Josephine Tey

Publicada tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial y considerada una de las mejores novelas negras de todos los tiempos, esta obra nos invita a reflexionar sobre la importancia de la imparcialidad y la investigacion metodica en la busqueda de la verdad. Muestra, ademas, la poca ecuanimidad de la justicia, sobre todo en comunidades rurales donde las apariencias y los prejuicios se imponen con demasiada frecuencia.Marion Sharpe y su madre, dos mujeres que viven en una pequeña poblacion inglesa, tratan de defenderse de la acusacion que plantea contra ellas una huerfana de guerra, Betty Kane, que afirma haber sido victima de un presunto caso de secuestro y maltrato.

A stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizeable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerisms, appearance and every significant detail of Patrick's early life, up to his thirteenth year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself. It seems as if Brat is going to pull off this most incredible deception until old secrets emerge that threaten to jeopardise the imposter's plan and his very life.

While in hospital, Inspector Grants professional curiosity is soon aroused. In a portrait of Richard III, the hunchbacked monster of nursery stories and history books, he finds a face that refuses to fit its reputation. But how, after four hundred years, can a bedridden policeman uncover the truth about the murder of the Princes in the Tower?

Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window. But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. And it takes Robert Blair, local solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair...

Las largas horas de convalecencia en la cama de un hospital pueden llegar a ser mortales para una mente despierta como la de Alan Grant, inspector de Scotland Yard. Pero sus días de tedio acaban cuando alguien le propone un interesante tema sobre el que meditar: ¿podria adivinarse el caracter de alguien solo por su aspecto? Grant se basara en un retrato de Ricardo III para demostrar que ello es posible: el monarca mas despiadado de la historia del Reino Unido podria haber sido, segun Grant, inocente de todo crimen. Aqui comienza una investigacion llena de conjeturas acerca de la persona y el reinado de Ricardo III, un controvertido pasaje de la historia britanica que, tras haber leido esta novela, indudablemente sera visto con otros ojos.

'You look exactly like him! You can take the dead boy's place and no one will ever know the difference. You'll be rich for life!' And so the plan was born. At first Brat Farrar fought against the idea; it was criminal, it was dangerous. But in the end he was persuaded, and a few weeks later Patrick Ashby came back from the dead and went home to inherit the family house and fortune. The Ashby family seemed happy to welcome Patrick home, but Brat soon realized that somewhere there was a time-bomb ticking away, waiting to explode ...

At Scotland Yard, Inspector Grant has a reputation for being able to pick them at sight. Now he is in hospital, knowing that no amount of good behaviour is going to make this anything less than an extended stay. Yet his professional curiosity is soon aroused. In a portrait of Richard III, the hunchbacked monster of nursery stories and history books, he finds a face that refuses to fit its reputation. But how, after four hundred years, can a bedridden policeman uncover the truth about the murder of the Princes in the Tower?

Who really killed the princes in the tower? Was Richard III truly the ogre of legend and Shakespeare's play. - a wicked uncle who murdered his nephews to steal the crown of England? Inspector Alan Grant is not so sure. Laid up in hospital with a broken leg, he becomes obsessed with unravelling this most enduring of historical mysteries. As he investigates with the help of an enthusiastic young American scholar, he unearths long-buried intrigues and comes to a startling conclusion.

Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window. But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. And it takes Robert Blair, local solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair...

Leys Physical Training College was famous for its excellent discipline and Miss Lucy Pym was pleased and flattered to be invited to give a psychology lecture there. But she had to admit that the health and vibrant beauty of the students made her feel just a little inadequate.

On his train back to Scotland for a well-earned rest, Inspector Grant learns that a fellow passenger, one Charles Martin, has been found dead.

Beneath the sea cliffs of the south coast, suicides are a sad but common fact. Inspector Grant has to take a more professional attitude: death by suicide, however common, has to have a motive - just

Outside a London theatre a throng of people wait expectantly for the last performance of a popular musical. But as the doors open at last, something spoils all thought of entertainment: a man in the queue is found murdered by the deadly thrust of a stiletto...

Inspector Alan Grant searches for the identity of a man killed in the line at a theater and for the identity of the killerwhom no one saw.A long line had formed for the standing-room-only section of the Woffington Theatre. Londons favorite musical comedy of the past two years was finishing its run at the end of the week. Suddenly, the line began to move, forming a wedge before the open doors as hopeful theatergoers nudged their way forward. But one man, his head sunk down upon his chest, slowly sank to his knees and then, still more slowly, keeled over on his face. Thinking he had fainted, a spectator moved to help, but recoiled in horror from what lay before him: the man in the queue had a small silver dagger neatly plunged into his back. With the wit and guile that have made Inspector Grant a favorite of mystery fans, the inspector sets about discovering just how a murder occurred among so many witnesses, none of whom saw a thing.

Miss Pym e una tranquilla insegnante di francese che, invitata a una conferenza in un collegio di educazione fisica, si ritrova coinvolta nella frenetica vita delle studentesse alle prese con gli esami dellultimo anno. Poco prima del saggio finale, un incidente in palestra induce Lucy Pym a ritenere che non si sia trattato di un episodio casuale. Ma cosa puo fare? Rivelare i propri dubbi gettando una luce sinistra sulle studentesse e sulla fama del collegio? Il dilemma e etico e Lucy e dellopinione che non sempre la cosa da fare sia necessariamente quella giusta, se gli esiti sono devastanti. Alla fine, Lucy non riesce a lavarsene le mani e si ritrova, percio, a giocare un ruolo decisivo nellimprevedibile e ambiguo finale, come nella migliore tradizione del giallo psicologico.La storia raccontata in Brat Ferrar e carica di mistero e suspense. Uno sconosciuto si presenta alla famiglia Ashby fingendosi Patrick, lerede creduto morto da anni. Luomo conosce ogni dettaglio significativo dei primi anni di vita di Patrick Ashby e tutto fa credere che possa portare a termine questo incredibile inganno, fino a quando, pero, non emergono vecchi segreti di famiglia che mettono a repentaglio il suo piano e la sua stessa vita. Leleganza della narrazione, la caratterizzazione psicologica dei personaggi e lequilibrio della conclusione rendono questo giallo unico nel suo genere.Due gialli imperdibili di Josephine Tey