London Rain by Nicola Upson review

London Rain

Author: Nicola Upson

ISBN-13: 9780571287765

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Guideline Price: £7.99

Historical crime fiction is quite intriguing – there’s as much “did that really happen?” as “whodunnit”, so it can be a diverting way to learn a thing or two about something you should have been paying attention to in history class. This book is the sixth in Upson’s series featuring the wonderfully flawed heroine, part-time sleuth and best-selling writer, Josephine Tey. We find ourselves in London in May 1937, when every inch of bunting available was being rolled out in celebration of the coronation of George VI. Josephine’s radio play is to be broadcast from the BBC as part of the coronation festivities so she gets to stalk the corridors of Broadcasting House with impunity. Into the spotlight steps a cast of characters that includes a tenacious detective chief inspector, a Machiavellian director general who pulls everybody’s strings, dubious nightclub owners and a radio announcer who has become the voice of England. Needless to say, there’s lots of scandal to go round, from political chicanery to extra-marital affairs. When the murders eventually occur, they are yet more dramatic twists in the lives of Upson’s impeccable creations.