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beledit's review against another edition
3.0
A standard classic British crime novel with an interesting cast of characters.
ruinedbyreading's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fernandie's review against another edition
3.0
OK, pretty much all the main characters (except the Scotland Yard men) are unlikable in this one. Totally not ok with the romance in this one, either.
Spoiler
Randall had no redeeming qualities and was a rude jerk to everyone, including the cops and Stella, so why the hell should Stella fall for him?quietjenn's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely my favorite of the Heyer mysteries, although it could just be that I'm more accustomed to her style now. And the fact that the books are way slow in the beginning. I would've paid good money for a character guide in this one and I managed to suss out the perpetrator, but it was a really fun ride and I loved Randall.
lraven13's review against another edition
3.0
Long, convoluted lacking in sympathetic characters outside of the inspector. Weird romance crops up, the killer is who now? Oh, okay....
amgamble's review against another edition
People who you could can believe might've murdered a guy are not nice people, and it took me a while to get into this book. What kept me reading were the multiple agendas (how were all those going to play out?), the lack of physical evidence (how was the crime going to be solved?), and the point of view (third-person omniscient handled well: as yet another character revealed what they were hiding from the police or who they were lying to, the suspense increased).
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Another of my forays into audionovel versions of mysteries. On the whole, I much prefer listening to books that I've already read at one time or another. Even if it's been a while (as with this one), things at least seem familiar once I get settled in. That's especially useful for mysteries--because I'm definitely apt to miss important points if I'm hearing the story for the first time (it's much harder to keep everything straight in my head if I'm not actually reading). Of course, with this one I still didn't catch on to who the murderer was even though I'd read it all before.
As with my previous audionovel reviews, I'm going to focus more on the reading performance rather than the story. For my views on Heyer's work, please see the review linked to the title above. Ulli Birve is a much more talented narrator than John Franklyn-Robbins was in Murder Must Advertise. Though her tone remains languid and cultured for nearly all of Gregory Matthews's relations and acquaintances (for the most part--not counting the lower servants and the smoking shop keeper late in the story), she provides a strong range of voices and it is extraordinarily easy to keep the characters straight even though there are many of them. If I have any complaint on that score, it's that she goes a little overboard with the languid, listless tone for Randall Matthews. I do realize he's supposed to be the uninterested, sneering cousin--but she really overdoes it. I don't remember being quite so put off by his tone as it came to me off the page.
She is particularly good with the aunts, Gertrude and Harriet. Though I do think Gertrude gets short shrift in the story--she's the one who is the most honest and wants the truth to come out, no matter what it is. She knows her own mind and I only wish she weren't quite so abrasive. Strong female characters should be a good thing.
Overall, an excellent audio version of Heyer's novel. One I enjoyed quite a bit.
★★★ and a half for the audio edition. (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
As with my previous audionovel reviews, I'm going to focus more on the reading performance rather than the story. For my views on Heyer's work, please see the review linked to the title above. Ulli Birve is a much more talented narrator than John Franklyn-Robbins was in Murder Must Advertise. Though her tone remains languid and cultured for nearly all of Gregory Matthews's relations and acquaintances (for the most part--not counting the lower servants and the smoking shop keeper late in the story), she provides a strong range of voices and it is extraordinarily easy to keep the characters straight even though there are many of them. If I have any complaint on that score, it's that she goes a little overboard with the languid, listless tone for Randall Matthews. I do realize he's supposed to be the uninterested, sneering cousin--but she really overdoes it. I don't remember being quite so put off by his tone as it came to me off the page.
She is particularly good with the aunts, Gertrude and Harriet. Though I do think Gertrude gets short shrift in the story--she's the one who is the most honest and wants the truth to come out, no matter what it is. She knows her own mind and I only wish she weren't quite so abrasive. Strong female characters should be a good thing.
Overall, an excellent audio version of Heyer's novel. One I enjoyed quite a bit.
★★★ and a half for the audio edition. (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
2.0
When Gregory Matthews was found dead in his bed one morning, most of his family thought it was due to blood pressure and over-eating. The doctor was even willing to sign off on the death certificate....but then Matthews' meddling sister takes one look at the corpse and decides she's not satisfied. What a surprise for the family to find out that it wasn't the roast duck that did Gregory in, but a dose of nicotine poisoning. Now it's up to Inspector Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway to get to the bottom of the family secrets.
Gregory Matthews, true to crime fiction form, was one of those crusty, difficult men who liked having power over his relations. So, everyone in the house had a reason to be glad that the old man was out of the way. Everyone from Guy, his nephew, who most certainly did not want to be shipped off to South America to Stella, his niece, who didn't like being told that she couldn't marry the doctor. Even Gregory's sisters will find the house a little easier to manage without his demanding ways.
Behold, Here's Poison follows in the Heyer mystery tradition--lots of alibis, a bickering family, an unlikeable main character who just happens to turn into the romantic lead. It's all here. Most of the time, that's a good thing--and this is noted as being one of Heyer's most popular detective novels. I'm not sure if I'm feeling a little more picky because of surgery or what--but this time it didn't go over quite as well for me. The bickering in the opening chapters seems a little too strident to me. The sudden transformation of the unlikeable main character was just that--too sudden. Heyer generally does this sort of thing well, so you might take my rating with a grain of salt. The best part of the novel for me was when Hannasyde and Hemingway showed up. I enjoy their characters very much and the dialogue and interactions with them was bang on target. Two and a half stars.
Gregory Matthews, true to crime fiction form, was one of those crusty, difficult men who liked having power over his relations. So, everyone in the house had a reason to be glad that the old man was out of the way. Everyone from Guy, his nephew, who most certainly did not want to be shipped off to South America to Stella, his niece, who didn't like being told that she couldn't marry the doctor. Even Gregory's sisters will find the house a little easier to manage without his demanding ways.
Behold, Here's Poison follows in the Heyer mystery tradition--lots of alibis, a bickering family, an unlikeable main character who just happens to turn into the romantic lead. It's all here. Most of the time, that's a good thing--and this is noted as being one of Heyer's most popular detective novels. I'm not sure if I'm feeling a little more picky because of surgery or what--but this time it didn't go over quite as well for me. The bickering in the opening chapters seems a little too strident to me. The sudden transformation of the unlikeable main character was just that--too sudden. Heyer generally does this sort of thing well, so you might take my rating with a grain of salt. The best part of the novel for me was when Hannasyde and Hemingway showed up. I enjoy their characters very much and the dialogue and interactions with them was bang on target. Two and a half stars.
juliesplotsandpages's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love the characters in this book! They're so quirky. And some of them remind me of Heyer's Regency characters, which I always enjoy. This is one of my favorites in this series.