Review: A Shilling for Candles

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


What is it about:

A successful actress is found drowned, initially thought of as an accident but then discovered to be murder. There are many suspects, a husband, a brother, lovers ? A friend ?. Inspector Alan Grant investigates and finds the true killer in a great unexpected twist.

What did I like :

I like the characters in this tale, Inspector Grant a committed and kind detective, Erica the precocious teen, Tisdale a hard on his luck man taken to ‘tramping’, Lydia the astrologer and ‘Chins’....bearing in mind this was first published in 1953, Josephine Tey was clearly years ahead of her time and a great story teller.

The best line : ‘they pushed their shuddering spines more firmly into the cushions and asked for more’........I felt this described a population of reality tv viewers nowadays.


What I didn’t like so much:

I know this was written in 1953, but while I’m enjoyed the book greatly, some of the terms used would now be considered racist and it did make me cringe at points.

Would I recommend:

Absolutely, Josephine Tey is a great crime writer in the vein of Agatha Christie et al and she does mention subjects that would have been shocking at the time I expect.


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