Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson

It's summer, 1936, and Josephine Tey is celebrating her fortieth birthday in Wales while meeting with Alfred Hitchcock and his wife.  There are actors and actresses there vying for parts with a lot of jealousy involved and Hitchcock likes to play tricks on his guests.  Even so, no one expected murder...

Harper Paperbacks and Edelweiss allowed me to download an ebook of this story and read it for review (thank you).  The book will hit your local bookstore on April 9th, so check it out.

This is the first book in this series that I've read and seeing Tey and Hitchcock's name together was what drew my attention. I would have liked to see them more involved in solving the murder.  As it worked out, she brought a police detective with her and he was available to do all the dirty work.

With relationships that covered years, past history in the area, and everyone slicing chunks out of each other with sharp tongues, I really had no idea who the killer might be.

I enjoyed visiting the yesteryears and hanging around those in early film days.  Nobody was quite what they seemed, everybody had secrets, and you couldn't trust anyone.  No matter how far you run, your past will catch up with you.

The story was a bit slow moving but that was what time was like in 1936.  Ms. Upson did keep my attention and surprise me with the ending, so I was happy with this read.

If you've read the others in the series, I'm sure you'll want to grab this one.  If you haven't (like me), it reads fine on its own and it's a pleasant way to pass the day.

Happy reading.