My Goodreads review: The Franchise Affair

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a classic post-WWII British village mystery -- with a remarkable amount of wit and elegant writing. The case itself (a suspected kidnapping rather than a murder) is tightly plotted, but the real pleasure comes from the observations on human nature scattered throughout. Although the times have changed (a lot) since this one was written, people have not --nor has the popular press, which plays a crucial role here.

The detective ( a small-town solicitor) isn't particularly charismatic, but he's a decent, likable sort whose life is fundamentally changed by his experience of this one brief case. The other characters, protagonists and otherwise, are well-drawn though slightly over the top in the best tradition.

The Franchise Affair is very much a period piece, steeped in 1940s English atmosphere. If writers like Dorothy L. Sayers or the Foyle's War series are your cup of single-estate Darjeeling, this will definitely deliver what you're looking for in the way of cozy comfort reading. And who couldn't use some of that, right now?



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