I have loved this series from the start but have to confess that this isn't my favourite book in the series. Upson has tackled some tough subjects in the past (baby-farming, rape and sexual assault) and has set her stories in wonderful locations (I particularly remember the one set in the BBC against the coronation broadcast) where the historical evocation has proved as much of a draw as her characterisation of Tey and her wonderfully smooth writing. 

This one feels much simpler, drawing on the archetypal Christie Christmas trope - the house-party, a cut-off location, snow and no phones, with murder amongst the guests. I found the crime more predictable than I'd expect with the clues made very obvious from the start, and we are witness to the second murder anyway so that's more a 'how will it get found out' plot. 

What lifts it is the 1938 setting and the presence of Marlene Dietrich though both are rather underused. Tey and Marta are present but don't have much to do and with no tensions in their relationship anymore they're a hook with not much function. The writing is, as ever, smooth and involving, and the character vignettes turn all the usual suspects into real people whose lives touch at this specific moment. There are also darker intimations such as the Nazi presence and some quite vicious murders that off-set the cosiness. 

This will probably be ideal for December reading as an antidote to too much saccharine but I guess I just expect more from Upson and Tey. With the war on the horizon, I do hope the next installment is grittier.

This is the ninth book in the Josephine Tey series and I have to admit being new to the work of Nicola Upson. A Christmas crime story is something of an English tradition and if you love an Agatha Christie style whodunnit then you’ll want to read this. The period setting and the drama on St Michael’s Mount is beautifully described and the attention to small details certainly captures the pre war 1930s. The key characters of Josephine , Archie and Marta are intelligent and sympathetic characters. The plot is taut and with two simultaneous mysteries the story is controlled and keeps the reader guessing.Yes, a few red herrings are throw in for good measure but the outcome is logical and ultimately tragic. I’ll now be checking out book one in the series and working my way through them. A great detective / crime tale. Perfect Christmas reading or any time of year for that matter . Highly recommended.

Thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Agatha Christie may have written the rule book for murder but Nicola Upson has perfected it - even exceeding the great woman’s talents. Each of the novels  in the Josephine Tey series are true masterpieces of the crime fiction genre, and this one is no different. As devotees of this series will already know, Josephine Tey was a real life Scottish crime writer of the ‘Golden Age of Detective Fiction’ era of the 1920s and 1930s. Encompassing an approximation of real events in Tey’s life, Upson’s series is an alchemical blend of truth and fiction, culminating in the most glorious examples of crime fiction I have ever read. Nicola Upson’s novels are a triumph of meticulous research, fiendishly clever plotting and most importantly - a breathtaking imagination. ‘The Dead of Winter’ is a richly contextualised Christmas  Murder mystery, set on Michael’s Mount off the coast of Cornwall. The dark clouds of WWII are gathering, however, giving this novel a certain poignancy - of a world about to vanish in the convulsions of mass bloodshed. This sense of melancholy and the looming spectre of war, so soon after the first great conflict of 1914-1918, takes on an oppressive force on the island where Tey and others are gathered to raise money for a Jewish Refugee charity. A localised, more personal set of conflicts, occupy the guests of the Mount, however, with two grisly deaths on a snowy Christmas Eve. The roots of one of the murders, at least, has its foundations in the past. The brutal murder/suicide of a mother and her children, several decades ago, haunt more than one protagonist amongst the assembled guests on St Michael’s Mount. Many have secrets they would rather remain hidden, but which one has a motive for murder? With some ingenious red herrings and wonderfully taut plotting, the narrative reaches a crescendo that is as explosive as it is unexpected. It is the rich contextual detail of the 1930s and the tantalising mysteries at the heart of this novel, that makes the Tey series a classic of its genre. Another reminder, if any were needed, that Nicola Upson is one of the best British authors on the literary scene today.

The Dead of Winter had me hooked from the start. The author does a great job of creating the feeling of an Agatha Christie style murder mystery, but with a modern edge. 

The premise of the story is very standard golden age murder mystery with the group of suspects stuck together at a Christmas house party on an island that is cut off from the mainland during a storm. 

There are twists and turns and the author leads the reader down alleys and allows us to make presumptions that are then shattered. I really enjoyed the little nods to the history of the genre - one of the characters is reading Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and there is a comment by a character during the police interviews that she presumes it would be like the “boring middle part of a detective story”!

I’ve never read any Nicola Upsom before this but  will have a look for her other books now I have. 

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy in return for my honest review.

With more twists than a spiral staircase, this book left me breathless, not wanting it to end.  But it did.  And the last chapter was as brilliant as the first.

The ninth in the Josephine Tey series, the story takes place during Christmas of 1938 on an isolated island in beautiful Cornwall.  The setting itself drips with atmosphere.  I (sort of) want to be there!  

Various people, including a major celebrity, are invited to a massive castle for Christmas as a fundraiser for wartime aid.  This story, laced with murder and secrets, follows the path of each character as Christmas is spent together.  And apart.  Archie Penrose investigates crimes with some help from Josephine Tey.  What they find leaves them cold.

Though there are stories within a story, at no time was it arduous or too much.  The balance couldn't be more perfect.  

Pay attention to every word...you don't want to miss anything.  I just love the vivid and lovely descriptions and cared about characters, many deeply affected by tragedy.  Unlike many series, investigations are intelligent.  Penrose has heart and soul, too.  

Also interesting are the links which coincide with real events and people.  Clever title as well.

This book would be especially wonderful to read in winter with a warm drink at hand.  Mystery and historical fiction readers will be thrilled with it.  Maps!  It has maps!

This is my favourite book by Upson to date, which says a lot.  Very deserving of five stars.  

My sincere thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd. and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this enthralling book in exchange for an honest review.  Much appreciated.

This is the ninth Josephine Tey book but I didn’t feel like I couldn’t keep up with the relationships in Josephine’s life but it did make me want to read the books from the beginning. It’s December 1938 and Josephine, her friend Archie Penrose and a group of specially selected guests will celebrate Christmas on St Michael’s Mount, an isolated estate house. The country can almost taste the war it will find itself in within a year, no one feels quite safe and to top it all, a Hollywood celebrity will also be staying in the big house. It’s snowing heavily, there are two strange deaths and suddenly, no one quite knows what to think of each other. There’s definitely a lot of secrets just waiting to be uncovered. As an homage to a golden age mystery, this is right up there. I thoroughly enjoyed it, raced through it and I’ll start the others asap.