You will find yourself fiercely partisan in this book,
as two women are accused of cruelty and abuse of a young girl. They couldn't possibly have....could they?
Written in 1948 this is a British mystery with well developed characters, great sense of English village and a plot that developes around the question "where was the young girl for 1 month". While the series character Inspectory Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is in the book it is not really part of that series in my opinion. The main character is Robert Blair, village lawyer, who is presented with a possible criminal case and his process of becoming more involved in life during his defense of the two accused women. Many British vocabulary peculiarites add to the charm of the read.
I discovered Josephine Tey's novels after seeing several -- including this one -- on a "100 Greatest Mystery Novels" list. I have never read anyone who can throw in a surprise ending better than Tey. This was a fantastic read, and though I'm now a big fan of Tey's work, this is my favorite. An excellent novel.
I have read a ton of British mysteries, but this is one of the finest I've ever read. And no one even gets killed!
