the reader deep into a story of her own.  I hope you enjoy her books as much as I do!