What do you think?
Rate this book
Josephine Fox #1
The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox
Agatha Christie meets The Mitford Murders in this deliciously dark golden age mystery of wartime family secrets and lies in small town England. **DON'T MISS THE LASTEST JOSEPHINE FOX MYSTERY, A CONFLICT OF INTERESTS. OUT NOW!**April 1941, Romsey, England.Josephine 'Jo' Fox hasn't set foot in Romsey in over twenty years. As an illegitimate child, her family - headed by her controlling grandfather - found her an embarrassment. Now, she wants to return to what was once her home and uncover the secret of her parentage. Who was her father and why would her mother never talk about him?Jo arrives the day after the Luftwaffe have bombed the town. The local pub has been completely destroyed and rescue teams are searching for the remains of the seven people known to have been in the pub at the time the bomb hit. They are shocked, however, to uncover eight bodies instead. The eighth, unidentified, body is that of a teenage girl, who no one in the town claims to know. Who is she, how did she get there, but most importantly - who killed her?Teaming up with local coroner and old friend, Bram Nash, Jo sets out to establish the identity of the girl and solve the riddle of her death. In doing so, she also uncovers her own personal mystery.Everyone has secrets - some are just more deadly than others . . .
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2019
409 people are currently reading
960 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
July 29, 2019
This is a mystery with an interesting, WWII, setting. It is 1941 and Josephine Fox arrives at her childhood home, with a mission. Nearly forty years ago, her grandfather put her on a train to London, and she has not returned since. However, since her mother died, Josephine is determined to find out who her father really was and why a story in a local newspaper terrified her mother. What, or who, did she recognise?
Josephine arrives on the night there is a bombing raid and an unknown corpse is pulled from The Cricketers Arms; throwing a murder mystery into the mix, as Josephine begins to confront her past and the people who rejected her, all those years ago. Overall, I enjoyed this, although it was a touch predictable. The author could not quite keep the interesting opening going, but I could see this becoming a series, and it might improve once the storyline has moved away from being just about the main character. It was wise to begin this near the beginning of the war, so there are lots of interesting, historical events, to explore. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
Josephine arrives on the night there is a bombing raid and an unknown corpse is pulled from The Cricketers Arms; throwing a murder mystery into the mix, as Josephine begins to confront her past and the people who rejected her, all those years ago. Overall, I enjoyed this, although it was a touch predictable. The author could not quite keep the interesting opening going, but I could see this becoming a series, and it might improve once the storyline has moved away from being just about the main character. It was wise to begin this near the beginning of the war, so there are lots of interesting, historical events, to explore. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
August 12, 2019
I totally understand why this won the Richard and Judy search for a bestseller, it was immediately involving, beautifully written and a right old page turner.
The historical war setting comes to life, the author uses small insights to set the scene- into this scene comes Josephine Fox, banished after her grandmother died, now back to investigate her parentage. Looking for Dad will be a fraught and emotional journey…
The little titbits about the duties of a coroner at that time really add a lot of colour to proceedings- our title character is a feisty heroine who takes on a man’s job, she is determined and unafraid. The mystery elements are excellent, definitely unpredictable and the whole thing is just fantastic.
I possibly hated Josephine’s grandfather more than any other character in years, I avidly followed along as more and more layers revealed themselves and overall this was a pitch perfect read.
Highly Recommended.
The historical war setting comes to life, the author uses small insights to set the scene- into this scene comes Josephine Fox, banished after her grandmother died, now back to investigate her parentage. Looking for Dad will be a fraught and emotional journey…
The little titbits about the duties of a coroner at that time really add a lot of colour to proceedings- our title character is a feisty heroine who takes on a man’s job, she is determined and unafraid. The mystery elements are excellent, definitely unpredictable and the whole thing is just fantastic.
I possibly hated Josephine’s grandfather more than any other character in years, I avidly followed along as more and more layers revealed themselves and overall this was a pitch perfect read.
Highly Recommended.
March 30, 2022
Me ha sorprendido un montón. El crimen a investigar tiene muchísimo más peso del que pensaba y se entremezcla con el pasado de nuestra protagonista. Muy recomendable para quienes disgruten con novelas de misterio.
July 13, 2020
Murder mystery set on WWII sees the strongly determined character of Josephine Fox return to her home town to find out about her origins. She gets caught up with a murder mystery when an old friend, the local coroner, needs an assistant.
I liked the pace of this book and the setting was effectively written. The mystery itself was predictable and the just failing to get information out of someone before something stopped them spilling the beans line wore thin. An quick and enjoyable albeit unremarkable read.
I liked the pace of this book and the setting was effectively written. The mystery itself was predictable and the just failing to get information out of someone before something stopped them spilling the beans line wore thin. An quick and enjoyable albeit unremarkable read.
October 13, 2021
Le falta profundidad, no emociona y no mejora.
June 9, 2021
A very solid 3.5 stars
A thoroughly engrossing read set during World War II in a small English town, and a worthy exception to Amazon's KU Book of the Month recommendations, which are generally over-hyped and over-wrought.
