Brat Farrar (1949)
by Josephine Tey
Buy on AmazonWhat begins as a ploy to claim an inheritance ends with the impostor's life hanging in the balance. In this tale of mystery and suspense, a stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerism's, 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 jeopardize the imposter's plan and his life.…
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"I love books from the golden age of mystery. The British Library does a nice series, republishing some of them, and when I see one I almost always buy it. I’ve also read books by other popular golden age crime writers, like Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham. Josephine Tey is the only one that made me want to read all her books. There aren’t many, as she died young, but they’re all a little bit different. Some feature Detective Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard. In one, The Daughter of Time, Grant solves a historical crime, showing (rightly or wrongly) that Richard III was not a murderer. Brat Farrar is my favourite and just a beautifully done book. The setting is a house in the English countryside on the south coast, surrounded by paddocks with horses, where Aunt Bee is bringing up her four nephews and nieces. Simon, the oldest, is about to come of age, which will finally solve all their money problems, however… Books by Josephine Tey, listed in order of publication"
The Best Classic Mystery Books · fivebooks.com