Product Description

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. And it takes Robert Blair, local solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23073 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

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

Entertaining and intriguing

I first read this as a teenager and was a little underwhelmed: I don't think I really appreciated the rarity of good writing then or the subtle nuances of character which Tey conveys so well. Re-reading it now, I loved this book. It is, undoubtedly, of its time: published in 1949 in conveys a slightly snobbish attitude to the `lower classes' who are either demonised (Betty Kane and her mother) or sentimentalised (Stanley). But leaving that aside, this is a really fun and intriguing mystery.

Robert Blair, a staid solicitor, is drawn into a case involving the odd Sharpe women, mother and daughter, who live alone in their house named The Franchise when they are accused of kidnapping and beating a young teenager. No-one quite believes the story until the girl is brought face-to-face with the Sharpes and reveals details about the house and the room where she was supposedly held that a stranger could not know. But Blair believes the Sharpes are innocent and sets out to prove his case - against all the odds.

Like other `golden age' mystery writers (Dorothy L. Sayer, Ngaio Marsh, Christie) Tey is as interested in her characters as she is in the mystery itself, and the Sharpes, especially, are wonderful creations. Our emotions are manipulated faultlessly as they are moved from being slightly sinister to being amusingly eccentric (old Mrs Sharpe, especially, grew hugely in my affections during this book), and yet there is still always a slight doubt: could their very eccentricity have led to their guilt? Highly recommended.

Gripping little mystery with a sense of humour
A fifteen year old girl informs the police that she has been kept prisoner in the attic of an old, remote house and beaten repeatedly by the occupants - two women. She manages to escape and can describe the house and grounds in detail. Is she telling...more A fifteen year old girl informs the police that she has been kept prisoner in the attic of an old, remote house and beaten repeatedly by the occupants - two women. She manages to escape and can describe the house and grounds in detail. Is she telling the truth?

So begins a remarkable puzzle from the Golden Age of mystery writing. Published in 1949, it initially feels like a provincial Agatha Christie but with a rather darker undercurrent. At the same time it possesses a sense of humour and irony that borders on self-reproach. Some of the minor characters are hilarious and balance neatly with the dour, seriousness of the police, solicitors and the alleged events that have taken place.

This is a seriously good story and you're never really sure who can be trusted or believed. Though I was half waiting for a twist that never came and I would have liked a little more shock and complexity to the plot, The Franchise Affair unfolds neatly and keeps you gripped.

The prose is measured and strikes the right tone throughout, and you get the impression that Josephine Tey would be much more fun and interesting to know than Agatha Christie.

It was, in the end, a satisfying conclusion and I am certainly inspired to read more of this author's work.