Weaknesses first - The plot, which is a two-strand affair. (1) Josephine Fox comes back to her home town to ferret out who her unknown father might be. (2) Who murdered a girl & passed her off as a bomb victim? The first answer is obvious (*preens self*) from the father's first appearance and the second is not--principally because it's a daft answer, and because the scatter-gun approach to distributing clues doesn't build a convincing case. 2 stars at best.
POV shifts - really really odd and disorientating shifts from Jo's POV in the first person to Bram's in the 3rd person. Also occasional additional POVs from side characters. It's all in the present tense, too. This did not work. 2 stars.
Real strengths. A complicated slow burn relationship. Bram Nash is Romsey's coroner, who (for reasons dating back to their childhood in Romsey, and a strange encounter in London) reluctantly agrees to take Jo on as his assistant. There's a palpable physical attraction between them, but they're suspicious of each other and everyone around them. Both are outsiders for different reasons: Jo is a bastard child, Bram is half-Jewish with war wounds so bad he wears a mask to cover them. Jo's ambiguous marital status doesn't help matters: her husband has been MIA since Dunkirk. But slowly, Jo & Bram start working together & by the end of the book there are hints there could be something more than a professional relationship.
I think this is the first book in a series, which could have a lot to do with the slow-burn approach. The author does keep the emotional element at arm's length, and personally, I could have done with the relationship taking front and centre a little more. Just a few too many stiff upper lip moments, which diminished my involvement with both the MCs.
But still, there's something really interesting happening here. At least 3.5 stars.
The 5-star element is the outstanding evocation of place and time. Whether the author took her characters shopping, to an office, to a great house, to a cottage, to a farm-- the book really sang for me. It's a period I know mainly (but not well) from grandparents talking about the war (or from watching Dad's Army), and every detail CG casually weaves in chimes with their experiences. There's the thoughtless stigmatism of bastardy, casual anti-Semitism, reverence for authority, utility menus, rationing, a glorious aside about a character buying ruined jumpers in order to rescue the wool, cycling everywhere, the hegemony of men & boys, snippets about the coroner's job--I could go on and on. The detail isn't heavy handed in the slightest, but it is richly satisfying and I loved it. It's one of only a handful of books where I've felt completely immersed in a foreign time/place. Absolutely terrific stuff.
If there's a second book in this series, I'll definitely be on to it, hoping that the plot's a little smoother, the relationship stays tense, and the period detail is as persuasive.
A thoroughly engrossing read set during World War II in a small English town, and a worthy exception to Amazon's KU Book of the Month recommendations, which are generally over-hyped and over-wrought.
Weaknesses first - The plot, which is a two-strand affair. (1) Josephine Fox comes back to her home town to ferret out who her unknown father might be. (2) Who murdered a girl & passed her off as a bomb victim? The first answer is obvious (*preens self*) from the father's first appearance and the second is not--principally because it's a daft answer, and because the scatter-gun approach to distributing clues doesn't build a convincing case. 2 stars at best.
POV shifts - really really odd and disorientating shifts from Jo's POV in the first person to Bram's in the 3rd person. Also occasional additional POVs from side characters. It's all in the present tense, too. This did not work. 2 stars.
Real strengths. A complicated slow burn relationship. Bram Nash is Romsey's coroner, who (for reasons dating back to their childhood in Romsey, and a strange encounter in London) reluctantly agrees to take Jo on as his assistant. There's a palpable physical attraction between them, but they're suspicious of each other and everyone around them. Both are outsiders for different reasons: Jo is a bastard child, Bram is half-Jewish with war wounds so bad he wears a mask to cover them. Jo's ambiguous marital status doesn't help matters: her husband has been MIA since Dunkirk. But slowly, Jo & Bram start working together & by the end of the book there are hints there could be something more than a professional relationship.
I think this is the first book in a series, which could have a lot to do with the slow-burn approach. The author does keep the emotional element at arm's length, and personally, I could have done with the relationship taking front and centre a little more. Just a few too many stiff upper lip moments, which diminished my involvement with both the MCs.
But still, there's something really interesting happening here. At least 3.5 stars.
The 5-star element is the outstanding evocation of place and time. Whether the author took her characters shopping, to an office, to a great house, to a cottage, to a farm-- the book really sang for me. It's a period I know mainly (but not well) from grandparents talking about the war (or from watching Dad's Army), and every detail CG casually weaves in chimes with their experiences. There's the thoughtless stigmatism of bastardy, casual anti-Semitism, reverence for authority, utility menus, rationing, a glorious aside about a character buying ruined jumpers in order to rescue the wool, cycling everywhere, the hegemony of men & boys, snippets about the coroner's job--I could go on and on. The detail isn't heavy handed in the slightest, but it is richly satisfying and I loved it. It's one of only a handful of books where I've felt completely immersed in a foreign time/place. Absolutely terrific stuff.
If there's a second book in this series, I'll definitely be on to it, hoping that the plot's a little smoother, the relationship stays tense, and the period detail is as persuasive.
