Engrossing.

Nicola Upson blew me away with 'An Expert In Murder', and now with 'Two For Sorrow' she's done it again. I found the switch between past and present a little confusing at times but that could have been because of the gaps between my listening sessions. As in 'Expert', the protagonist is Josephine Tey, a fascinating character in her own right, and extremely well-drawn and researched by Upson. The mood of both periods - the first few years of the 20th century and the mid-thirties - is beautifully evoked; the atmosphere of the jail is suitably chilling - in both senses of the word. Equally chilling is the murder of one of the characters, terribly cruel and vivid, yet so well written that, squeamish as I am, I found myself pinned to the tableau that Upson has created in this scene by the sheer excellence of the writing and narration. Nicola Upson is now right up there at the top of my list of favourite crime writers.

9 people found this helpful

Relationships taking over

Having enjoyed books 1 and 2 in this series I was much looking forward to listening to this - and indeed for the most part I DID enjoy it; that is to say the mystery side of it. I did however find the relationship side of things was beginning to get in the way of the plot and I note from a review of book 4 that this increases. I shall probably go back to the series and look to see if the author got herself back on track in later books but meanwhile I have discovered Josephine Tay herself. First impressions there first rate.

2 people found this helpful

I couldn't stop listening!

This is a wonderful book! It grabbed my attention from the first chapter and I couldn't stop listening. The narrator is excellent and the plot deals with historical issues while weaving in issues which are still relevant to the present day audience.

The author has created a cast of believable and compelling characters. I am really enjoying this series of books and I'm looking forward to the next book. I will also look out for other books with this narrator, she is excellent and she managed to bring a wide variety of characters to life in this story.

2 people found this helpful

Good but maudlin and boring in parts

I mainly enjoyed this book but found the love interest to be utterly maudlin and boring. It has put me off a bit as I am not sure if this aspect is going to be carried through into later books in the series. It seems to me that some modern writers somehow translate the ‘grey’ of the old black and white films of the period into a flat, colourless way of feeling and living.

1 person found this helpful

Engrossing, interesting, bit violent!

Big fan of Nicola Upson and this is a very well written and read book - although we start to get a few graphic and nasty murder scenes! Another one I had to keep listening to.

1 person found this helpful

Boring

I really tried to get to grips with this book. I was interested in the content and period enough to persevere but I only managed to just over half way through. It is rare for me not to "read" to the bitter end but I was unable to fix on any one of the characters to feel any empathy towards them. Sorry!

3 people found this helpful

excellent story

loved it couldn't stop listening. Will now get the series. very well read. great buy

Why oh why ruin a Fab murder Mystery??

Up until now, I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and the strength of writing and the outstanding narration has been amazing!! But now this book is going down a completely unnecessary path with Josephine and I REALLY don’t need to hear all the details!!!! When I’m thoroughly absorbed in the plot and Archie investigating! and then I’m interrupted by a whole chapter of inconsequential rubbish by the author, it’s REALLY frustrating!! Archie, his cousins and all the other characters are fab! And this would have been 5 stars all the way if it wasn’t for the above. So ironic that a line in this book is Josephine wondering if it’s right to take the past and turn it into a fictional story without knowing the facts!! As this is exactly what Nicola Upson has done!! I’ve never read a Josephine Tey novel, but if someone wrote a series of books about me, when I’d passed and made the HUGE assumptions that Nicola is, I’d be turning in my grave!! Incredibly odd way for Ms Upton to commemorate an author she claims to be a fan of!! So sad when Ms Upton is clearly very talented and could have written a fabulous series without Josephine even featuring! I honestly don’t feel her character adds ANYTHING to this book. Sandra Duncan is just stunning in her Narration so 5 stars incredibly deserved by her :-)

Entertaining throughout

Beautiful weaving of the real and fiction. Such a good reading voice. Brings the characters to life

Excellent

I have really enjoyed the glimpses into the life of one of my favourite authors even though written in a fiction manner with fact thrown in. The books are beautifully written and keep the reader engaged with the crime. The narrator Sandra Duncan is absolutely superb and one of the main reasons I have bought the books one after another instead of listening to something else in between