The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox - Claire Gradidge
About the book
April 1941, Romsey, England.
Josephine 'Jo' Fox hasn't set foot in Romsey in over twenty years. As an illegitimate child, her family - headed by her controlling grandfather - found her an embarrassment. Now, she wants to return to what was once her home and uncover the secret of her parentage. Who was her father and why would her mother never talk about him?
Jo arrives the day after the Luftwaffe have bombed the town. The local pub has been completely destroyed and rescue teams are searching for the remains of the seven people known to have been in the pub at the time the bomb hit. They are shocked, however, to uncover eight bodies instead. The eighth, unidentified, body is that of a teenage girl, who no one in the town claims to know. Who is she, how did she get there, but most importantly - who killed her?
Teaming up with local coroner and old friend, Bram Nash, Jo sets out to establish the identity of the girl and solve the riddle of her death. In doing so, she also uncovers her own personal mystery.
About the author
Claire Gradidge was born and brought up in Romsey. After a career as, among other things, a nurse and a school librarian, she went to the University of Winchester, where she graduated in 2009 with a first-class honours BA in Creative Writing. In January 2018, she was awarded a PhD in creative writing and The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox was written as the creative element of her PhD study. An early version of the opening 3000 words was highly commended in the Good Housekeeping Magazine competition in 2012.
Discover more about the book and author
Listen to this Love Your Library’s podcast with Claire Gradidge .
Read this interview with Claire Gradidge.
Read about The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox in The Bookseller.
Our Librarian’s Review
Reviewed by Liz
In the spring of 1941, after the death of her mother and with her husband missing, Josephine Fox returns to the place of her birth intent on discovering the identity of her father. Her mother’s violent reaction to local newspaper just before her death provides a long list of possibilities for Josephine to investigate.
Arriving the day after the local pub is destroyed in a bombing raid, she teams up with her childhood friend Bram, now the local coroner, to investigate the murder of a young woman found in the cellar of the bombed pub.
Josephine is a feisty, independent, and brave woman, drawn back into the world of her unhappy childhood as she tries to solve these two mysteries. Through flashbacks we learn about her childhood, and the harsh treatment she endures particularly from her grandfather because her mother is young and unmarried. A grandfather who is still embarrassed and dismissive when Josephine reappears.
The narrative is strong, well-paced, and the descriptions evocative of the time. Josephine is a great central character, her exploits and adventures are enthralling, her vulnerabilities and strengths believable. The mysteries are intriguing, albeit a little predictable. However, this is good read which will appeal to those who enjoy WW2 fiction, engaging central characters and a mystery to solve.