- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (27 Jan 1977)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140042571
- ISBN-13: 978-0140042573
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 888,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Singing Sands
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Josephine Tey has always been absoluteely reliable in producing original and mysterious plots with interesting characters and unguessable endings."
"--Spectator"
"Really first class... a continual delight."
"-- Times Literary Supplement
""Beautifully written and insistently readable."
"-- New York Times
"
"From the Paperback edition." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"--Spectator"
"Really first class... a continual delight."
"-- Times Literary Supplement
""Beautifully written and insistently readable."
"-- New York Times
"
"From the Paperback edition." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Book Description
A classic mystery from the Golden Age of detective fiction.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This (posthumously published) novel shows Tey at her best. Inspector Alan Grant, on his way by train to Scotland for a long-overdue spell of R&R, is on hand when a young man's body is found in an adjoining compartment. By accident, he finds himself in possession of a clue that hints that something wasn't right about the young man's death; in his pursuit of the truth, he travels as far as the Hebrides and meets characters ranging from a lovely widow who looks good in waders to a world-famous Arabian explorer, a young pilot friend of the deceased, and the unforgettable Wee Archie. The story line seems to ramble at times, but the conclusion is highly satisfying. Thoroughly enjoyable.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I received this book as a gift in my early teens and it sparked a life-long interest in classic British crime and mystery - particularly the highly covetable Penguin green back paperback editions.
The Singing Sands not only has a great storyline but a wonderful sense of atmosphere in its description of the beautiful Highlands. In this, Tey writes marvellously well - I could taste Grant's horrible hotel breakfast with its yellowy soda scones.
Well worth reading if you have an interest in this genre.
The Singing Sands not only has a great storyline but a wonderful sense of atmosphere in its description of the beautiful Highlands. In this, Tey writes marvellously well - I could taste Grant's horrible hotel breakfast with its yellowy soda scones.
Well worth reading if you have an interest in this genre.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Josephine Tey is the most elegant and stylish of murder mystery writers. With her dry wit, spare prose and aristocratic disdain, she's the perfect antidote to the more gossipy, sensationalist and middle class Agatha Christie, who was her contemporary (though Tey died in 1952). She wasn't nearly as prolific as Christie (who was?) and these days she's not nearly as well known. But she produced, in my opinion, one must-read book for the murder mystery fan (The Daughter Of Time), and one quiet masterpiece (The Franchise Affair).
Whilst replacing my worn-out copies of these two books recently, I spotted this smart new edition and thought I'd invest in all her novels, starting with this one. I last read it over 30 years ago, and to my great disappointment I found it had dated very badly.
Inspector Grant of the Yard is her hero once again, and here he's travelling to Scotland on holiday to get over some sort of breakdown. A body is discovered on the night train and he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, with an unfinished poem as his only clue.
Tey writes beautifully, as always, but in this book the tone has descended into outright snobbery (she was always teetering on the brink), and her characters are relics from a deferential class system that was surely on its last legs even in the 1950s. At one end of the social scale there are the plucky aristocrats like Lady Kentallen ('a darling'), clinging on to their down at heel country estates (yet with enough cash to send their sons to public school), who are obviously superior in taste and understanding to the pushy and vulgar middle classes. At the bottom of the heap are the plebs - the clueless waitresses, the cheerful charladies (like Grant's Mrs Tinker, described as being one of a 'species' that lives to wash other peoples' doorsteps!), and the salt-of-the-earth police sergeants. They all know their place and are grateful for it, implies Tey.
Unfortunately, the book isn't good enough for you to overlook these dubious assumptions. Despite the great premise it turns into a very dull story. Grant spends half the book fishing, then dashes back to London and on to Marseilles on a wild goose chase that's hard to understand or care about. And when you're stuck with a plot that's not exactly a page turner, you can't help wondering why everyone defers to this man, and what exactly his relationship is with the victim's best friend, who becomes his unpaid sidekick. You can spot the villain a mile off, and the clunky clues make it easy to solve the mystery long before it dawns on Grant. And anyway, the whole thing is explained at the end in a handy letter written by the murderer before he goes off to kill himself.
