3.5 Stars
I found the premise of this book intriguing. Set in 1936, Alfred Hitchcock arranges a weekend gathering of film crew and actors in Portmeirion, an Italianesque tourist village in Wales. Josephine Tey is also there to celebrate a significant birthday with her friends, and to negotiate with Hitchcock who’s interested in filming her novel A Shilling for Candles.
Having real people in a novel can add a certain voyeuristic pleasure for the reader, however, it can also be very distracting, as you try to separate fact from fiction. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if all the characters where fictitious? Oddly enough, the most appealing characters in this book are not real! For example, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose is a police officer with empathy and a strong moral compass. What a shame he’s fictitious!
This is a big book, over 400 pages, and it’s a long time before any crime is committed. Be prepared for graphic violence; this book is not for the squeamish. And then another even more violent murder occurs. Suddenly the lovely Portmeirion is awash in dead bodies and the tone of the book becomes dark. I found myself confused by the large cast of characters, many related to each other, some having changed their names along the way.
Portmeiron is the star of the show, and Upson’s descriptions are enticing:

…there was a pleasantly languid atmosphere about Portmeirion that made it easy to do nothing. Relaxing on the white-railed terrace with the sun on his face and the water flowing gently past, he could almost believe he was on board a transatlantic liner.

Lots of fun! Loved the authentic setting. Highly recommended for a rollicking good read.