October 15, 2019
A bit meatier than a cosy mystery but a fabulous read and a really decent and gutsy main character in Jo Fox that I couldn’t help but fall in love with. Set in 1941 this novel certainly entertains and is a just deserver of the 2019 Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition. I happily recommend ‘The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox’ and would love to see her again in future books.
August 26, 2020
This was a library ebook which I thoroughly enjoyed. New author for me and worth reading.
October 6, 2020
I was sitting down after finishing this book wondering what it was that made me read it and think it was ok, but make me not like it on the whole.
I think it comes down to all the characters not having any real personality, they feel pretty one note and I don’t think we see any arc of character development. Every character is who they need to be to serve the story but nothing more. I never felt invested in the murder of the mystery of Jo’s father, because they never made anyone likeable enough to care about. Even the WW2 setting didn’t really feel like it had much character to it other than it was handy for the murder scene to be mysterious.
It’s an ok read but there are far far far better in this genre.
I think it comes down to all the characters not having any real personality, they feel pretty one note and I don’t think we see any arc of character development. Every character is who they need to be to serve the story but nothing more. I never felt invested in the murder of the mystery of Jo’s father, because they never made anyone likeable enough to care about. Even the WW2 setting didn’t really feel like it had much character to it other than it was handy for the murder scene to be mysterious.
It’s an ok read but there are far far far better in this genre.
March 27, 2021
This is a virtual ‘masterclass’ in how to write a page-turner. With memorable characters and seamlessly intergrated period details, even the unlikeliest plot elements seemed believable.
What’s interesting is that it wasn’t that mysterious. The reader is looking in the villain’s direction pretty early on and a lot of the momentum comes from watching our heroes stumble along to catch up.
What a cracking story!
What’s interesting is that it wasn’t that mysterious. The reader is looking in the villain’s direction pretty early on and a lot of the momentum comes from watching our heroes stumble along to catch up.
What a cracking story!
August 12, 2020
Mystery set during World War II. Like in One Corpse Too Many, there is a catastrophe that kills a number of people, but the coroner is not happy about one of the bodies, convinced that that one had been put there on purpose to disguise a murder. This is a good premise, I can't blame Gradidge for stealing it from Peters.
I particularly liked the way historical research is used here, to paint a picture of the times. Gradidge is obviously comfortable in this period and takes you along without boring lectures on rationing or taking you on trips to places just to show off her research. It's all woven in very comfortably, so it almost feels like it's been written in those days.
The mystery is exciting, the investigation comes along briskly, and I liked both Josephine Fox and Abraham Nash as protagonists.
I listened to this on audiobook and the reader was really good. If you're in the mood for a mystery a la Foyle's War (in terms of tone and atmosphere) I recommend it.
I particularly liked the way historical research is used here, to paint a picture of the times. Gradidge is obviously comfortable in this period and takes you along without boring lectures on rationing or taking you on trips to places just to show off her research. It's all woven in very comfortably, so it almost feels like it's been written in those days.
The mystery is exciting, the investigation comes along briskly, and I liked both Josephine Fox and Abraham Nash as protagonists.
I listened to this on audiobook and the reader was really good. If you're in the mood for a mystery a la Foyle's War (in terms of tone and atmosphere) I recommend it.
December 29, 2024
Rating: *yawn* / 5
Unfortunately, the only word to really describe this book is 'boring'. It. Was. BO-RING.
The writing itself is pretty okay, albeit it does switch between first person (for Josephine) and third person (for Nash) without any real heads-up or rhyme or reason to it; but still, overall okay.
The time period and setting of the story did throw me off at first, because it's technically supposed to be a murder mystery, and yet because it takes place during WWII, I feel like the plot just gets overshadowed by that. Like...not to say that murders and other crimes didn't happen during those WWII years outside of battle and whatnot; but, let's face it that the war just overshadows ALL of that, to the point that if stuff isn't directly related to the war or at least far from it so as not to really be noticed or mentioned all that much, it feels lackluster.
In many ways, everything from the characters to the setting to the mystery itself felt exactly like that, and although I kept pushing myself to turn page after page in the hopes that I would find something to care about, I just never did.
Yawn away, toss this over my shoulder and regret the $6 I spent on it, and then just move on. N-E-X-T.
Unfortunately, the only word to really describe this book is 'boring'. It. Was. BO-RING.
The writing itself is pretty okay, albeit it does switch between first person (for Josephine) and third person (for Nash) without any real heads-up or rhyme or reason to it; but still, overall okay.
The time period and setting of the story did throw me off at first, because it's technically supposed to be a murder mystery, and yet because it takes place during WWII, I feel like the plot just gets overshadowed by that. Like...not to say that murders and other crimes didn't happen during those WWII years outside of battle and whatnot; but, let's face it that the war just overshadows ALL of that, to the point that if stuff isn't directly related to the war or at least far from it so as not to really be noticed or mentioned all that much, it feels lackluster.
