Enjoyable mystery and I found the characters engaging and interesting. Not the most compelling mystery style for me though compared to other series out there.

An interwar mystery with the famous golden-age crime writer as sleuth. ⭐⭐⭐/5
TW: rape

DCI Penrose investigates a chilling murder when a man is found entombed in an old monument. Some picking clues suggest that this is a calculated killing and it soon becomes clear that this is a serial case, revolving around the famous choir at King's College, Cambridge.

Meanwhile, Martha has moved to the university town and Josephine travels to help her move. She finds the town terrorised by a serial and increasingly violent rapist.

Their paths cross once more and their long friendship is threatened by the unmasking of a very personal secret, decades in the making.

This is the first of Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries that I've read and it's definitely my fault that this undermined my enjoyment. Upson makes it perfectly possible to read the story this way but without the history of the characters and their relationships it lacks the emotional impact it would otherwise have. Again, entirely my fault. What surprised me was how dark the story is. I was expecting a Christie-like head-scratcher that prioritised the puzzle so I wasn't expecting the grisly murders and definitely not the upsetting rape scenes. Even though the most detailed of these is told second-hand I found it unnecessarily graphic. Some of the plot-points were unconvincing, too clearly occurring just to achieve certain ends rather than as believable events and the final death in particular was clumsily handled.

I wonder how the extremely private Josephine Tey would have reacted to finding herself as a central character in a murder mystery series.

I do enjoy a good story which posits a real person into a fictional setting - even more so when there are certain elements in their own lives that can afford the author such artistic licence; and when done well, the fictional account often blurs the lines between what is fiction and what just might be real.

As Robert McCrum of the Guardian wrote: "Shy Miss Mackintosh [Tey's real name] had a fascination with disguises, pseudonyms and hidden identities." - I think Tey would have been slightly amused, if not a little intrigued.

Coming late to the table at #7 of these Josphine Tey mysteries has left me wanting to go back to the very beginning and read them all in order. Well worth seeking out Tey's own books to compliment this collection.

Never read any of these books before but I will now.

1937 England is brought to vivid life and a really engaging murder mystery with a well written rape plot. This is well plotted and sensitively told. The bread crumb of clues makes it a very suspenseful read with style. I loved this book and I’m so glad there are 6 more books to read in the series.

I read some reviews saying this series should be picked up by TV, I add my voice to that call.

A diverting, riveting and engaging book.

Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John's-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The body of the church's organist is found in an opened grave, together with a photograph of a manor house and a cryptic note.

A juicy whodunnit with enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep you guessing right to the end. Great writing full of intrigue and suspense and reminded me very much of a good old Agatha Christie, which is not a bad thing.

"Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John’s-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The body of the church’s organist is found in an opened grave, together with a photograph of a manor house and a cryptic note. The image leads Archie to Cambridge, where the crisp autumn air has brought with it bustling life to the ancient university and town.

Mystery author Josephine Tey and Archie's lover Bridget Foley have each recently settled in Cambridge, though both women are not equally happy to see him. One has concealed an important secret from Archie which now threatens to come to light. Meanwhile, the change of seasons has also brought with it a series of vicious attacks against women in town, spreading fear and suspicion through the community.

Soon, another body is revealed, and in the shadow of King’s College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims―as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack in this beautifully written, intricately plotted mystery."

This week is ALL about the cover lust. WANT!

procedural, law-enforcement, relationships, serial-killer, serial-rapist, historical-fiction ----------
There are two simultaneous horrors to be investigated by DCI Penrose and his sometime assistant playwright Josephine Tey. One is a complicated series of murders which appear to be inspired by revenge. The other is a series of home invasions which include rape and the use of a knife. Set in the 1930's, it exposes attitudes that are not much better today. But the plotting and character development is excellent, and it maintains the suspense til the end.
I had originally requested and received a review copy via NetGalley, but was unable to sight read it. Recently, I bought an audio copy and feel that Wanda McCadden gave an excellent audio performance as narrator.

This is another well-plotted, pacy, instalment of Nicola Upson’s Josephine Tey mystery novels. This time Josephine is in Cambridge when a serial rapist is at large, leaving the female population terrified and imprisoned in their homes at night and the men bubbling with rage. Simultaneously an investigation into a particularly grisly murder brings Josephine’s friend Detective Inspector Archie Penrose to the vicinity. Josephine is soon involved in Archie’s investigation, while at the same time finding herself the keeper of an unwanted secret that could shatter Archie’s world when he discovers the truth.
Nine Lessons is a pretty dark tale but Josephine and Archie are as compelling as usual. There is some interesting character development for fans of the series and the period setting is well described. All in all this is a good read.

