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The Franchise Affair

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The Franchise Affair

By: Josephine Tey
Narrated by: Carole Boyd
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About this listen

Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep.

Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window. But there’s something about Betty Kane’s story that doesn’t quite add up.

Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. It takes Robert Blair, solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery...

©1948 Josephine Tey (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Cosy Crime Fiction Mystery Crime Fiction
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The calm eloquence of Josephine Tey’s style is really quite seductive, as is her skill at creating a plot. And Carole Boyd’s reading of it does full justice to the text. The reader is entirely caught up into the story, almost to his or her surprise, as is the case with The Daughter of Time. And this novel is also peopled with fascinating characters such as are in The Singing Sands. In our age of fake news and media manipulation, it is very apposite indeed.

More than apposite

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The Franchise Affair is my first experience with Josephine Tey and it won't be the last. The story has an intriguing set up and I couldn't predict where it was going. It turns out to be more of a howdunit rather than a whodunit.The prose is elegant, a pleasure enhanced by Carole Boyd's superb narration. Her expressive yet measured tones are perfectly suited to the material and help to recreate the bygone world of English village life.

Some of the characters' attitudes would be objectionable today, but this book is a product of its time and should be appreciated as such. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this beautifully written tale of mystery and suspense.

An intriguing story beautifully narrated.

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