A review by markk
A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer

adventurous mysterious medium-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

2.25

Three years ago, a group read introduced me to the novel Envious Casca. It was my first time reading one of Georgette Heyer’s novels, and I was taken instantly by the quality of her book. As I was getting into reading classic British mysteries, I decided to seek out as many of hers that I could find, in anticipation of reliving the enjoyable experience of my first read. 

The journey has proven an uneven one. The second of her novels that I read, Why Shoot a Butler, not only proved that my first experience wasn’t an aberration, but it convinced me that I had discovered a new favorite author. Then I picked up Footsteps in the Dark, which proved a disappointment but a forgivable one as Heyer herself subsequently disowned it. The next two, They Found Him Dead and The Unfinished Clue, seemingly confirmed my hope that Heyer’s poor novel was an aberration in her oeuvre, while simultaneously clarifying her formula for her novels. It was when I read, Behold, Here’s Poison, however, that I started questioning my previous conclusion. 

That was the context in which I read this novel. Initially I was impressed with the quality of the premise, as the story opens immediately with the discovery of the victim and the launch of the investigation. Not only was this refreshingly different from Heyer’s previous works, it allowed for more of the book to be spent following the activities of inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway, which was hardly a bad thing. As the plot unfolded, however, a sense of annoyance took hold. Some of this was fueled by the activities of the amateur investigators and Hannasyde’s sloppy interview techniques, which seemed to serve little other purpose than to provide dramatic encounters. But my main annoyance was with my suspicions early on as to who the murderer was, as well as with how the character developments would play out. Heyer was not going to be as predictable as that, was she?
 
Indeed she was. Though I missed a couple of clues that hinted at the motives behind the crime, by the time I reached the end I discovered to my disappointment that I had indeed anticipated accurately the outcome.  While some readers may enjoy such a process, for me it’s something of a letdown to predict accurately the identity of the culprit, as it makes the mystery seem not as clever. With the number of Heyer’s unread mysteries dwindling for me, I’m hoping that this and proves the last such result, rather than an example of an author who missed as often as she hit.