This series is the closest I have come to recreating the atmosphere of an Agatha Christie novel. The story was sent in 1930's London and though the story follows Josephine Tey (a talented writer who assists the police with their investigations), the story actually mostly followed the Scotland Yard Detective, Archie Penrose. A terribly gruesome and cruel murder has taken place and the only clue is that the dying man had a picture of a manor house in his hand. As the investigation unfolds, a pattern becomes obvious, which was truly clever and fascinating, leaving Archie to play "beat the clock" until another murder occurs. The side story was about a rapist terrorizing the single women of Cambridge, which was loosely based on an actual crime wave that occurred in Cambridge a few decades ago. Brilliant writing that completely sucks you in. I must get caught up on the series so that I am ready for the next story.

I received a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

Nicola Upson's detective series featuring real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey just keeps getting better as she artfully mixes history and fiction. Fear in the Sunlight played out against the set of an Alfred Hitchcock film, while London Rain's backdrop was the 1937 coronation of King George VI. In the seventh book, Nine Lessons (Crooked Lane Books, digital galley), Upson draws on the real-life crimes of the Cambridge Rapist, although she has him terrorizing women in 1937 Cambridge. Josephine is house-sitting for her lover, actress Marta Hallard, who is away on business. The tension and unease in town and at the colleges is palpable as the attacks on women escalate to include murder.

At the same time, Josephine's great friend, Scotland Yard detective Archie Penrose, is investigating a gruesome murder in a London graveyard. The trail eventually leads him to Cambridge, a college choir and a long-ago death. What makes this second story especially chilling is the discovery that the London murder is tied to a series of ghost stories by M.R. James, who taught at Cambridge. The vengeful killer takes cruel delight in replicating disturbing details of James' spooky tales. Then there's the big secret that Josephine is keeping from Archie that could profoundly alter their relationship.

from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever 11/2017

I had a little trouble getting into this book. But, I think that is because of the fact that this is number seven in the series and my first book to read.

I really liked the characters in this book. From the way it read, I thought the book was about Archie Penrose being the main character, not Josephine. Although she was in the book quite a bit.

I really liked Josephine Tey and her attitude. I laughed several times at her.

I also really liked how the author wrote the mystery revolving around a teacher's books that taught at Cambridge. While in the acknowledgement the author wrote that this teacher was a real person, I had already felt that during the book.

A very twisted tale with a whole lot of twists. A jaw dropping solution to the question of who was raping the girls of Cambridge was really well written.

In fact, just a really good read that kept me mesmerized.

I hope to read a lot more about Josephine Tey in the future.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I have come late to Nicola Upson's work; Nine Lessons is the first I have read although it is the seventh in the series. However, it can be read as a stand-alone novel and I enjoyed it, albeit with a few reservations.

Set largely in Cambridge in 1937, there are two crime strands, a series of murders which eventually turn out to be linked and a serial rapist terrorising Cambridge. These are investigated by DCI Penrose and his friend Josephine Tay and it makes for a good, atmospheric read. Nicola Upson writes very good prose, she creates very good, human characters and evokes pre-war Cambridge very well. I did find that, especially in the first few chapters, there were enough linguistic anachronisms to throw me out of the story rather and it's something which did spoil the beginning for me, but it seemed to settle down and I enjoyed the book overall. The murder plot is rather ridiculously contrived, but as this is a sort of homage to Golden Age detective stories, I didn’t mind that.

Just on a personal note, I was in Cambridge at the time of the real Cambridge rapist and remember the terrible fear which affected many of my friends. I was a little apprehensive about how Upson would deal with this in fiction, but personally (and as a man, I speak with great caution about this) I think she handles it very well. It isn't exploitative in any way and I think she captures the atmosphere which pervaded the city then without trivialising or sensationalising. And I like her dedication of the book to the women who survived the real Cambridge rapist.

I can recommend Nine Lessons (with some caveats) as a gripping and well written read.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

The evil we inflict on other people can produce greater evil in response…

This is a thought this book left me with.

A peaceful and picturesque Cambridge, nice people with long and complicated histories is the set for a serious novel or light-hearted love story. But no, postcardish streets of Cambridge and picture-perfect lawns, valleys and parks had to be marred by evil.

There is evil open and evil covert. There is a rapist, a serial rapist at that and there is the evil conjured up by horror of years past.

Everything in this life comes with a price tag, with a lesson. How many lessons are there in this book? I lost count and got confused. May be you, the next reader, can figure it out.

There are numbers everywhere. There are several rapes and vicious attacks on young women. There are a certain number of men being killed one after another… There are life lessons to be learned by the main characters. Some of those lessons would be life-changing.

Nine lessons is a crime story (crimes). It is a story of loves lost and lives ruined. It is a story of post-war and per-war Cambridge and its life. There is something for many varied readers.

The quietness of the town and its sleepy life makes the evil of the crimes ever more horrific and unforgivable.

