Shot with Crimson

The Josephine Tey Mysteries - Book 11

Shot with Crimson

By Nicola Upson
Unabridged
100% overall 2 ratings. Go to reviews
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Violence finds its way to old Hollywood in the eleventh Josephine Tey mystery, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Jacqueline Winspear.

September 1939, and the worries of war follow Josephine Tey to Hollywood, where a different sort of battle is raging on the set of Hitchcock’s Rebecca.

Then a shocking act of violence reawakens the shadows of the past, with consequences on both sides of the Atlantic, and Josephine and DCI Archie Penrose find themselves on a trail leading back to the house that inspired a young Daphne du Maurier—a trail that echoes Rebecca’s timeless themes of obsession, jealousy, and murder.

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2 reviews

  1. Duchess of New Town
    Overall Liked it

    Another tantalising mystery featuring real-life crime writer Josephine Tey

    It's always a cause for excitement when a new instalment in one of my very favourite series is published, and Shot With Crimson met all my expectations. The book opens with a haunting prologue set during World War 1, as future award-winning author Daphne du Maurier visits Milton Hall in Norfolk as a child. The events du Maurier witnesses will form the seed that will later become the setting of her novel Rebecca and the inspiration for one of the most memorable characters in twentieth century fiction, housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. The remainder of the novel is set in late 1939, as war is declared in Europe and series heroine, author Josephine Tey, sails to America on the Queen Mary to join her partner Marta Fox on the set of Alfred Hitchcock and David Selznick's film adaptation of British author Daphne du Maurier's recent bestselling novel, Rebecca. Meanwhile, gifted miniaturist James Bartholomew returns to Milton Hall after a twenty-two year hiatus, part of a small deputation sent by Hitchcock from Hollywood to gather footage for the production of Rebecca. When a woman is discovered murdered in the grounds of Milton Hall, the property once again requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence for wartime use, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose's attendance is requested in Norfolk to spearhead an investigation that may become sensitive, given the presence of the military on the site. Shot With Crimson is another tantalising mystery featuring real-life crime writer Josephine Tey as heroine/amateur detective. As a devotée of both Daphne du Maurier's writing and Alfred Hitchcock's films, the book had added interest for me as Josephine observed the goings-on on the Californian set of his classic adaptation of Rebecca. Author Nicola Upson's knowledge of her subject and the extent of her research into the historical basis for her plots is superlative. I'd highly recommend Shot With Crimson to any reader who enjoys cerebral historical mysteries, especially those who've enjoyed previous books in this series. For those who haven't previously read Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series, what's stopping you? My thanks to the author, Nicola Upson, publisher Faber and Faber Ltd, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

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  2. Mister Tea Mykel
    Overall Liked it

    An Interesting Mix

    I kept forgetting that (reader) Helen Llyod and (author) Nicola Upson AND (main character/narrator) Josephine Tey were not the same person. It seemed like all three interpretations came from the same brain---that the same person who described the plot out loud also wrote it down and experienced it firsthand. That’s the finest tribute one can make to an audiobook, in my opinion, that all three entities drive forward the proverbial DeLorean, so to speak, nice and even, with unison and balance, like that perfect three-way triangle flux capacitor thingy did for Doc Brown and McFly. Speaking of harmony, that wasn’t even the best part. Paralleling that fine character/author/reader trifecta was another interesting trio… In Shot with Crimson, there is A) a murder mystery at the heart of the plot and B) a historical fact/fiction side plot about old Hollywood via director Alfred Hitchcock woven in, along with C) an overall analysis of “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier, the book in which Hitchcock is basing the movie he’s directing. Murder mystery/Hitchcock/ “Rebecca”. All smooth and flux capacitor-y. All three of these angles tie together in a mind-blowing meta tour de force that’s seamless, organic, and authentic. I had to pull up Wiki to see what was true and what was added for dramatic purposes! Anyway, works like this are what makes the audiobook medium unique---and so much fun. This was my first Josephine Tey Mystery, and I do wonder what will come next…This murder mystery was to die for (pun intended) and I learned so much about Alfred Hitchcock’s directing OCD along the way!

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