Status Updates From Inspector Alan Grant: The F...

2. A Shilling for Candles (1936) **** The 2nd novel in this Josephine Tey / Inspector Alan Grant Omnibus edition. An actress dies a drowning death which becomes investigated as murder. A quirky young tramp becomes the initial suspect followed by the husband and various movie world partners and rivals. The Chief Constable's daughter plays a delightful key role. Much improved over the 1st in the series.

1. The Man in the Queue (1929) *** I read the 1st novel early this year. When I saw this omnibus edition at a bargain price I grabbed it for this year's Long Books Challenge (LBC) with several GR friends. I reviewed book 1 as The Queue Murder. It was not an auspicious start, but I look forward to getting to the classic "The Daughter of Time."

Skipped both ‘To Love and Be Wise’ and ‘The Daughter of Time’. Both grated on me… each time I tried and persevered… and failed! So, now I’m on the final book - The Singing Sands. Chapter 8 has just started (so, it feels promising I may actually finish it!)

Really enjoyed 'The Franchise Affair'. More than I thought I might, once I knew where the story was going. I am finding I struggle with the fluff JT seems to formulaically add into the stories once the main event has occurred, before getting round to 'detecting' and closing the case, but even that was better in this case than the stories before it

A Shilling for Candles - Yeah, I didn’t really get into this. Not as engaging as the first story, somehow. Still, it had its moments… the characters weren’t as captivating, so it never felt like I was invested

Chapter 4 man in queue
Easy listening so far