This is a smart book. It's number 11 of Upson's Josephine Tey series, featuring Tey herself and the fictional DCI Archie Penrose, and the second of the series that I have read. The murder mystery - fictional- is closely interwoven with real life events: the shooting in Hollywood of Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. This carefully researched footnote in cinema history gives verisimilitude to the murder mystery emerging back in England: the link being the English country house on which the film version of Manderley is based. Alternating chapters show Penrose sleuthing away in England while Tey, who is no part of the crew, but the partner of someone who is, discovers links to unfolding events too. Cleverly paced with well-realised characters, this slow-burn of a book was an entirely satisfactory read. ( )

I have somehow missed all of the Josephine Tey books by Nicola Upson, starting my journey with Shot with Crimson, the eleventh in the series. And all I can say is that I have a lot of reading to do. This was an outstanding historical mystery set in the very early days of World War II, with flashbacks to the First World War. We move from England to Hollywood, and meet Alfred Hitchcock and his family, along with many different workers in the world of late 1930s filmmaking.

The story was dark and emotional, yet also interesting. I not only felt the pain and regret of the characters, but also felt like a fly on the wall during the production of the movie based on Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca.

I had no problem reading this as a standalone, although I’m sure the previous ten novels would have given me a much greater understanding of the characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )

historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, historical-setting, 1939, family, friction, friends, friendship, detective, film-industry, film-history, famous-persons, famous-author, series, Hollywood, England, jealousy, murder-investigation, theft, greed, suspense*****

Josephine Tey was a well deservedly famous mystery author who lived in the first half of the twentieth century. This series has her as the main character working with a British DCI to solve an assortment of murders set within her own timeframe. I have loved and admired the sleuthing in the earlier books of the series, so this is hardly an unbiased review.
This time the backdrop is the impending circumstances leading up to WW2 in England as well as the insanity of Hollywood and filming adaptations of well known novels. I found it riveting and enjoyed it very much!
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )