The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox

Debut novel and Richard and Judy’s winner of their Search for a Bestseller Competition. Not many university lecturers could claim a launch like Claire Gradidge’s who teaches at Winchester University. Is the praise justified? A resounding ‘Yes’.

A suspense novel set in the English town of Romsey during World War II, The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox is an unputdownable read, full of life and interest on many fronts, its leading character Jo Fox, its evocation of a market town at war, its sheer ability to make one go on reading to find out what happens next and many other facets.

Jo Fox returns to her native town in 1941 after an absence of twenty years. Her grandfather had thrown her out as a teenager as the unwanted illegitimate child of his daughter Nell, who had been banished from the town in disgrace. Now Jo is returning on a quest to find out the answer to one burning question: who was her father? Someone must know and from the bad reception she receives when she arrives, she senses he is still very much alive.

But she has chosen a bad time to revisit Romsey: German bombers are active and one of Romsey’s pubs has been amongst the casualties. Eight bodies have been found, but only seven of them are identifiable. The eighth is a young girl, whom nobody recognises. Running into her childhood friend Bram Nash, now the local coroner, Jo becomes his assistant – after some doubts on both sides – and their first case is to identify that young girl, though her own quest to find her father remains very much alive. The mystery grows as she runs into hostility and danger, but this quirky determined lady pushes relentlessly onwards.

A pleasure to read, and I hope that Jo and Bram continue with many more cases.