Fear in the Sunlight (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book 4)

Once again, a young woman is killed in a sick, perverse way. Notice the men never are, they just jump from heights, etc. This happens in 3 out of 4 books thus far, the only exception being the book featuring incest (which has its own creep factor).Another negative is the fact I don't like the character of Marta Fox, a drawback since she plays such a big part in the series. Marta comes off as a selfish, backstabbing bitch and I can't figure out why Lydia puts up with her crap nor why Josephine shows any interest. If Ms. Upson's intention is to paint Marta in a sympathetic light, it's not working for me. In fact, the whole plotline makes me like Josephine less than I might otherwise since she is supposed to be Lydia's friend. As the old saying goes, "With friends like that, who needs enemies". All of this is too bad since I really do appreciate Upson's skill as a writer."Fear in the Sunlight" also featured way too many characters. A glossary at the front might have made it easier to keep track of everyone (I eventually made my own).As always, I love the Motley sisters. I only wish they had more to do in the series. The character of Archie intrigues me. I did notice at the beginning (which is twenty years in the future) that he is married. I'm really hoping his wife is revealed one day as Bridget Foley because the character was wonderful and I liked the chemistry between the two. As some other reviewers have pointed out (at least with previous books), the character of Josephine is almost unneeded, the parts concerning the relationship between she and Marta distracting away from the mystery plot featuring Archie. I wish she managed to blend Josephine more seamlessly into the mystery.In this book, one thing Ms. Upson captures perfectly is the arrogance of the film people's attitudes toward an author's work. An attitude which is inexplicable since rare are the times I find a movie as good as, yet alone better, than the book.

British mystery writer Josephine Tey and a select group of friends descend upon the Welsh resort village of Portmeirion in the summer of 1936 with a two-fold purpose -- one, to celebrate Josephine's milestone fortieth birthday, and two, to meet famed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma, to consider their offer to turn Josephine's novel, A Shilling for Candles, into their next film. Between Tey and the Hitchcocks, Portmeirion has attracted a glittering and varied clientele, but one that for all its seeming privilege stands at the precipice of profound change. Facing middle age, Josephine is preoccupied with analyzing her feelings for one-time lover Marta, while the Hitchcocks, having reached the pinnacle of success in the British film industry, face the decision of whether or not to try their fortunes in the glittering American mecca of Hollywood. But personal turmoil is quickly forgotten when two women in the party are found brutally slain, bringing to light a hidden web of family secrets and long-festering hatreds, casting a bitter pall over the once-sunny party. The advent of "fear in the sunlight...where it is so unexpected" reveals the machinations of a criminal mind so depraved as to test even the mettle of the Master of Suspense...When I was given the opportunity to review this title, I was thrilled with the chance -- murder in the glamorous pre-war 1930s, featuring one of my favorite filmmakers at the height of his powers? A heady proposition indeed. While I have only a passing knowledge of Tey, having yet to read one of her novels, I have thoroughly enjoyed other contemporary authors' ventures in casting authors as sleuths (i.e., Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries). As a long-time lover of the cozy mystery perfected by Agatha Christie, I expected something of that ilk from this novel -- an atmospheric outing with a healthy dose of history, wherein a famous author matches wits with a killer -- something akin to a real-life (and younger) Miss Marple. What Fear in the Sunlight delivers instead is something substantially less than expected -- atmospheric, yes, but more of a psychological treatise than a period mystery, with a sprawling cast of characters, where Tey's presence is so anecdotal to the plot as to be completely superfluous.When Tey isn't debating whether or not to agree to Hitchcock's film proposal, she's struggling to define her relationship with Marta (who, it must be mentioned, is already IN a relationship with another "mutual" friend -- what. a. mess.). It's interesting to note that Tey's famous love of privacy and single status (her fiance died in the first World War) seems to have led to the assumption that she must have indulged in same-sex affairs -- and the assumption here, of something undocumented and of a highly private nature, is troubling. Literally every other character fares better than Tey here, particularly her close friend, police inspector Archie Penrose, and the Hitchcocks themselves, as well as the Draycott family, the latter of which figures largely in the horrors that unfold. Penrose is an interesting character whose intelligence and sense of justice would make a compelling lead -- one wonders why, with Tey so nominally "involved" in the crime at Portmeirion, that this isn't simply a mystery featuring Penrose and his experiences. That said, the expansive case of characters featured here is wildly confusing at first blush, and it takes about a fourth of the novel before the narrative begins to coalesce, where a darkly disturbing picture of poisonous family secrets begins to emerge, seeds planted decades earlier that grimly flower in the most incongruous of locales.Following a painfully slow start, Fear in the Sunlight manages to gel into a page-turning mystery that plays with the idea of the the reader as voyeur, and what, if any, responsibility does the watcher bear in what unfolds -- much like Hitchcock did in his many films. Upson spins a heady web of messy family secrets, only barely glossed by a coating of Hollywood glamour -- a sheen that quickly vanishes as bitter rivalries and dangerous obsessions come to light (not to mention the stomach-turning descriptions of crime scenes). If Tey was dropped from the novel and the narrative's oft-times meandering exploration of fear and voyeurism was trimmed and tightened, allowing Penrose to take center stage and increased character development among those actually involved in the crimes, Fear in the Sunlight had the potential to be a stellar period mystery. As is, for all its flashes of interesting psychological insight or neat plot twists, I'm left wishing for what could have been rather than what was, hoping that someday, Penrose gets his own novel.

