The Dead of Winter

For this story Nicola Upson takes her heroine, writer Josephine Tey, to Cornwall and to the castle on St Michael’s Mount where Josephine has been invited by her friend, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, for the Christmas holiday. Josephine arrives with her lover, Marta, and is soon embroiled in the tragic consequences of more than one death - one of which is accidental and the other of which is a particularly gruesome murder. Also on St Michael’s Mount are collection of guests, all of whom have been expecting to be wined and dined, but who soon find themselves suspects in a rather nasty murder case. As the snow falls (rather rare in Cornwall at Christmas) and a storm blows up, no one can leave the Mount - and, more importantly, no one from the mainland would have been able to arrive on or leave the island during the time of the killing. Numbered amongst the guests is (surprisingly) film star Marlena Dietrich who is being pursued by Nazi officers requiring her allegiance to Germany - but has this anything to do with the deaths on the Mount? Or is this just yet another red herring? I’ve read all but one of the Josephine Tey stories by Nicola Upson and, overall, I’ve found them entertaining reads - if rather far-fetched at times, and this particular novel is perhaps more far-fetched than the others I have read. That said, I always enjoy Ms Upson’s period settings and although I felt that the appearance of Marlene Dietrich was unnecesssry and didn’t really add anything of real significance to the story, I found this worked for an easy weekend read. 3.5 Stars. N.B. 'The Secrets of Winter is the American title of the English publication 'The Dead of Winter'.

Undoubtedly as wonderful a piece of writing as the other novels in Nicola Upson's series. If you are a crime novel aficionado then I highly recommend all of her books.

Bought this for a Felixstowe Book Festival book club via Zoom. Interesting book based in a lovely part of Cornwall., featuring Marlene Dietrich as a house guest and involving 2 mysterious deaths. A good read featuring Josephine Tey in a series of books by Nicola Upson. A good read

The author is trying to be Agatha Christie. Skip this and read one of hers.

Very atmospheric reading particularly liked the historical context. A traditional who dunnit set at Christmas in a luxury castle . It has all the red herrings and suspects to keep you puzzled. Enjoyable read.