Classic Mystery Spotlight ♦ Georgette Heyer

Recently I had the pleasure of reading three of Georgette Heyers’ murder mysteries. Prior to this I’d only read a Heyers’ Regency novel, so I was unsure just what to expect. However I enjoyed all of these mystery stories quite a bit. Since I’m terribly late in getting the reviews posted, I’ve combined all three together into a single post of mini-reviews.

Meet The Matthews - Before The Next One Dies… It’s no ordinary morning at the Poplars – the master is found dead in his bed, and it seems his high blood pressure was not the cause. When an autopsy reveals a sinister poison, it’s up to the quietly resourceful Inspector Hannasyde to catch the murderer in time to spare the next victim. But every single member of the quarrelsome Matthews family has a motive and none, of course, has an alibi. Book Title: Behold, Here’s Poison Genre: British Mystery Author: Georgette Heyer Type: Trade Paperback 336 Pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc. Publication Date: February 2009

My Thoughts   
Behold, Here’s Poison was by far my favorite of the three Georgette Heyer mysteries I read. And it’s not even the mystery aspect that was all that great – it was the characters! It’s got that wonderful sort of cliche feeling to it. Head of the family living in a grand old mansion, while all the assorted relatives (who basically despise, envy, belittle) one another all stand around trying to wiggle in and get whatever they can. By the middle of the book I couldn’t have cared less about who poisoned Greg Matthews, I was enjoying the characters and their conversations too much. They were all naturals at throwing out perfectly timed comebacks, smiling while cutting down others, and basically being asses. Completely entertaining.

Bookshelves Of Doom

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Kylee's 2009 Reading Extravaganza

A Houseful Of People He Loathes Is Not Sir Arthurs’ Worst Problem… It should have been a lovely English country-house weekend. But the unfortunate guest-list is enough to exasperate a saint, and the host, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, is an abusive wretch hated by everyone from his disinherited son to his wife’s stoic would-be lover. When Sir Arthur is found stabbed to death, no one is particularly grieved – and no one has an alibi. The unhappy guests find themselves under the scrutiny of Scotland Yards’ cool-headed Inspector Harding, who has solved tough cases before – but this time, the talented young inspector discovers much more than he’s bargained for. Book Title: The Unfinished Clue Genre: British Mystery Author: Georgette Heyer Type: Trade Paperback 336 Pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc. Publication Date: March 2009

My Thoughts   
The Unfinished Clue was slightly different from the other two mysteries as the reader gets to know a bit about the victim before he meets his end. And in that time I decided that he very well deserved whatever he got. Again there is a large cast of suspects filling the country estate, all of them strange in their own ways. Some relatives, others associates, or acquaintances, but all suspects for different reasons – this made it feel very similar to the cast of Clue. Suspicions and motives are found everywhere in this one. Normally Heyers’ characters are pretty unlikable but I did like the sister-in-law and the inspector from this story. Their interactions were an interesting addition to the story. I also found the mystery in The Unfinished Clue really well-done, with information given at just the right points to keep me guessing and re-guessing until the finale.

The Epic Rat

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Kylee's 2009 Reading Extravaganza

Every Family Has Secrets, But The Fountains’ Are Turning Deadly… On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel. The girl protests her innocence, and Amberley believes her – at least until he gets drawn into the mystery and the clues incriminating Shirley Brown begin to add up… In a English country-house murder mystery with a twist, it’s the butler who’s the victim, every clue complicates the puzzle, and the bumbling police are well-meaning but completely baffled. Fortunately, in ferreting out a desperate killer, amateur sleuth Amberley is as brilliant as he is arrogant, but this time he’s not sure he wants to know the truth… Book Title: Why Shoot A Butler? Genre: British Mystery Author: Georgette Heyer Type: Trade Paperback 336 Pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc. Publication Date: April 2009

My Thoughts   
Why Shoot A Butler? was the second that I read, it sounded like it had a different set-up than the other two, seeing that the murder victim was found outside the home rather than in the midst of a country house get together. Another difference is that this time the person, Amberley, trying to solve the crime is not a true inspector – he’s more of a hobby detective. Along with Amberley there is a large cast of very peculiar characters, which is always something I enjoy in a mystery. There are lots of clues being cast about, although whether they are relevant or only meant to throw you off the trail is up to the reader to decide. The only thing that made this one my lesser enjoyed of the three is that the involvement of the real police officers seemed to be meant only as a farce. They behaved so idiotically that it took away from the story a bit for me. I’ve always liked the sense of hilarity that comes from all the eclectic suspects, but having the officials behave this way was not expected.

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Melissa's Bookshelf Reading Extravaganza

About The Author

Georgette Heyer wrote over fifty books, including Regency romances, mysteries, and historical fiction. Her barrister husband, Ronad Rougier, provided many of the plots for her detective novels, which are classic English country-house mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy, inventive plots, and sparkling characterizations.

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