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A review by christinecc
Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
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.