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![]() | Angel with Two Faces (2009) (The second book in the Josephine Tey series) A novel by Nicola Upson |
Within a relatively short period, Nicola Upson has established herself as one of the most inventive and unusual of crime writers, marrying a sure storytelling grip to a non-pareil skill at evoking both period atmosphere and English locales. However - as Angel with Two Faces comprehensively demonstrates -- her real coup lies in her canny utilisation of a classic English writer, Josephine Tey (of The Franchise Affair and The Daughter of Time fame) as the protagonist of her books. And, what's more, doing full justice to her much-loved predecessor's memory; it's easy to feel that Tey herself would be delighted with these fictitious imaginings of her life an investigative figure.
The first book in the series, An Expert in Murder, was acclaimed by no less a figure in the field than PD James (admittedly, a stablemate at the same publisher), and this second outing maintains the quality of the first. Set against a strongly realised Cornish landscape, Upson begins her tale with death of a young man in the Loe Pool while on a riding excursion. Archie Penrose, a policeman whose family are the custodians of the estate, looks at the death askance - particularly when another young man goes missing, and a village prelate falls to his death from a nearby cliff. Josephine Tey, a friend of Archie Penrose, finds her wish for a quiet holiday banished when she becomes involved in a grim and baffling mystery.
The interaction between the duo here is delightfully handled, and the metaphor they adopt - death as an angel with two faces looking at both past and present -- is as allusive and strange as the narrative itself. Let's hope Nicola Upson has more plans for the imaginary amateur detective life of Josephine Tey. --Barry Forshaw
Genre: Mystery
The first book in the series, An Expert in Murder, was acclaimed by no less a figure in the field than PD James (admittedly, a stablemate at the same publisher), and this second outing maintains the quality of the first. Set against a strongly realised Cornish landscape, Upson begins her tale with death of a young man in the Loe Pool while on a riding excursion. Archie Penrose, a policeman whose family are the custodians of the estate, looks at the death askance - particularly when another young man goes missing, and a village prelate falls to his death from a nearby cliff. Josephine Tey, a friend of Archie Penrose, finds her wish for a quiet holiday banished when she becomes involved in a grim and baffling mystery.
The interaction between the duo here is delightfully handled, and the metaphor they adopt - death as an angel with two faces looking at both past and present -- is as allusive and strange as the narrative itself. Let's hope Nicola Upson has more plans for the imaginary amateur detective life of Josephine Tey. --Barry Forshaw
Genre: Mystery
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Used availability for Nicola Upson's Angel with Two Faces
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
July 2009 : Hardback
| Title: Angel with Two Faces Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-571-23795-9 / 978-0-571-23795-1 (UK edition) Publisher: Faber and Faber Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
2009 : Hardback
| Title: Angel with Two Faces: A Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-06-145156-8 / 978-0-06-145156-0 (USA edition) Publisher: Harper Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
June 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Angel with Two Faces: A Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey (Mysteries Featuring Josephine Tey) Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-06-145157-6 / 978-0-06-145157-7 (USA edition) Publisher: Harper Perennial Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Angel with Two Faces (Josephine Tey Mystery 2) Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-571-23796-7 / 978-0-571-23796-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Faber and Faber Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
July 2009 : Paperback
| Title: Angel with Two Faces (Josephine Tey Mystery 2) Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-571-24591-9 / 978-0-571-24591-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Faber and Faber Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Audio Editions
December 2011 : Audio CD
| Title: Angel With Two Faces Author(s): Nicola Upson ISBN: 0-7927-8128-7 / 978-0-7927-8128-8 (USA edition) Availability: Amazon More details... |
September 2009 : Audio CD
| Title: Angel with Two Faces (unabridged audio book) (Josephine Tey Mystery 2) Author(s): Nicola Upson, narrated by Sandra Duncan ISBN: 1-4074-3948-0 / 978-1-4074-3948-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Whole Story Audio Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Other Editions
June 2010 : Kindle edition
| Title: Angel with Two Faces: A Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey (Mysteries Featuring Josephine Tey) Author(s): Nicola Upson Publisher: HarperCollins e-books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
December 2009 : Unknown
| Title: Angel with Two Faces (Unabridged) Author(s): Nicola Upson Publisher: Whole Story Audio Books Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
September 2009 : Kindle edition
| Title: Angel with Two Faces Author(s): Nicola Upson Publisher: Faber and Faber Crime Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
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