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Book Review: Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey

I picked up this book because it’s said to be one of Tey’s best works, and all you really need to know is that there are imposters and people who resemble horses* in it.

Named after its protagonist, Brat Farrar is the story of how Brat comes to become Patrick Ashby, the heir to the Ashby fortune, and what happens after he’s been accepted into the family.

So this was an interesting book. In terms of genre, I think it’s more similar to a thriller than a mystery. Sure, there is a mysterious death, but the tension doesn’t come from the mystery of how Patrick Ashby died, instead, it’s largely focused on Brat’s attempt to pass as an Ashby and his tense relationship with Simon, Patrick’s twin.

I think for me, the book excels most at capturing the tense atmosphere. I genuinely could not put it down when I was reading and I ended up finishing it in two sittings.

That said, in terms of the plot propelling me to read on (such as whether or not Brat would be found out or the truth behind Patrick’s death), I didn’t find it as strong. We already know pretty early on that Brat has been legally accepted, clearing his biggest hurdles, and Patrick’s death is overshadowed by the tension between Brat and Simon. I actually put the book down after I had to stop the first time, and only picked it up about two days later. So it’s one of those stories that you can’t stop until you put it down, and then you find you don’t really need to rush to go back to it.

As for the mystery aspect – it’s pretty confusing. Up to know, I’m not too sure exactly what happened to Patrick. I have the broad strokes, but we never get a proper explanation a la Christie. That may be, however, the fault of my expectations of the golden age of mystery (and the fact that I basically only read Christie and some Chesterton) than a failure of the book.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed it and I see why it has endured the test of time. If you’re interested in something from one of the Golden Age of Mystery writers but you don’t really want a conventional mystery, Brat Farrar may be something that you’d want to check out. Make sure you have an afternoon cleared so that you can finish it in one go.

*In terms of temperament

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