This excellent book is so much more than a detective novel. The first chapter with its depiction of children being evacuated had me in tears. Life in an English village in 1939 is wonderfully described. It took me a while to realise that this book was part of a series. It read well as a stand alone novel, but I am looking forward to reading the earlier books to catch up on the background of the main characters. I thoroughly recommend this book!

A great murder mystery set in World War II. Really interesting and believable characters, the plot is tightly written and has a pleasing amount of twists and turns.

I love Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series, - I've read them all, in order, pretty much from the start - and Dear Little Corpses is, I think, one of the best. (It's the tenth, I think, in the series, and it seems a long time since the first; a full reread may be in order at some point, as I've largely forgotten what happened in the earlier ones.)

This instalment brings us to the outbreak of World War II. Josephine and Marta are spending time in the cottage Josephine inherited in the village of Polstead, Suffolk, as the village prepares for an influx of evacuees from London. In the chaos that results from the arrival of a much larger number of children than anticipated, a child disappears...

This was a very promising set up and I really enjoyed reading about the village setting and the evacuation. (Inevitably, Josephine and Marta find themselves temporarily taking in a child, which requires Marta to decamp to the spare room in order to maintain the pretence that that's where she always sleeps.) Meanwhile, we see glimpses into the often odd lives of other village residents, who may or may not have something to do with the missing girl.

War is declared during the course of the story, and as gatherings are banned, places of entertainment closed and restrictions placed on people's activities, certain parallels with our own recent situation will not be lost on readers. (Not, of course, that I'm comparing a pandemic to a world war.)

Nicola Upson tends to incorporate real characters into her fictional worlds, and here Josephine's fellow crime writer Margery Allingham, a resident of a nearby village, makes an appearance. (The Tiptree factory which provides employment nearby is also real, though I had to look it up.)

Excellent as always, and highly recommended. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Wow! This was haunting and mysterious. I’ve always been fascinated with child evacuees, so the blurb of this novel instantly caught my attention.
A blend of crime, detective novel and historical fiction, Dear Little Corpses ticked all the boxes for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

There's always been a dark heart to Upson's Josephine Tey series but this one seems almost unremittingly grim and even the presence of a larger-than-life Margery Allingham does little to lift the depressing nature of the story. With the outbreak of war as background, this dwells almost obsessively on the loss and murder of children with the accompanying heartbreak of parents unable to sustain their loss. It's all done very well, of course, with Upson's usual fluent writing - possibly it's my mood at the time of reading but I found this downbeat and depressing.

Thank you Netgalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC. I really enjoyed this. Set in 1939 whist the country is waiting for war to be declared, the story follows evacuees from London who are sent to a village in Suffolk. There is some confusion as more evacuees than expected turn up and then a girl from the village goes missing. The residents of the village and their individual stories are well covered and described. I loved the style of writing and how the characters were all very believable. It is also set in a period of history that I am particularly interested in which was a bonus for me, and it gave a good insight into the evacuation of children during the war. I didn’t guess exactly what had happened until quite near the end and liked the fact that my mind kept wondering where the story was going. I’ll definitely be recommending this to others and will be looking out for more books by Nicola Upson.

This book takes place in September 1939, just as WWII is on the horizon, when Londoners are sending their children to the relative safety of the countryside. Thousands of children were evacuated to the countryside, their parents desperate to keep them safe, but not wanting them to go. This is such an evocative story, set in a small village that is asked to take 4 times the number of people (including mums and babies) than they were organised to accept. Then a child goes missing.

I love that Josephine Tey, a real author, is used as one of the main characters in the book, and Margery Allingham is portrayed in it too. The image of an idyllic rural life, is shattered with unspeakable crimes, that happened despite war. But it also shows how people pull together at such times. Such an atmospheric read, with several red herrings, a really good, empathetic police officer who has to deal with the fallout from these crimes, with a story woven so well, that you don’t really know what’s happened until the end. It is a heart rending read but gripping too. Well worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another fine story straight from the Golden Age of crime thrillers.

It's September, 1939, just prior to the breakout of World War 2 and children have started being evacuated from London to the countryside. When more than the expected busload arrives in the village where Josephine Tey is living, the chaos that ensues is soon overshadowed by a series of disappearances of small girls. The mood of the village soon darkens as suspicion and fear spread, and it's up to Josephine and DCI Archie Penrose to uncover the truth.

And so we launch into another delightful story of fear, suspicion, red herrings and tragedy, as worries about the wider world are pushed aside and those closer to home grow and fester. Fans of the series will be glad to know that as well as the usual chums, we meet some larger than life characters in author Margery Allingham, some suspicious and gossipy villagers, a mysterious family in The Big House, a lovely vicar and wife, a factory owner, and a gardener. Village life is portrayed beautifully, and the village fete was a riot of smells and colour. At the same time, the fears of imminent war are also handled well, even to observations that gas masks must be carried at all times and blackout curtains fitted.

Once again author Nicola Upson combines fact and fiction by using a real author as her (fictional) heroine, against a backdrop of one of the darkest times in recent history. The upheaval and heartbreak caused by evacuation, the uncertainty of what war will bring are woven into the story, which is different from the previous books. This for me, was a perfect Golden Age tale.

"Dear Little Corpses" is the latest book in the Josephine Tey series and is perhaps the most poignant so far. Of course, the Tey here has very little in common with the real author, but nevertheless she is endearing, and along with her female lover, and her male comrade-in-arms, join the ranks of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane and Christie's Tommy and Tuppence.

I was delighted to receive a Netgalley ARC of the book, but I look forward to settling down with a proper copy when it's published. Definitely a treat for fans of the series, as well as lovers of Golden Age crime stories.

This was not entirely what I expected though I did enjoy it once I got over the fact that it was far from a traditional crime novel. I like the characters and the author does a really good job on the time period and the atmosphere but it took a really long time to see where this was going. Then, towards the end, everything was happening suddenly and all at once. The problem for me was that the reader was hardly given any clues ahead of time as to who and why. Maybe this is a personal thing since I like to gradually find out things together with the "detective" and in this novel the author Josephine Tey is more of a bystander who almost accidentally hits upon the truth. Nevertheless, the book gave a good insight into the evacuation of children at the beginning of the war and the impact it had on parents and children. Now that I know what to expect, I may read some of the other books in this series.

This was a great concept and extremely well executed. Such a fascinating time in history and what an intriguing concept for a mystery. Loved the story, the characters and the writing style. Reminded me a bit of Colin Dexter’s early work.

I couldnt put this book down and read it in one sitting it was so enjoyable. It was well written with great characters and a intersting and unique storyline, I definitely havent read another one like this before. It was unpredictable and haunting in parts. I really enjoyed it.