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 Some of Tey's premier work March 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a superb, atmospheric British mystery and cosy murder story.
A naiive young man spends a few days with an anonomous, but rich and beautiful, female benefactor at her country cottage until he is accused of her murder after she's found dead by the seaside.
Inspector Grant, of Scotland Yard, feels the additional pressure of the investigation when it's discovered that the victim was Christine Clay, a renowned and popular actress and the wife of an English aristocrat. The investigation gets even more complicated when the young and adventurous daughter of Inspector Grant's boss injects herself into helping to solve the crime.
While a manhunt ensues for the young suspect, who initially evades Grant's clutches, alternative suspects do not escape his shrewd eye and, from there, Tey weaves a masterful set of sub-plots into this very solid mystery. At one point, Inspector Grant gets side-tracked by pursuing a nefarious brother of the victim, a clear suspect, which nearly costs the former his life.
It is not likely that the reader will guess who the murderer is in this literary roller coaster ride. I put this one in Tey's Top Three mysteries, in which I also include "The Singing Sands" and "The Man in the Queue". Highly recommended!
 Not her best July 18, 2006
This book bears the usual Tey earmarks--it's more story than mystery, the reader isn't given sufficient clues to solve the mystery, the language is sometimes a bit stilted, there are some (at least to me) obscure British expressions not understandable through the context, the main character Inspector Grant is considerably less than all-knowing, there are some annoying stereotypes (in this case Jews, in others foreigners in general), but the characterization of at least some of the characters is very fine. I've upgraded it to a 3 mostly because of the delightful character Erica. In this particular book, the ending is pulled out of a hat even more than Tey's usual ending. There are lots of red herrings too. Some were interesting--but not really explored very much--almost vignettes. The beginning of the novel seemed more like a play--and, of course, Tey was a playwright. Overall, it's just okay, nothing really special--not in a class with "Brat Farrar" or Tey's masterpiece, "Daughter of Time."
Fallen star, drowned at sea May 26, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The last legacy of all read, 'To my brother Herbert, a shilling for candles.'"
- from the last will and testament of Christine Clay, herein
The unusual title comes from a still more unusual clause in the last will and testament of superstar actress Christine Clay - an enigmatic legacy to her estranged brother. Clay worked her way up from nothing, with a mother who spoiled her brother rotten while having all kinds of excuses why Christine couldn't have proper schooling. Christine managed to escape to the life of the stage; her rise was so rapid that when she married a wealthy man with a title, she was considered to have made a catch, but within a couple of years *he* was thought of as 'Christine Clay's husband'. (Her background, gradually uncovered by police investigation, is enough to support a story in itself.) Now she has been found drowned at the lonely seaside place she was visiting incognito, and a youngster who seems like a stereotypical victim of circumstances is on the run, suspected of her murder for what seems like an inadequate motive. And given the brilliance of Christine Clay's shining star, why was she alone on holiday, with neither a court of hangers-on nor her husband?
Grant carries part of the story's action during his investigation, but Tey isn't shackled to a stylistic formula. Erica, the local Chief Constable's 16-year-old daughter, wades in where angels fear to tread, and generally assists Robin Tisdall, one of the chief suspects, to stay out of police custody while the police try to find out how Christine died. (This last provides an excuse for several mildly entertaining bit-part characters to appear, so I can live with it in the name of entertainment.)
A few too many plots getting in the way of the story, and could've used better editing to work as a book. I think it works better as a performance on the audio edition than it does on the page. As always when Stephen Thorne is the reader, the audio edition is performed well.
Elizabeth Mackintosh ("Josephine Tey" was a pseudonym) was primarily a playwright; she only produced 8 mystery novels altogether, 7 featuring Grant. Incidentally, she used yet another pseudonym, "Gordon Daviot", as both a playwright and for the original publication of many of her books. A SHILLING FOR CANDLES (1936) was Mackintosh's 2nd mystery novel, with an emphasis on 'novel' rather than 'who done it?' Tey isn't particularly interested in playing fair with the reader here, but I personally can live with that since the book works as a story. (I've taken off points for it, and for some issues with the story construction, but on the whole it's enjoyable, so the audio edition is worth having.)
Got free time? August 13, 2004
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was pretty interesting. I was never into reading mysteries because I haven't actually read many. One of the reviews on the back of my version of the book caught my attention. It mentions, Balkan politics, crackpot religion and astrology. So I read it. It wasn't a waste of time (like some other books I've read).
 Testamentary Bequest September 2, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is a dead body. Where is her car? Why is she swimming alone? It seems her body is expensively cared for. A young man appears on the scene, weeping. It seems that he had taken her car. The name of the drowned woman is Christine Clay. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is called to the scene by a worried constabulary. The young man, Robin Stannaway or Robert Tisdall, the name had been changed to Tisdall to please a relative, stayed with Chris. She had picked him up when hitchhiking, saying that she was alone. The boy clearly has charm. Grant and others determine that it is probable murder. Christine Clay had worked her way up from a lace factory in Nottingham. About every six months she was in a different social sphere. Her real name was Christina Gotobend. She was married to Lord Edward Champneis. There was a button in Christine Clay's hair and evidence of a struggle. Tisdall had lost his coat. It had been made in Los Angeles and was, therefore, in its absence, unsuitable for button comparison. Edward Champneis is very dignified. In her will Christine Clay left her brother Herbert a shilling for candles. When Grant discovers there is a codicil with a provision for Tisdall, he hastens to Scotland Yard. Grant regrets his inclination to like Tisdall. They seek to arrest him who appears to have no knowledge of the codicil in his favor. He escapes via a fire escape. Robert is befriended by another woman or girl, to be more precise. They think the solution to his problem is to find his missing overcoat to show there is no missing button. A clue is that an alcoholic china mender may have lifted the coat. The book suffers from having the most likeable characters mainly off-stage or dead. In other respects, of course, it is wonderful, given that Josephine Tey was one of the best people writing in the genre.
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