In many ways, everything from the characters to the setting to the mystery itself felt exactly like that, and although I kept pushing myself to turn page after page in the hopes that I would find something to care about, I just never did.
Yawn away, toss this over my shoulder and regret the $6 I spent on it, and then just move on. N-E-X-T.
July 5, 2022
No es el mejor thriller que he leído este año, pero me ha tenido muy entretenida.
La trama empieza bien. Es atrayente, con un ritmo muy rápido y las hojas vuelan. En su contra, que es muy light, que se le ven las costuras, que se vuelve predecible y que hay más de una casualidad. Aún así, incluso con la seguridad de saber quién era el responsable de todo, seguí enganchada y no pude parar de leer.
Los personajes correctos, aunque estamos hablando de un thriller y lo que predomina es la acción. La vida y relaciones de Josephine con su parientes es interesante. El abuelo, se hace odiar, menudo bicho. Me ha dado la impresión de que esta novela es la primera de una serie. Solo espero que, en alguna de las siguientes entregas, alguien le dé dos guantazos.
El planteamiento del final es flojo, no fluye, es más bien consecuencia de un impulso y de algo que hubiera podido o no pasar. Resuelve la trama principal, pero deja algunos flecos sueltos de la vida de los dos protagonistas. Imagino que se resolveran en sucesivas publicaciones. Si las traducen las leeré.
¿Recomendable? Con todos los peros, es una novela que engancha, entretiene y se lee fácil, pero tampoco la puedo recomendar sin reservas. Que cada cual decida.
La trama empieza bien. Es atrayente, con un ritmo muy rápido y las hojas vuelan. En su contra, que es muy light, que se le ven las costuras, que se vuelve predecible y que hay más de una casualidad. Aún así, incluso con la seguridad de saber quién era el responsable de todo, seguí enganchada y no pude parar de leer.
Los personajes correctos, aunque estamos hablando de un thriller y lo que predomina es la acción. La vida y relaciones de Josephine con su parientes es interesante. El abuelo, se hace odiar, menudo bicho. Me ha dado la impresión de que esta novela es la primera de una serie. Solo espero que, en alguna de las siguientes entregas, alguien le dé dos guantazos.
El planteamiento del final es flojo, no fluye, es más bien consecuencia de un impulso y de algo que hubiera podido o no pasar. Resuelve la trama principal, pero deja algunos flecos sueltos de la vida de los dos protagonistas. Imagino que se resolveran en sucesivas publicaciones. Si las traducen las leeré.
¿Recomendable? Con todos los peros, es una novela que engancha, entretiene y se lee fácil, pero tampoco la puedo recomendar sin reservas. Que cada cual decida.
December 2, 2019
Loved the premise, perfect tension between the mystery and number of secrets and Jo Fox was a wonderfully feisty character. But. The writing was jarring, with disjointed narrative and sudden changes from past, present and characters mindset - I honestly felt lost in a muddle. I slowly became accustomed to the writing, but it definitely took my concentration from the story.
November 18, 2019
Pretty much devoured this book. I absolutely loved it. Compelling from the first page, a brilliant feisty protagonist and an exciting plot line. Fabulous! Really hope there is more to come for Jo Fox and Bram Nash!
September 1, 2019
An atmospheric historical mystery with a spunky mature female protagonist set in WWII
Claire Gradidge’s utterly compelling debut novel set in the wake of the Blitz in small town Romsey is an atmospheric thriller with two mysteries for the price of one and a feisty female heroine at the centre of both. Josephine (Jo) Fox hasn’t set foot in her hometown for nigh on twenty years but having survived the Blitz and witnessed her mother’s death in London she is determined to find out who her father is. Raised by her grandmother and banished from the town at the age of fourteen by her grandfather, her mother’s deathbed reaction to an article in an edition of the local Romsey newspaper confirms that Jo’s father remains both in the town and terrified the living daylights out of her. Scouring the newspaper to make a shortlist and prepared for her bombastic grandfather’s fury, illegitimate Jo returns to uncover the answer to a secret that has troubled her for the majority of her thirty-nine years.
Arriving to find the Hampshire town recovering from the devastating bombing of the local inn, the gossip that amongst the eight victims there was one unknown casualty sets tongues wagging. Coroner and Jo’s childhood pal, Bram Nash, immediately sets to work attempting to identify the body of the young woman in the cellar without a mark on her from the bombing and with no one to claim her. With her lungs clear and the ARP register failing to account for where she was residing he refuses to brush what looks to be a murder under the carpet as a wartime fatality. Just who was she, how can she have failed to be noticed in the small town and where was she on her way to? With no one keen to talk Bram fears a cover up and he has mixed feelings about employing hot-headed Jo as his assistant but with work to be done and something of an outsider himself he feels a solidarity towards her.
