‘Murder the Tey Way’ by Marilyn Levinson

Independently Published
16 July 2024.
ISBN: 979-832701635-4 (HB)

I was attracted to this book by the title, Josephine Tey being high in my top ten of favourite authors.  

Professor Lexie Driscoll runs a regular mystery book club discussing books from the Golden Age of Mystery. Tonight’s discussion is on The Daughter of Time.

Lexie is currently living in a three-bedroom ranch house in Ryesdale, Long Island, paying a low rent as the house is owned by her boyfriend Allistair West who is currently away. Al is keen to move their relationship to the next level but Lexie is not too sure about this particularly as she is already two husbands down, and is not keen to commit herself to trying a third one, but her forty-ninth birthday is looming, and she needs to make a decision.

Her book club chums are in the main drawn from her neighbours. Next door to her are two sisters Felicity and Corinne Roberts, across the way Mike and his wife Joy, a former FBI agent, Marge and Evan, and Sadie and Tim, who are ‘just good friends’.

An unexpected call from her younger sister Gayle who currently lives in Utah, says she is telephoning from Ohio to ask if she can come and stay. Her words are spilling out in a torrent and there is clearly something wrong. When she arrives, she says she witnessed her boyfriend's murder and fears the killer is coming after her.  And that the person she fears the most is a police officer Shawn Estes who she knows will kill her if he finds her.

When Gayle arrives the book club session is in full flow, and she is even more distraught when she sees so many people and having driven for so long goes opts to go straight to bed. The following morning, she is jittery and frightened and decided to leave immediately.  Which she does.

While Lexie is having some breakfast, she sees a body lying in her back yard. A very dead body.

Lexie decides to do a little sleuthing herself, and discovers that all her book club members have secrets but is one of them a murderer?  Of course the local police, particularly one Detective Brian Donovan are none to keen on Lexie's interreference, but she notes his blue sexy eyes. I have a feeling she is going to keep investigating, which could get her into trouble.

This is a real page turner. Not only a cleverly plotted baffling mystery, but interspersed with discussions on four of Josephine Tey’s books. What treat this is.  Highly recommended.
……
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett.

Marilyn Levinson is a former Spanish teacher She writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and books for children. Her first book in the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries was Murder a La Christie which was selected to be on Book Town's 2014 Mystery List and on King Rivers Life Magazine's Best of 2014. All of Marilyn's mysteries take place on Long Island, where she lives.