Review: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson

‘Fear of the dark is natural, we all have it, but fear in the sunlight…where it is so unexpected–that’s interesting. –Alfred Hitchcock.

Summer 1936. Mystery writer Josephine Tey joins her friends in the resort village of Portmeirion, Wales, to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are there to sign a deal to film Josephine’s novel, A Shilling for Candles. But things get out of hand when on of Hollywood’s leading actresses is brutally slashed to death in a cemetery near the village. The following day, as fear and suspicion take over in a setting where nothing–and no one–is quite what it seems, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose becomes increasingly unsatisfied with the way the investigation is ultimately resolved. Several years later, another horrific murder, again linked to a Hitchcock movie, drives Penrose back to the scene of the original crime to uncover the shocking truth.’

When reading a murder mystery, I do not like to wait until page 200 or so for the murder to take place. What’s the point in that? This story dragged on and on and finally the murder occurred, but by then, I had really lost interest. I get that the author wanted to share the back story and introduce the readers to the characters, but a murder mystery should not occur really at the ending of the story. Do not tease the reader with a murder, and then proceed to tell the story in a long and drawn out fashion. The chapters were all over the place focusing on the many different characters and it was confusing trying to keep up with who was who and what their story was.

Alfred Hitchcock makes an appearance in this so-called murder mystery and he is a strange cookie. I know nothing of him other than he was a famous movie director, but his character in this book was lackluster. He was a pompous ass. He might have been like that in real life, but his character in this tale was less than impressive. I enjoyed the previous books in this series to a certain extent, but this book was horrible. The ending was lacking in suspense. This was a confusing story and I was glad when it was finally over. 

I would say skip this one if you care to have a murder mystery with some depth and investigation. It felt like it was a much more character driven book and I felt that it should not even be considered a mystery. Sure a murder takes place, but it is most definitely not the focus of this book. Unimpressive read and a complete waste of time.