As Jo sets about finding answers to her own parentage and doing justice to a young woman who has no one to speak for her she really is quite ingenious in the ways she goes about tracking down answers. Her tenacity and spirited attitude alongside a more cautious Bram and their combined discoveries paints a picture of a small town refusing to give up its secrets without a fight. It is not just Jo that is an outsider, with Bram’s Jewish mother and disfigurement leaving him on the fringes of the community. The relationship between the duo is beautifully explored and although their initial reservations about working together slowly thaw they stop short of declaring their feelings or falling back on an easy romantic sub-plot.
The characterisation of Jo is a key component as the why the novel is so engaging, with Gradidge filling in the background details of her friendship with a younger Bram and then her marital history as the story unfolds. Her dogged attitude and refusal to allow her paternity or marriage to define or hold her back had me first-pumping and vying for her every step of the way. The story is narrated by Jo in the first-person and Bram in the third, and although their individual endeavours follow alongside each other, the distinction is tenses makes it easy to follow whose point of view is being presented.
Although I did identify the guilty party quite early on actually gaining the evidence in the face of such respected opposition and conclusively proving it in the insular community of Romsey is far from a foregone conclusion. The historical setting is well realised, capturing both the hostility of a small town and the less than welcoming attitude to anyone challenging the status quo or the prevailing social order.
An engrossing and atmospheric novel that benefits from its attention to historical detail, swift pace and a feisty and mature heroine. Whilst I doubt Romsey will hold enough mysteries to keep Jo busy I do hope there are further cases to feature both she and Bram and the wartime setting.
Claire Gradidge’s utterly compelling debut novel set in the wake of the Blitz in small town Romsey is an atmospheric thriller with two mysteries for the price of one and a feisty female heroine at the centre of both. Josephine (Jo) Fox hasn’t set foot in her hometown for nigh on twenty years but having survived the Blitz and witnessed her mother’s death in London she is determined to find out who her father is. Raised by her grandmother and banished from the town at the age of fourteen by her grandfather, her mother’s deathbed reaction to an article in an edition of the local Romsey newspaper confirms that Jo’s father remains both in the town and terrified the living daylights out of her. Scouring the newspaper to make a shortlist and prepared for her bombastic grandfather’s fury, illegitimate Jo returns to uncover the answer to a secret that has troubled her for the majority of her thirty-nine years.
Arriving to find the Hampshire town recovering from the devastating bombing of the local inn, the gossip that amongst the eight victims there was one unknown casualty sets tongues wagging. Coroner and Jo’s childhood pal, Bram Nash, immediately sets to work attempting to identify the body of the young woman in the cellar without a mark on her from the bombing and with no one to claim her. With her lungs clear and the ARP register failing to account for where she was residing he refuses to brush what looks to be a murder under the carpet as a wartime fatality. Just who was she, how can she have failed to be noticed in the small town and where was she on her way to? With no one keen to talk Bram fears a cover up and he has mixed feelings about employing hot-headed Jo as his assistant but with work to be done and something of an outsider himself he feels a solidarity towards her.
As Jo sets about finding answers to her own parentage and doing justice to a young woman who has no one to speak for her she really is quite ingenious in the ways she goes about tracking down answers. Her tenacity and spirited attitude alongside a more cautious Bram and their combined discoveries paints a picture of a small town refusing to give up its secrets without a fight. It is not just Jo that is an outsider, with Bram’s Jewish mother and disfigurement leaving him on the fringes of the community. The relationship between the duo is beautifully explored and although their initial reservations about working together slowly thaw they stop short of declaring their feelings or falling back on an easy romantic sub-plot.
The characterisation of Jo is a key component as the why the novel is so engaging, with Gradidge filling in the background details of her friendship with a younger Bram and then her marital history as the story unfolds. Her dogged attitude and refusal to allow her paternity or marriage to define or hold her back had me first-pumping and vying for her every step of the way. The story is narrated by Jo in the first-person and Bram in the third, and although their individual endeavours follow alongside each other, the distinction is tenses makes it easy to follow whose point of view is being presented.
Although I did identify the guilty party quite early on actually gaining the evidence in the face of such respected opposition and conclusively proving it in the insular community of Romsey is far from a foregone conclusion. The historical setting is well realised, capturing both the hostility of a small town and the less than welcoming attitude to anyone challenging the status quo or the prevailing social order.
An engrossing and atmospheric novel that benefits from its attention to historical detail, swift pace and a feisty and mature heroine. Whilst I doubt Romsey will hold enough mysteries to keep Jo busy I do hope there are further cases to feature both she and Bram and the wartime setting.
January 22, 2020
I tend to avoid cosy crime as a genre, but this was written by an Associate Lecturer at my university. I would be lying if I said that this did not pique my interest.
Despite Gradidge’s upbringing in Romsey, I did not find the novel particularly evocative of the town itself. The depiction of an insular, conservative community was convincing, but the historical setting and geographical specificity really only serve the needs of the plot and render the otherwise mediocre mystery credible.
The novel is fast paced and relatively sound, the dialogue is superb, and I enjoyed Jo as a character; she has plenty of agency and her actions are always plausible. But the conspiracy as a whole is mediocre. The plot is anti-climactic, slightly predictable and lacked complexity. The characters similarly are flat; they’re not given an opportunity to gather much of a personality beyond a brief caricature.