Everything is wrapped nicely at the end. The book lives you with a peculiar aftertaste and a wish to know more.

Would I read the previous 6 books in the series? I do not think so. The author did a good job of bringing in the new reader giving snippets of explanation and glances into the histories of main characters and things that happened before.

This book is a nice, slow read and yet another lesson in human nature, for better of it and for it’s worst…

I was a little worried going in that starting at book 7 might not be a good idea. To be honest while it did take me a few pages to sort out the Marta/Josephine/Bridget/Archie situation it really ended up not being a problem at all. I think I might have felt slightly more connected to all the characters if I'd been following from the beginning but I liked them and felt invested pretty quickly.

The mystery starts out feeling like a very clean police procedural. Maybe even a little like something Tey herself would have written. There's a brutal murder which is described with detail but in such a clinical way that I didn't find it unnecessarily gore-y. While investigating that murder he becomes aware of a series of rapes that are occurring in Cambridge that is terrifying the community. The mysteries were both compelling and I enjoyed the investigation. There was one thread that felt a little rushed at the end. The conclusion worked but I just would have liked it to be more explored and not just a theory. That said I in no way felt that the mysteries weren't solved.

For a police procedural I was surprised with the personal connections with the characters. This isn't just about solving a mystery (though that is the main focus) this is about what's happening in the lives of Archie, Marta, and Josephine. I liked Archie from the very beginning. He's a good detective but a good man as well. He's deeply empathetic and while can be confrontational is never unnecessarily so. He struggles with his relationship with Bridget but is always trying to do right by her. As well I enjoyed the relationship between Marta and Josephine. They just felt like real people and I enjoyed both them as individuals and their interaction with each other. There was even some events that were heartbreaking. While the personal relationships were a primary plot factor the mystery never fell into the background. I was very pleased with the balance of the book.

At the end of this book I immediately wanted to go back and read the previous books in the series to learn more about the characters (especially Archie, I have a bit of a soft spot for him) and I know I'll be waiting for the next book. I'm also feeling to the urge to go pull out my collection of Josephine Tey mysteries and have a binge read so I'm counting this book a success!

This is the seventh Josephine Tey mystery written by Upson, a former journalist who has done quite a bit of research on the Tey and 1930’s Britain. If you’ve never read Tey’s The Daughter of Time, you have missed a true classic mystery! This was the first book in the series that I’ve read and I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of two concurrent mysteries and the multifaceted characters. Upson has a talent for capturing the overall tenor of the time period making for a most enjoyable read.

Try this if you like historical mysteries- Upson gives you a wonderful sense of Cambridge UK in the 1930s. DCI Archie Penrose is investigating the sort of murder we see now and there's been a spate of violence against women. Josephine Tey and his lover Bridget Foley both figure in but both are hiding things from themselves and from Archie. This is a mellowly twisty procedural with engaging characters who are both creatures of their time and ahead of the curve. You can read it as a standalone- which I did. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks Crooked Lane Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Love the sense of time, period, and quiet drama as it unfolds. This novel will be hard to read for some, but the empathy of the author shines thru her characters.

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson
This is the 7th book in the Josephine Tey mystery/crime series.
Set in Cambridge in the 1930's it follows two crimes. One a serial rapist targeting women living alone, and the second a murder, which soon turns out to be bigger than at first seems, and brings Archie Penrose from Scotland Yard up to Cambridge to investigate.
The books can be stand alone books if you haven't read any before, but if you want to follow the lives and loves of the 2 main characters, then it is best to read them as a series. They always have a nice twist at the end and I particularly enjoy the stories as they are often based in 'my neck of the woods' and in 1930's a fave era of mine.
Descriptive narrative is always good and Archie and Josephine feel like old friends by now. Nicola Upson always adds an element of true life stories and characters to her novels which make them interesting and have often had me on goggle looking up a topic to find out more.
Would recommend the whole series.

1937 and a series of rapes in Cambridge is being investigated. DCI Archie Penrose (who really is the main character of this book) is also in Cambridge following upleads found at the site of the murder of Dr Stephen Laxborough, who's body was found in London. And as Cambridge is where Josephine Tey and her lover have decided to live, (I have obviously missed some pertinent details about this fictional Miss Tey's life by not reading a few books in the series), Tey is able to assist Penrose when asked.
Took a while for my interest to become engaged in this book, it just about kept my interest until the end. Unfortunately I find the character of Penrose to be of more interest that Tey's which will probably be the only reason I will go back and read some of the missing series

Secrets abound in this latest entry in the Josephine Tey mystery series. Archie Penrose must uncover the connection between a dead church organist and the photo of a manor house found in his hand. Meanwhile, a serial rapist terrorizes Cambridge, and the women in Archie's life are hiding something from him. The ending felt a bit rushed, after the leisurely plotting of the early chapters, but still a welcome addition to this series.