I will continue to read all of Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries, no matter what I think of the plots. First of all, I have read Tey's own mysteries over and over since i was a teenager--I consider them the very best examples of classic detective fiction. So Upson's idea of writing mysteries about Josephine Tey herself, with characters that are reminiscent of those in Tey's own books, is a brilliant one. Secondly, Upson writes beautifully, creates interesting and lively characters, and conveys atmosphere very well. Her ideas are also very clever. So she deserves to be read. But this particular book frustrated me.In "Fear in the Sunlight," Upson has designed a plot around Alfred Hitchcock and his movie crew, based on the fact that Hitchcock did indeed film one of Tey's mysteries. The details of Upson's plot, however, are so convoluted that no solution could have been satisfying. There is just too much going on, with too many people hating each other and wishing each other ill. Intricate plots are fine, but they need an ultimately simple resolution--this one didn't work for me. Nevertheless, reading such good prose is remains a pleasure.

I did not like this book at all. I read it all the way thru because I kept thinking it would get better. It didn't. It was a complete waste of my time and money. The characters were not people that I would like and the story line jumped around too much to suit me. Just keeping track of who was who was tiring and was not a relaxing time with the written word. I would not reccomend reading this book....but who knows, you may love it!

I love this series for the impeccable research into the real-life characters and locations. There is always a good story to keep one intrigued, although I sometimes worry about the author's mind with her hideous and gruesome detail of the killing methods. Very dark.I got a bit confused with the jump between time periods in this one, and I was so unprepared for the 'confession' chapter that I had to go back and read the first chapter again.I get bored with the tortuous relationship between Josephine ad Marta. Maybe the author isn't conveying Josephine's personality adequately, but I simply cannot understand her resistance to a proper relationship. It's just tedious.

To me this book had a couple of problems - the structure, and the mix of real and fictional characters. The book takes place in three time periods, and the signposting of the jumps is not as clear as it might be, partly because the first time period only exists in the reported speech of the characters. Secondly, the characters themselves; some are real people, some of them are fictional characters in this book, and some of them are fictional characters in the literary work of the characters in this book. It all gets mighty confusing!

Have read and enjoyed the first three books in this series but I found this book to be odd and a bit confusing. A lot of similar sounding characters and the plot was a bit too complex for me I’m afraid. Not to mention that I’m beginning to get fed up with those Motley sisters popping up everywhere. Think the editor should have done a lot more pruning on this book. To add to that I’m still not too sure of how the next ‘Josephine’ book is going to happen in view of what seemed to be the ending of this book. Very disappointing really.

Previous reviewers said this was disappointing and I agree with them. The plot is very convoluted and muddled and the crimes don’t appear until over halfway through. A huge amount of tedious discussion goes on and Alfred Hitchcock comes across as a crackpot. The on/off romance between Josephine and Marta is also becoming a pain in the neck so I don’t think I’ll bother with any more.

I am so glad that I read the preceding 3 'Josephine Tey' mysteries before this: had I read this one first I would have stopped. The Portmerion setting, which I know, is evocatively described. In fact it made me investigate their website!Now the storyline:- well, too many confusing characters, I wanted to keep turning back to refresh the memory and relationships, not easy on the Kindle! Ms Upson needed a good editor for this one. The two plots were cleverly entwined but at times difficult to follow, particularly in the latter tying-up loose ends section. What a lot of evil people ( especially the Hitchcocks - just as well he's dead or he would be suing for libel!) Thank goodness 'Hitch' didn't get his hands on 'The Daughter of Time'. Josephine's cronies gave their usual support, although I'm now fed-up with 'the Motleys' bouncing into scenes like demanding puppies.I thought this was the last in the series, for the obvious reason (very sad), but there is another. After this experience I'm undecided about reading it.