Intrigued by Nicola Upson’s stylish mystery An Expert in Murder featuring Josephine Tey, and memories of reading The Daughter of Time as a teenager, I decided to give Tey’s Inspector Alan Grant series a try.

The first book in the series, Man in the Queue, also known as Killer in the Crowd, was written by Elizabeth MacKintosh (who later wrote under the names Gordon Daviot and Josephine Tey) and first published in 1929 under the name Gordon Daviot. It concerns the murder of an unknown man, apparently struck down as he stands in a ticket queue for a London musical comedy.

Inspector Grant is presented with a body that no one claims and that has no identity. From this, he builds a case, discovering who the victim was, and tracking down a prime suspect. The casework is fascinating. There are no dramatic breaks yet, bit by bit, the case comes together.

I was intrigued by how the legwork was carried out in 1929: officers reporting by telephone often using the only phone in the area–one at a post office, no squad cars-just the trains and foot, the cultural prejudices evident, and the attitude that “it isn’t any of our business to fit psychology to people or to provide motives or anything of that sort…Fit them with watertight evidence and provide them with a cell, and that’s all we have to bother about.” Not surprisingly then, the police charge the wrong person. Only a last minute confession from the real killer saves the case.

I found the pacing to be consistent throughout and, as I’ve said, the details come together smoothly as the case is steadily built. However, the plot device of the unbidden confession stretched the limits of credibility and didn’t really put Inspector Grant in the best light. Although he had a “funny feeling” that all was not right, without that confession he would have proceeded with the charge against the wrong person. I will make allowances, though, as this was Tey’s first mystery — and I will definitely continue with the series.

3.5 stars out of 5

Links for my Canadian readers:
The Man in the Queue
An Expert In Murder: A Josephine Tey Mystery
The Daughter of Time

Or better yet, buy from a independent book seller.
Buy from an independent book seller by searching this site that has links to independent booksellers across North America.

P.S. If you click through the affiliate links in the book titles, you may notice a different cover. I like to see the cover that’s on the copy I read – and it’s usually different than Amazon.com because they display the American release, and I read the Canadian. Again, the links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.

Technorati Tags: Josephine Tey, The Man in the Queue, Alan Grant, Inspector Grant, Elizabeth MacKintosh, Gordon Daviot