The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey *****

Read dates: 18 June – 28 July 2024

I think that if I could give more stars to The Franchise Affair I would. This is a crime novel that is a pure delights to read. Like The Daughter of Time, there is technically no crime being committed and that, it itself is an achievement. The plot is still very interesting and raises feelings of fairness/unfairness. There is a love interest throughout but, for me, the real triumph is Tey’s prose, which is light, airy, enchanting and catty in the most elegant way. She is so good at dialogue!

The pace is also extraordinary: There is the ‘crime’, where a girl, disappeared for a month, returns full of bruises and without any belongings, claiming two women have kidnapped and beaten her. IS she telling the truth? Then there is the police questioning, the searching for evidence, some gossip in town, a court case and ends with a game of golf. None of my favourite things are missing.

A lot of her props reminds me of the best Muriel Spark and I wonder if there is something special, specific and unique about Scottish women’s short novel writing.