An Expert in Murder: A Writer and a Detective Race to Stop a Ruthless Killer in 1930s London's Theater World Reprint Edition

“[A] skillful blend of fact and fiction.” – Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Upson’s novel has beautifully rendered the modernist atmosphere of Britain between the wars. Her characters are developed richly…and her plot is a lovely layered puzzle.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“[A] blithely spirited debut. . . . Upson clearly knows her way around pre-World War II London and the grimy backstages of Covent Garden, and delivers an ending shot through with palpable surprise and emotion.” – Los Angeles Times

“Takes readers behind the scenes during a lively period for the British stage.” – Wall Street Journal

“Upson’s debut is a most promising valentine.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Nicola Upson has . . . given us a highly original and elegantly written novel.” – P.D. James

March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride—and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.

Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.