Miss Pym Disposes
On any credible list of all time great mysteries, you'll find at least one novel by Joesphine Tey: Daughter of Time, Brat Farrar, The Franchise Affair. They're all fantastic. My pick is Miss Pym Disposes, a brilliant and uncommonly perceptive novel that takes place at a women's college. Pop psychologist Lucy Pym is an alum. She returns for a lecture and ends up staying on for a while, a respite from the hustle and bustle of fame, and she's enjoying the company of the young students. The novel is fascinating for so many reasons, not the least of which is the way in which Miss Pym applies her version of psychology to what she observes, and how the various characters are viewed sympathetically and unsympathetically. The blurb below, which comes from the publsiher, does not do justice to the novel's complexities, especially to its elegant, stunning ending, which leaves us with much to consider, long after we turn the last page.
- Jim Huang, Bookshop Director