Published: 1949
I've read and enjoyed a couple of other books by Josephine Tey:
But not every classic book is worth reading, not even if the author generally amuses. Perhaps it was just my mood, but this book grated.
I suppose that for a class system to survive, the people who benefit from it need to believe that it's justified.
The heroines of this piece are a wrongly-accused pair of spinsters: a mother and daughter of good family but limited means. Their case is taken up by a middle-aged lawyer, who succumbs to the appeal that he should help them, not because of his expertise, but because he's "one of the right sort", that is, of the right class. The villain comes from a lower class, and is in fact adopted. Upon investigation, we learn that the villain's mother was of poor character. It all makes perfect sense: after all, bad blood will out.
There's more, much more. Including the interesting fact that you can always tell a murderer, because they inevitably have their eyes set slightly asymmetrically in their sockets. But I draw a veil over the rest of the book. I think you get the idea.
The actual mystery is somewhat novel, and is apparently based on an historical event: it deals with an accusation of kidnapping, and the suspense involved is the attempt of the investigator to clear the afore-mentioned polite spinster and her mother. The suspense would be greater if there were any suspicion that they weren't -- OF COURSE-- innocent, given their social class.
The only part that made me laugh was the heartfelt question of the struggling spinster, trying to clear her name. "What do people do who have no money?" she asks, as she struggles to pay the expenses involved with the investigation. The question is meant to elicit sympathy.
But the answer is that they are convicted both by the courts and by public opinion. No one reaches out to help them, and no one believes them, as the country lawyer believes the spinster. Those with no money at all are obviously inherently criminal.
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