Disappointing. If you’re looking for a quick read, something easy on the brain, then go for it. I expected better from someone with a first class BA and a PhD in Creative Writing, I have to say.
Despite Gradidge’s upbringing in Romsey, I did not find the novel particularly evocative of the town itself. The depiction of an insular, conservative community was convincing, but the historical setting and geographical specificity really only serve the needs of the plot and render the otherwise mediocre mystery credible.
The novel is fast paced and relatively sound, the dialogue is superb, and I enjoyed Jo as a character; she has plenty of agency and her actions are always plausible. But the conspiracy as a whole is mediocre. The plot is anti-climactic, slightly predictable and lacked complexity. The characters similarly are flat; they’re not given an opportunity to gather much of a personality beyond a brief caricature.
Disappointing. If you’re looking for a quick read, something easy on the brain, then go for it. I expected better from someone with a first class BA and a PhD in Creative Writing, I have to say.
February 24, 2021
Not for me
May 2, 2024
Kept trying to get into the book but couldn’t and gave up.
April 15, 2022
3.5 Es una historia muy bien ambientada en los años 40 en Inglaterra con una trama adictiva aunque con un ritmo lento.
Tenemos una heroína muy bien construida y su ayudante. Una investigación a pie de calle en una pequeña localidad donde se esconde un secreto terrible.
Tenemos una heroína muy bien construida y su ayudante. Una investigación a pie de calle en una pequeña localidad donde se esconde un secreto terrible.
November 26, 2021
A good read/listen.
Recommend.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series
Recommend.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series
October 14, 2024
Loved this book so much story had me hooked and was so well written, had me feeling all sorts of emotions.
So annoyed I’ve put off reading this all year but can’t wait to read the next one and see what happens.
Loved that even though it was set in the war, the women were all shown as very strong and independent.
Loved all the characters.
So annoyed I’ve put off reading this all year but can’t wait to read the next one and see what happens.
Loved that even though it was set in the war, the women were all shown as very strong and independent.
Loved all the characters.
March 19, 2023
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
July 20, 2020
Gradidge’s debut novel won the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition and not difficult to see why.
Really loved this. A murder set in the post war period, with an original storyline. A book that keeps on giving, as the story unfolds.
Really loved this. A murder set in the post war period, with an original storyline. A book that keeps on giving, as the story unfolds.
June 11, 2020
This story wasn't sufficiently engaging to sustain my interest in this book. I didn't warm to the character of Josephine, and the relationship between Nash and Josephine was jarring and inconsistent at times. There were too many pieces and not enough depth to hold them all together.
April 29, 2020
Reasonably enjoyable historical mystery that I listened to on audio. Read for book club as it is set in our local town. Wouldn’t particularly recommend but a decent read.
August 14, 2019
My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of Claire Gradidge’s ‘The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox’ in exchange for an honest review.
Gradidge’s debut novel won the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition and was published on 8th August. It is a historical mystery set in April 1941.
Josephine (Jo) Fox hasn’t been home to Romsey for over twenty years. After the death of her grandmother, just before she turned fourteen her authoritarian grandfather had thrown her out. Although her grandparents had raised her, she was never allowed to forget that she was illegitimate. She traveled to London where her mother was living. With her mother’s recent death she decided to return in order to discover the identity of her father.
She is acutely aware of negative feelings from some members of the community. Just before she had arrived a local pub was bombed. The rescue teams located the bodies of seven people that had been in the pub but were surprised to find an eighth body. It is of a young woman whose body doesn’t appear to have suffered the kind of injuries associated with a bomb.
Jo’s childhood friend, Bram Nash, is now the local coroner. He employs Jo as his assistant and together they investigate this death while Jo continues to seek information about her parentage.
Technically Jo’s surname is Lester as in the interim years she had married. We do get details of her marriage and the whereabouts of her husband and some episodes from her childhood. Nash had been injured during the Great War and now wears a metallic mask to conceal his disfigurement. I grew quite fond of both he and Jo.
I found this a highly engaging mystery with a well realised historical setting. It is quite dark in places and certainly delivered on some interesting twists.
Indeed I would love it if there were more mysteries for Jo and Bram to investigate.
Gradidge’s debut novel won the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition and was published on 8th August. It is a historical mystery set in April 1941.
Josephine (Jo) Fox hasn’t been home to Romsey for over twenty years. After the death of her grandmother, just before she turned fourteen her authoritarian grandfather had thrown her out. Although her grandparents had raised her, she was never allowed to forget that she was illegitimate. She traveled to London where her mother was living. With her mother’s recent death she decided to return in order to discover the identity of her father.
She is acutely aware of negative feelings from some members of the community. Just before she had arrived a local pub was bombed. The rescue teams located the bodies of seven people that had been in the pub but were surprised to find an eighth body. It is of a young woman whose body doesn’t appear to have suffered the kind of injuries associated with a bomb.
