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