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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Another classic crime novel from Heyer, but a fairly boring one. I kept forgetting who was who, and couldn't fix an image of any of the characters clearly enough in my mind to be able to follow their role in the stories, so as a result I couldn't follow the plot, got lost and got bored. The dénouement was quite obvious from early on. Don't bother.
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
In Georgette Heyer's Detection Unlimited we have more suspects and more detectives than we can shake a stick at. Sampson Warrenby is dead and just about everybody in Thornden has a motive and the opportunity to have done him in. He's found slumped on a seat under the oak tree in his garden....with a bullet through his head. Most of the suspects were at an afternoon tennis party and were wandering about the area on their way home when the the shot was heard. When the local police decide to bring in Scotland Yard, Chief Inspector Hemingway finds that he has more than the village policemen offering him assistance. The villagers each have their pet suspect and can't understand why Hemingway doesn't immediately arrest him...or her. Is the villain the dead man's niece--for an inheritance and to get rid of a controlling uncle? Or maybe it's the town's other solicitor--angry at losing clients and prestige? Then there's the new couple at the farm who seem to have a guilty secret. And what about the author who wants the starring role in a real live murder mystery? It doesn't help that Warrenby seemed to have had the nasty habit of finding out little tidbits about his neighbors and not quite blackmailing them with his knowledge.
This was the only Heyer mystery that I hadn't read previously (I'm currently rereading them all for a Georgette Heyer reading challenge). And it's another fine specimen of the vintage village cozy. All the usual suspects are on board--and we even have the suspicious foreigner to grab some of our attention. Plenty of humor. And Hemingway has his usual "flair" and a new sidekick. Inspector Grant has moved on to better things and we now have Inspector Harbottle--dour-faced but a definite Hemingway devotee. There were plenty of red herrings which managed to keep me guessing until the end, although I was torn between two suspects--the correct one and another. Four stars for a grand story by one of the grand ladies of vintage crime.
This was the only Heyer mystery that I hadn't read previously (I'm currently rereading them all for a Georgette Heyer reading challenge). And it's another fine specimen of the vintage village cozy. All the usual suspects are on board--and we even have the suspicious foreigner to grab some of our attention. Plenty of humor. And Hemingway has his usual "flair" and a new sidekick. Inspector Grant has moved on to better things and we now have Inspector Harbottle--dour-faced but a definite Hemingway devotee. There were plenty of red herrings which managed to keep me guessing until the end, although I was torn between two suspects--the correct one and another. Four stars for a grand story by one of the grand ladies of vintage crime.
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is probably my least favorite of this detective series, which is kind of a bummer since this is the last one. But I always like Detective Hemingway, and the love story in this is cute.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I did a "re-read" of this via audible. It was Inspector Hemingway from previous books and I enjoy him and his flair, and his psychology. Lol. Excellent rendition of this story and fascinating because I couldn't for the life of me remember who was the murderer.
You won't convince me that Hemingway isn't gay and isn't having a relationship/affair with Harbottle. Not a marrying man, indeed.
Surprisingly, the mandatory hetero couple were well set up, well matched, and completely background. I'm shocked!
It was a nice twist, too, with the timing. Plus the little dig at the Murder at the Vicarage! I see you, Heyer!
The one distressing thing is everyone addressing the Polish immigrant as "the Pole" or the "foreigner," and calling his name "unnatural." But at least he was never a serious suspect, and never simply because he was an immigrant. He legitimately had a motive to kill the victim. And he spoke good English! And looks like he's going to marry the rich heiress, so it breaks even.
RE-READ 2021 - I listened to the book this time; good narrator. The first few chapters are slow and somewhat dull, as they set up the character relations. The rest of the mystery mostly makes up for it.
Surprisingly, the mandatory hetero couple were well set up, well matched, and completely background. I'm shocked!
It was a nice twist, too, with the timing. Plus the little dig at the Murder at the Vicarage! I see you, Heyer!
The one distressing thing is everyone addressing the Polish immigrant as "the Pole" or the "foreigner," and calling his name "unnatural." But at least he was never a serious suspect, and never simply because he was an immigrant. He legitimately had a motive to kill the victim. And he spoke good English! And looks like he's going to marry the rich heiress, so it breaks even.
RE-READ 2021 - I listened to the book this time; good narrator. The first few chapters are slow and somewhat dull, as they set up the character relations. The rest of the mystery mostly makes up for it.
A fairly typical British cosy--the most disliked man in the village is dead, and almost everyone had a motive. The local police are stumped, and call in Chief Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, who puts his 'flair' to use in solving the case.
Lots of stereotypes: interfering spinsters, timid vicar's wives, dry old solicitors, quirky upper-class youth, but still a fun read, and it did take me more than half the book to figure out "whodunnit".
Lots of stereotypes: interfering spinsters, timid vicar's wives, dry old solicitors, quirky upper-class youth, but still a fun read, and it did take me more than half the book to figure out "whodunnit".
inspector hemingway takes center stage in this one - unfortunately! heyer mysteries are always best when they forget they are actually supposed to be mysteries.
wasn't so impressed with abe kobo's the ruined map (which is a surrealist or metaphysical take on detective fiction) when i first read it but now am inclined to think it rather brilliant. the tedium of that book is at least deliberate, and ostentatiously mundane - like with the dadaists, who took ordinary things and put them in extraordinary contexts. abe kobo's brilliance comes from his characters, who take themselves absolutely seriously and see their problems as absolutely critical but are also absolutely unaware that their own reality has been unmoored from ours (the readers). books like detection unlimited keep the tedium but not the self-awareness. oh well. without them i suppose books like the ruined map couldn't exist, so...maybe it evens out in the end.
wasn't so impressed with abe kobo's the ruined map (which is a surrealist or metaphysical take on detective fiction) when i first read it but now am inclined to think it rather brilliant. the tedium of that book is at least deliberate, and ostentatiously mundane - like with the dadaists, who took ordinary things and put them in extraordinary contexts. abe kobo's brilliance comes from his characters, who take themselves absolutely seriously and see their problems as absolutely critical but are also absolutely unaware that their own reality has been unmoored from ours (the readers). books like detection unlimited keep the tedium but not the self-awareness. oh well. without them i suppose books like the ruined map couldn't exist, so...maybe it evens out in the end.