Jo’s childhood friend, Bram Nash, is now the local coroner. He employs Jo as his assistant and together they investigate this death while Jo continues to seek information about her parentage.
Technically Jo’s surname is Lester as in the interim years she had married. We do get details of her marriage and the whereabouts of her husband and some episodes from her childhood. Nash had been injured during the Great War and now wears a metallic mask to conceal his disfigurement. I grew quite fond of both he and Jo.
I found this a highly engaging mystery with a well realised historical setting. It is quite dark in places and certainly delivered on some interesting twists.
Indeed I would love it if there were more mysteries for Jo and Bram to investigate.
November 7, 2021
Una historia llena de misterios que engancha de principio a fin, transcurre en los últimos años de la guerra y tras un bombardeo aparece un cadáver más de los esperados.
Me ha parecido predecible a decir verdad, pero creo que esta contada de forma muy bien elaborada, con sucesos del día a día y con recuerdos del pasado. Esta contada en primera persona cuando aparece Josephine y en tercera cuando Nash o son recuerdos de su infancia, con capítulos cortos y divididos por momentos del día.
Una vida marcada por nacer en un pequeño pueblo muy puritano y moralista, ser hija ilegitima, estar rodeada de secretos y el odio de su abuelo. Jos no ha tenido una vida fácil, pero es una mujer decidida y valiente que sabe lo que quiere, que no teme a las habladurías y vuelve para buscar respuestas y conocer sus orígenes, además su nuevo trabajo como ayudante del forense la llevara a descubrir mucho más. Me ha gustado sobre todo como esta todo relacionado, aunque previsible, se nota que no puede ser tan evidente como se piensa y el final te deja algo impactada porque cuesta creerlo. Se nota la buena documentación, el conocimiento del lugar y sus alrededores. Las costumbres y lo mal visto que estaban los hijos ilegítimos y sobre todo las mujeres y las niñas que son juzgadas siempre antes que los hombres en esta sociedad tan machista.
Me gustaría leer más historias sobre estos personajes, creo que dan para más investigaciones y a mi me encantaría leerlos.
Me ha parecido predecible a decir verdad, pero creo que esta contada de forma muy bien elaborada, con sucesos del día a día y con recuerdos del pasado. Esta contada en primera persona cuando aparece Josephine y en tercera cuando Nash o son recuerdos de su infancia, con capítulos cortos y divididos por momentos del día.
Una vida marcada por nacer en un pequeño pueblo muy puritano y moralista, ser hija ilegitima, estar rodeada de secretos y el odio de su abuelo. Jos no ha tenido una vida fácil, pero es una mujer decidida y valiente que sabe lo que quiere, que no teme a las habladurías y vuelve para buscar respuestas y conocer sus orígenes, además su nuevo trabajo como ayudante del forense la llevara a descubrir mucho más. Me ha gustado sobre todo como esta todo relacionado, aunque previsible, se nota que no puede ser tan evidente como se piensa y el final te deja algo impactada porque cuesta creerlo. Se nota la buena documentación, el conocimiento del lugar y sus alrededores. Las costumbres y lo mal visto que estaban los hijos ilegítimos y sobre todo las mujeres y las niñas que son juzgadas siempre antes que los hombres en esta sociedad tan machista.
Me gustaría leer más historias sobre estos personajes, creo que dan para más investigaciones y a mi me encantaría leerlos.
February 7, 2020
This is my favourite read this year so far. Loved Jo Fox for her tenacity, for not caring what other people thought of her and not being afraid to face her grandfather who threw her out of house and home at 13 after the death of her grandmother.
The era is not my favoured one but as this was a book club read I always reserve judgement until I’ve read it.
I was also intrigued by the injuries Bram Nash received during the First World War and enjoyed researching the reason for the masks made for facial injuries sustained during the war.
There were two storylines running parallel to each other throughout the novel but they were easy to follow and didn’t cause any confusion. All the characters were well described and I found it easy to identify each and everyone of them, although some were not particularly pleasant characters.
The twists near the end of the novel were not particularly pleasant to read but many things go on behind closed doors, probably even more so of the landed gentry, who often thought it their god given right to abuse those less fortunate than themselves without having to suffer any consequences for their
behaviour.
The ending left a few loose ends but then life is like that. What happened to Ollie? How did she take the loss of her dogs?
What happened between Jo and her grandfather? Was he kept on as the porter because he knew what had happened to his daughter? Lots of things could go into another Jo Fox novel and I would most definitely read it.
A brilliant debut novel. Loved it.
The era is not my favoured one but as this was a book club read I always reserve judgement until I’ve read it.
I was also intrigued by the injuries Bram Nash received during the First World War and enjoyed researching the reason for the masks made for facial injuries sustained during the war.
There were two storylines running parallel to each other throughout the novel but they were easy to follow and didn’t cause any confusion. All the characters were well described and I found it easy to identify each and everyone of them, although some were not particularly pleasant characters.
