Source: Purchased
Description: To Miss Lucy Pym, expert psychologist, the atmosphere at Leys College for young women where she is a guest lecturer is heavy with tension. Beneath the so normal surface run sinister undercurrents of rivalry and jealousy. Then one student has a peculiar and fatal ‘accident’. Or is it murder? Respectable, law-abiding Miss Pym discovers some vital evidence—but should she reveal it?
Genre: Mystery - Classic
Why I Picked This Book: I'm reading my way through some classic mystery authors and this was the next one up for Tey.
My Impression: I have a complicated history with Tey. I've enjoyed some of her books and then I've really disliked some of her books. This was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed the college setting and Miss Pym being not quite of the group was a good narrator. The pace was a little slower but it allowed me to get to know the basics of all the characters (and there are a lot as it is a school setting). As the book goes on things get more and more unsettling until the final incident.
I enjoyed the read and the characters. While it is technically a murder mystery it is more a study of a a group of people in an essentially isolated and very controlled setting and the effects that has on all of them. Even the ending which does end with a satisfactory explanation is vaguely unsettling with a touch of unexpectedness. I think Miss Pym may be my favorite Tey character and it has made me more optimistic about reading more of her books in the future.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? I would. I'm curious to see what I think of the next book of hers I read as I never know what to expect from Tey.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy boarding school/college settings this is definitely a must read.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy boarding school/college settings this is definitely a must read.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts
ReplyDeleteI should add this one to my list of books I might like to read before I die. This is an interesting character, Miss Pym, I think.
ReplyDeleteGlad this was one of the good ones.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
I remember boarding school. We did have a kind of mystery there when the nuns thought there was an intruder one evening! We never found one.
ReplyDeleteWhile I probably won't read her, the review helped me see what was so good about this one. I do like looking closely at characters in a situation and their responses.
ReplyDeleteI've read more books with Tey as a character than I've read written by her, though I did enjoy both of those.
ReplyDelete