This book was found in Tey's papers after her death and published posthumously, so we'll never know if she would have improved on it herself with a bit of editing and re-writing.
I don't think that a modern reader would try any more of her novels if this was the first one they came across, which would be a terrible shame. I'd only recommend it to Tey fans, like myself, who just want it to sit on their bookshelves to complete the set.
Whilst replacing my worn-out copies of these two books recently, I spotted this smart new edition and thought I'd invest in all her novels, starting with this one. I last read it over 30 years ago, and to my great disappointment I found it had dated very badly.
Inspector Grant of the Yard is her hero once again, and here he's travelling to Scotland on holiday to get over some sort of breakdown. A body is discovered on the night train and he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, with an unfinished poem as his only clue.
Tey writes beautifully, as always, but in this book the tone has descended into outright snobbery (she was always teetering on the brink), and her characters are relics from a deferential class system that was surely on its last legs even in the 1950s. At one end of the social scale there are the plucky aristocrats like Lady Kentallen ('a darling'), clinging on to their down at heel country estates (yet with enough cash to send their sons to public school), who are obviously superior in taste and understanding to the pushy and vulgar middle classes. At the bottom of the heap are the plebs - the clueless waitresses, the cheerful charladies (like Grant's Mrs Tinker, described as being one of a 'species' that lives to wash other peoples' doorsteps!), and the salt-of-the-earth police sergeants. They all know their place and are grateful for it, implies Tey.
Unfortunately, the book isn't good enough for you to overlook these dubious assumptions. Despite the great premise it turns into a very dull story. Grant spends half the book fishing, then dashes back to London and on to Marseilles on a wild goose chase that's hard to understand or care about. And when you're stuck with a plot that's not exactly a page turner, you can't help wondering why everyone defers to this man, and what exactly his relationship is with the victim's best friend, who becomes his unpaid sidekick. You can spot the villain a mile off, and the clunky clues make it easy to solve the mystery long before it dawns on Grant. And anyway, the whole thing is explained at the end in a handy letter written by the murderer before he goes off to kill himself.
This book was found in Tey's papers after her death and published posthumously, so we'll never know if she would have improved on it herself with a bit of editing and re-writing.
I don't think that a modern reader would try any more of her novels if this was the first one they came across, which would be a terrible shame. I'd only recommend it to Tey fans, like myself, who just want it to sit on their bookshelves to complete the set.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Inspector Grant "resting" again
Grant always seems to be resting or recovering, this time from a sort of nervous breakdown brought on by overwork. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Jane Baker
A Good Read
This is Josephine Tey's last book and was published posthumously. It isn't my favourite Tey novel but the quality of writing is good and like all her work is a pleasure to read. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ann M
Entertaining, time flies
Though there is little "action" in the book the story is interesting and intriguing. At times the author seems to be talking ironically to the reader. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ransen Owen
Holiday reading
This book is for my holidays. Having read several Josephine Tey's books I know it will be an excellent read.
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. A. Robinson
Josephine Tey Classic
Although a not-in-vogue writer, Josephine Tey's plots are still excellent by today's standards. With none of today's frantic pacing, this crime novel benefits from a slow... Read more
Published 21 months ago by gerry1
Tey's 8th and final mystery novel (1952)
"The beasts that talk,
the streams that stand,
the stones that walk,
the singing sand... Read more
the streams that stand,
the stones that walk,
the singing sand... Read more
Published on 26 May 2005 by Michele L. Worley
a brilliant read which sustains interest to the end
first read this 25 years ago, and have periodically re-read ever since. gripping, fine detail, strong ending (unlike some other Tey work, unfortunately). Read more
Published on 3 May 2001 by greghughes@blueyonder.co.uk
A lovely book, wonderful characters
I read this first a very long time, and like other Tey fans, I am sorry to know that she wrote so few books. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 1999
Memorable read
Well written, interesting, fun. I highly recommend this book.
Published on 23 Mar 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