The twists near the end of the novel were not particularly pleasant to read but many things go on behind closed doors, probably even more so of the landed gentry, who often thought it their god given right to abuse those less fortunate than themselves without having to suffer any consequences for their
behaviour.
The ending left a few loose ends but then life is like that. What happened to Ollie? How did she take the loss of her dogs?
What happened between Jo and her grandfather? Was he kept on as the porter because he knew what had happened to his daughter? Lots of things could go into another Jo Fox novel and I would most definitely read it.
A brilliant debut novel. Loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2019
Josephine (Jo) Fox’s mother Nell was a young teenager when her daughter was born in 1901 and, being unmarried, after the birth she was banished in disgrace, from both the family and her hometown, by her father. At her grandmother’s insistence, Jo was left behind to be brought up in the family home in Romsey, although her cruel, overbearing and controlling grandfather never let her forget that she was a constant source of shame to him and the family. She never knew who her father and had always assumed that he must have died before she was born. Throughout her childhood she suffered taunts about her illegitimacy (and her red hair!) but she did feel some sense of acceptance when she was allowed to tag along, tomboy-like, with a gang of older boys, led by the charismatic Abe Nash. Then, in July 1915 when she was fourteen, her grandmother died and the day after the funeral she was told to pack a bag and her grandfather, who hadn’t spoken to her for days, put her on a train to London, telling her she’d now have to get a job. To see her off, he gave her five shillings and details of her mother’s address. However, her mother was in service as a parlour maid and would have been sacked had her employers known she had an illegitimate child, so Jo took a job in a munitions factory and learnt to fend for herself. She saw her mother a couple of times a year but once Jo married and moved away, their contact was sporadic, with just occasional letters at Christmas and birthdays.
Then, in August 1940, with her husband missing for months since setting out to help with the evacuation from Dunkirk, when she discovers that her mother is frail and suffering from cancer, she is free to move into her mother’s flat in London to look after her. Some months later, when her mother was in hospital, Jo took in a copy of the Romsey paper, which was sent each week by a relative. When her mother read it, she became hysterical and appeared frightened; although she wouldn’t give any details, it was clear that she had discovered that Jo’s father was alive and still living in Romsey. Two days later she was dead, leaving Jo none the wiser about the identity of her father, apart from the fact that his name had featured in the newspaper. This was all the incentive she needed to try to trace him so, after almost twenty-six years, she returns to her hometown, with a list of names from the paper, determined to find out who he is.
The night before she arrives back the local pub had been bombed, leaving eight people dead – the seven villagers who were known to have been in the pub, but the eighth victim, a teenage girl, cannot be identified. Who is she? When it becomes clear that she hadn’t been killed in the bombing the questions increase – how did her body end up in the rubble of the pub, and who murdered her? When Jo discovers that the coroner who is investigating the deaths is her old friend Abe (now preferring to be known as Bram) and that he is looking for an assistant, she persuades him to give her the job. She is now faced with two mysteries to solve – who her father is, and the identity of the girl, along with the riddle surrounding her death.
I think that the author managed to convey an authentic picture of small-town life during WWII and that the gradual build-up of tension as Jo and Bram investigated the murder of the teenager was skilfully handled. The obstacles they faced, in a town determined to keep its secrets, as they struggled to discover her identity, to track down her killer and to obtain justice for her were well-portrayed. The descriptions of the emotional struggles Jo faced, as she embarked on her determined search to finally discover her father’s identity, credibly captured how disturbing it is to not know the full details of your origins, to forever feel that part of who you are is missing. It also showed that, once the truth is finallyuncovered, some of the adjustments which have to be made and assimilated may be less than straightforward – “be careful what you wish for” springs to mind!
The developing relationship between Jo and Bram was central to the developing story. In different ways both feel like outcasts in their home town and each is familiar with the almost constant need to fight prejudice –enabling their familiar defensiveness to serve them well as they fight their growing attraction to each other! As the story progressed it seemed to me that the groundwork was being laid for their partnership to become a series, especially as the story ended with a sufficient number of aspects of the storyline which could continue to be developed! However, I think that this perhaps contributed to my feeling that as characters they didn’t feel fully-formed, and also that there was something which felt unfinished about the book, even though the main mysteries were resolved by the end.
Although it has some dark themes, including the corrosive nature of secrets and lies, the abuse and exploitation of young women and the abuse of power as people seek to protect their reputations, this story never felt particularly disturbing. I think it had the potential to be a much more powerful read so I’m left wondering whether this also contributed to my sense of disappointment when I reached the final page.
This book was the winner of the 2019 Richard and Judy “Search for a Bestseller” competition and, with their endorsement, it is likely to become a bestseller! However, although I found it an easy and reasonably entertaining read, I did find some aspects of the story-telling and plotting rather too clichéd and predictable.
However, to end on a more positive note, throughout the story there were quotes from “Jervis on Coroners, 1927” and I really enjoyed the extra dimension these added, with the insights they offered into the powers available to coroners in their investigations into unexpected and suspicious deaths – a nice change from the usual police procedures focus in crime stories!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews