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kienie's review against another edition
3.0
Points off for first cousins getting together (out of no-where, I might add). Otherwise a fun mystery with the decent number of clues along the way.
anjana's review against another edition
3.0
The cover does not have much to do with the story.
Below is my review for this book:
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/behold-heres-poison-inspector-hannasyde-2-by-georgette-heyer/
Below is my review for this book:
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/behold-heres-poison-inspector-hannasyde-2-by-georgette-heyer/
lilith_elinor's review against another edition
3.0
An efficient little mystery to add to the lineup. It did the job, but wasn't transcendental either.
I'm not really sure what to say about this one, because in many ways it's quite similar to previous Heyer mysteries. Excentric relatives with strong characters and many conflicts are forced to live in the home of a rich, hated relative. He dies. They squabble, lie, flounder as the detective tries to piece out the truth. There's one particularly sarcastic and witty character who provides most of the comic relief with his barbs (in this case, Randall). And there's a very slight romantic subplot.
It's very tropey, but for a reason : these are fun tropes that always work, and it's an entertaining read. Some bits had me giggling gleefully, since Heyer's outstanding wit is expressed through Randall, who is particularly smooth and delights in always causing conflict between his ridiculous relatives. Yet he has clearly been in love with one of them for a while, even as he doesn't really know how to express it without merciless teasing. Randall is very much a gamma type character. Not interested in being a leader, but rather being off by himself, and stirring up trouble for his amusement. He's so horrible and shamelessly selfish and condescending, yet somehow, Heyer manages to make him compelling and almost endearing. I liked his romantic subplot and while it doesn't take up much space in the story, Heyer spends a bit more time wrapping it up than in previous books which I appreciated.
Stella, while suitably plucky and self-assured, didn't really stand out as unique. She's very much of the type of heroine Heyer usually has in her mysteries. I appreciate that she's not a doormat and stands up for herself, but that's about it.
As for the mystery, some parts were pretty obvious and I guessed them, others were more surprising. I knew though that some characters could not be the murderer, but there were a few surprise twists and it was neatly constructed. It's not one of the most groundbreaking puzzles though, as these mysteries go it's fairly tame.
Overall it does what it says on the tin. Witty, tropey (in a good way) country house family mystery. If you like these things it will hit the spot.
I'm not really sure what to say about this one, because in many ways it's quite similar to previous Heyer mysteries. Excentric relatives with strong characters and many conflicts are forced to live in the home of a rich, hated relative. He dies. They squabble, lie, flounder as the detective tries to piece out the truth. There's one particularly sarcastic and witty character who provides most of the comic relief with his barbs (in this case, Randall). And there's a very slight romantic subplot.
It's very tropey, but for a reason : these are fun tropes that always work, and it's an entertaining read. Some bits had me giggling gleefully, since Heyer's outstanding wit is expressed through Randall, who is particularly smooth and delights in always causing conflict between his ridiculous relatives. Yet he has clearly been in love with one of them for a while, even as he doesn't really know how to express it without merciless teasing. Randall is very much a gamma type character. Not interested in being a leader, but rather being off by himself, and stirring up trouble for his amusement. He's so horrible and shamelessly selfish and condescending, yet somehow, Heyer manages to make him compelling and almost endearing. I liked his romantic subplot and while it doesn't take up much space in the story, Heyer spends a bit more time wrapping it up than in previous books which I appreciated.
Stella, while suitably plucky and self-assured, didn't really stand out as unique. She's very much of the type of heroine Heyer usually has in her mysteries. I appreciate that she's not a doormat and stands up for herself, but that's about it.
As for the mystery, some parts were pretty obvious and I guessed them, others were more surprising. I knew though that some characters could not be the murderer, but there were a few surprise twists and it was neatly constructed. It's not one of the most groundbreaking puzzles though, as these mysteries go it's fairly tame.
Overall it does what it says on the tin. Witty, tropey (in a good way) country house family mystery. If you like these things it will hit the spot.
behowel's review against another edition
5.0
Georgette Heyer has not only written some of the best regency romance, but she also writes a darn good mystery. The characters in this story are hilarious. Every one of them has such a well developed and different personality from the next. Cousin Randall is hands down one of the best characters ever written.
magneticcrow's review against another edition
4.0
Well that was enjoyable! The plot was simple enough, but read it for the marvelous and amusing characterizations—particularly the universally loathed cousin Randall.
christinecc's review against another edition
4.0
Hannasyde and Hemingway mysteries are all about the setup. The more eccentric the main cast, the more you look forward to seeing how the Superintendant and Sergeant are going to deal with these people. It's a hoot. And of course, Heyer surprises us with which characters will get more active roles in solving the mystery. It's never who you expect. I thought the author's choice here was delightful. Now about the romance subplot: I have some mixed feelings. Side-stepping the fact that Randall and Stella are cousins (and I don't mean distant ones, I mean the her-father-was-his-uncle type of cousins), Randall is kind of a jerk. Not because he plays the snide cousin around the family, that part is very fun. I liked how much he embraced the role of that cousin everyone hates and who thinks he is the bee's knees. It's like Don John from Much Ado.
I even like his chemistry with Stella and get why she starts to appreciate how little he cares for pretenses--of course, he's still covered in pretenses but I'll get to those in a second. In a house full of potential murderers acting as though they are grieving for a rather hateful uncle, Randall is a ray of sunshine by comparison (man I feel bad for Stella). But to be honest, sometimes Randall crosses the line from 80s-cartoon-snobby-bully to plain condescending or unnecessarily unkind. And that kills the romance a little. Snark isn't supposed to get personal, and it's not fun to see him call Stella stupid or tasteless.
My personal theory is that Randall has thin skin and uses snark and aloofness to avoid rejection--to the point where he freezes up a little bit when the girl he's liked for years actually reciprocates his feelings (/doesn't hate him on sight, but he'll take what he's given). So when he suddenly proposes to Stella after acting like the aforementioned jerk for years, she says no and doesn't understand WHY he would want to marry her given his attitude towards her. Yes! That makes sense! And Randall has to stop protecting himself with snark and actually be kind to win Stella. Like I said, mixed feelings. I don't like the trope of the man who learns to be nice but only to the love interest and only part of the time. They have chemistry when Randall keeps things playful and when he drops the snide act, but in between, it's bit of a mess. But man, when Stella grabs Randall's arm and he has to pretend that he froze because he was worried about his jacket but REALLY he's freaking out because STELLA IS HOLDING HIS ARM it's adorable and hilarious and I wanted more of that. Heyer did a good job with an iffy trope, so she saves the characters. But only just.
Recommended for anyone in search of a good mystery, fun characters, and sarcastic British humor. And Heyer fans, of course.
I even like his chemistry with Stella and get why she starts to appreciate how little he cares for pretenses--of course, he's still covered in pretenses but I'll get to those in a second. In a house full of potential murderers acting as though they are grieving for a rather hateful uncle, Randall is a ray of sunshine by comparison (man I feel bad for Stella). But to be honest, sometimes Randall crosses the line from 80s-cartoon-snobby-bully to plain condescending or unnecessarily unkind. And that kills the romance a little. Snark isn't supposed to get personal, and it's not fun to see him call Stella stupid or tasteless.
My personal theory is that Randall has thin skin and uses snark and aloofness to avoid rejection--to the point where he freezes up a little bit when the girl he's liked for years actually reciprocates his feelings (/doesn't hate him on sight, but he'll take what he's given). So when he suddenly proposes to Stella after acting like the aforementioned jerk for years, she says no and doesn't understand WHY he would want to marry her given his attitude towards her. Yes! That makes sense! And Randall has to stop protecting himself with snark and actually be kind to win Stella. Like I said, mixed feelings. I don't like the trope of the man who learns to be nice but only to the love interest and only part of the time. They have chemistry when Randall keeps things playful and when he drops the snide act, but in between, it's bit of a mess. But man, when Stella grabs Randall's arm and he has to pretend that he froze because he was worried about his jacket but REALLY he's freaking out because STELLA IS HOLDING HIS ARM it's adorable and hilarious and I wanted more of that. Heyer did a good job with an iffy trope, so she saves the characters. But only just.
Recommended for anyone in search of a good mystery, fun characters, and sarcastic British humor. And Heyer fans, of course.
smcleish's review against another edition
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in March 1998.
This seems to be one of the best of Georgette Heyer's dozen or so detective novels (I haven't read quite all of them, so I can't be definite about it.) It has a much better plot than most of her novels in this genre, though it still doesn't live up to the motto they still insist on putting on her detective novels even today ("Queen of Mystery and Suspense" - a title that could be far better applied to any of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, or Dorothy Sayers among Heyer's contemporaries).
The Matthews family are an unpleasant group of people with whom it is difficult to feel any sympathy. The murder victim, Gregory Matthews, is an overbearing old man prone to blackmail, who lives with his miserly sister, avaricious sister-in-law and her two children. One of these, Stella, is the only remotely likeable member of the family, along her cousin Randall. Randall is more intelligent than the lot of them put together, and he alternately helps and hinders the police before a solution is arrived at. The puzzle is fairly clever, and the solution unexpected.
The title, by the way, is from Shakespeare's Pericles, and, in the context it originally comes from, it doesn't seem very apt.
This seems to be one of the best of Georgette Heyer's dozen or so detective novels (I haven't read quite all of them, so I can't be definite about it.) It has a much better plot than most of her novels in this genre, though it still doesn't live up to the motto they still insist on putting on her detective novels even today ("Queen of Mystery and Suspense" - a title that could be far better applied to any of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, or Dorothy Sayers among Heyer's contemporaries).
The Matthews family are an unpleasant group of people with whom it is difficult to feel any sympathy. The murder victim, Gregory Matthews, is an overbearing old man prone to blackmail, who lives with his miserly sister, avaricious sister-in-law and her two children. One of these, Stella, is the only remotely likeable member of the family, along her cousin Randall. Randall is more intelligent than the lot of them put together, and he alternately helps and hinders the police before a solution is arrived at. The puzzle is fairly clever, and the solution unexpected.
The title, by the way, is from Shakespeare's Pericles, and, in the context it originally comes from, it doesn't seem very apt.
celiaedf12's review against another edition
3.0
I read this in a couple of hours while lying in bed one morning on maternity leave, after I bought a copy in a secondhand bookstore a month or so ago. (The cover of this edition on Goodreads is extremely odd - a young woman in a party mask has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of this book). This is the first one of Heyer's mysteries I've read, and I don't know if it's typical - a cozy mystery including a dash of romance (although a romance I found just a little hard to believe in). It was also a little unusual in that the police don't really solve the mystery, but rely on one of the suspects laying it all out for them in the end, which doesn't really give you the satisfaction of following clues. I liked the bantering between the characters, and it was an enjoyable light mystery for a morning's read.