Two for Sorrow (Josephine Tey Mystery, #3) (Josephine Tey)

by Nicola Upson

London, 1903. Two women are hanged in Holloway Prison for killing babies. More than thirty years later, their crimes resurface with shocking consequences...When Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious Finchley baby farmers, she can have little idea that the research for her book will be needed to help solve a modern-day killing - the sadistic murder of a young seamstress, found dead in the Motley sisters' studio, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala. The girl's death seems to be the result of a long-standing domestic feud, but Josephine's friend, Inspector Archie Penrose, is unconvinced; and when a second young woman is involved in an horrific accident soon afterwards, the search begins for a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past where it belongs. Moving between the decadence and glamour of a private women's club, the bleak surroundings of Holloway prison, and the deprivation of London's slums, "Two for Sorrow" is a dark and unsettling exploration of the way in which the crimes of the past destroy those left behind - long after justice is done.

• ISBN13: 9780571246335
• Publish Date: 1 July 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 22 November 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faber & Faber
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Interesting mystery, but... I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied.  
 
Josephine Tey is investigating the notorious Finchley Baby Farmers episode, interviewing people she knew and trying to get an insight into this terrible crime in order to write a fiction book.  Suddenly one of the seamstresses at Motley dies horribly and there has to be an investigation, the past and present collide and relationships are messy.
 
Several of the people involved need to talk better to each other.
 
It's interesting but somehow I felt like the relationships overshadowed the mystery, I have no issues with the relationships but I felt that the sometimes intruded on the murder mystery in ways that made it more complicated than it really needed to be.
 
It could be argued that the baby-farmers were monsters and some of what is done is monstrous but it doesn't really fit into any of my free slots (it does fill Darkest London, Amateur sleuth, Terrifying women and murder most foul but I've used those) so Raven it is.