From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Miss Pym Disposes

Josephine Tey

Start date: July 1, 2019

Finish date: July 31, 2019

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: This was a very close runner-up in our June poll, so we decided to read it in July.
[close] This was a very close runner-up in our June poll, so we decided to read it in July.

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Group reads

* November 2025 group read - Winner!
By Judy · 20 posts · 32 views

last updated Sep 17, 2025 08:43AM

* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 16 posts · 16 views

last updated Sep 19, 2025 01:03PM

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What Members Thought

Jun 19, 2019 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Despite many people telling me that Josephine Tey is their favourite Golden Age author, I have struggled with the books I tried previously. As such, I was a little dubious about this, but I am glad that I gave it a try. Published in 1946, this is a stand-alone mystery, set in Leys Physical Training College. Indeed, Tey herself attended a similar college and taught physical education in various schools, so this is a world she knew well.

The Miss Pym of the title is Lucy Pym, who – to her own surp ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2024 Jackie rated it really liked it

The beginning is charming and I was sure this would be a five star read, but it bogs down a bit in the middle. I'm glad I kept going, however, and the ending was a surprise. This is one of those books I think I might appreciate more on re-read and I enjoyed it pretty well the first time.

Now, is there a way to find a thread in one of my groups where people are posting about it? ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 29, 2019 Jill rated it liked it

Shelves: josephine-tey

3.5 stars really. I thought it began well, but then it became a book I was waiting to finish. The crime did not happen until very near the end, and up until then it read more like a cosy read. Once we had an actual crime, there were quite a few twists, which were unforeseen.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 18, 2019 Frances rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Josephine Tey writes a stand-alone mystery set between the wars in which Miss Pym, a renowned writer of Psychological Novels, is invited to give a talk at a girls boarding school. While there, she gradually gets drawn into the events that unfold around the final year girls as they prepare for their final exams and demonstrations. As neither staff nor a student, she is uniquely placed to try to sort out what has happened when tragedy strikes.

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