Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23236 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window. But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. It takes Robert Blair, solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair.

About the Author
Josephine Tey is one of the best-known and best-loved of all crime writers. She began to write full-time after the successful publication of her first novel, The Man in the Queue (1929), which introduced Inspector Grant of Scotland Yard. In 1937 she returned to crime writing with A Shilling for Candles, but it wasn't until after the Second World War that the majority of her crime novels were published. Josephine Tey died in 1952, leaving her entire estate to the National Trust.

Customer Reviews

A Curious Mystery
This is the sort of book that is set for school English Literature classes. It is well written in a fairly old English style and if there is a teacher/lecturer around to analyse and explain each chapter then it might be more enjoyable but if you want a read without too much thinking then you might find it a bit tedious and boring. The whole plot centres around a lawyer trying to prove that a girl was only describing a house that she claims she was held in as a slave and prisoner from the outside of the house, and that she had never actually been in there. Its ok but not a riveting read.

Engaging, compelling, very English mystery. One of the best
This is about as perfect an English mystery story that you can imagine. Elegantly written, intriguingly plotted and an immensely satisfying denouement. Robert Blair is a quiet, professional, country solicitor in a quiet, sleepy, English country town until a phone call from a lady in trouble turns his live upside down. The beauty is that it doesn't turn him upside down. He remains Robert the dependable solicitor throughout, just caught up with a serious crime and new passion which makes him take stock of his way of life. Each character is fully drawn, utterly believable and for the most part warm and engaging, with the exception of the criminals of course, who you don't want to like anyway.

Tey's skill shines through in her reflection of English society, in her passion for the study of faces and ultimately in her force of will which means that the mystery, rather than sub-plots or socially commentary, remains paramount at all times. Yet she doesn't need multiple murders or gratuitous volience or complicated plot swings to keep the reader's interest or to keep the plot moving. Scraps of evidence emerge not by chance but as the result of hard detective work and acute observation. An easy and engaging read, this is the perfect way to spend an enjoyable lazy afternoon.

A great read
I saw the film of The Franchise Affair years ago, but have only just tracked down the book. It is, as others have pointed out, an unusual detective story, not having to resort to multiple murders to grab the reader's attention. The pace is deceptively leisurely, very much reflecting the characterisation of the solicitor turned amateur sleuth at the centre of the novel, but I still found it highly compelling. I liked the way the little snatches of evidence appeared, sometimes in favour of the victim and sometimes in favour of the accused, which kept the whole thing very finely balanced. I also very much appreciated the fact that we, as readers, were kept utterly in the dark about the existence and testimony of the last witness; when the final revelations were made, it was as much of a surprise to me as to the assembled court-room. Tey writes extremely well, and I am now on the look-out for other books by her.