No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer

29 August 2010 00:13

This book is a murder mystery and I must say that I prefer these ones to Heyer’s romances, but I’m not a huge fan of romances anyway. I didn’t read the blurb on the back of this book until I had finished it, and I’m thankful that I didn’t as it gives away part of the mystery. Why do they do that? The main detective in this book is Inspector Hemingway but as he doesn’t really have a huge personality I found that he didn’t contribute much to the flavour of the whole thing.

Heyer manages to combine murder mysteries and humour successfully which is a nice dimension to her books and I can’t think of any other crime novelist who attempts comedy. Well, I suppose Dorothy Sayers did but not to the same extent.

At 348 pages this is quite a thick book as vintage crime goes, and I had put off reading it for a while for this reason. But it was actually a really quick read and enjoyable. It was first published in 1939.

I wouldn’t call the first paragraph an interest grabber: “The Prince is coming by the one-forty-five. That means he’ll be here in time for tea. Well, I do call that nice.”

This is a classic country house mystery, usually a good start for any thriller. The house, called Palings, is owned by Mrs Ermyntrude Carter who had been a chorus girl in her day, and she has a husband who spends his time squandering his wife’s money and is a general liability. His cousin Mary is also part of the household.

The rest of the characters consist of the neighbours, the local doctor
and Vicky who is Mrs Carter’s daughter and fancies herself as a bit of an actress.

The crime doesn’t occur until about a third of the way through the book so part of the mystery is figuring out who the victim is going to be, as well as who is the culprit.

Georgette Heyer seems to be unable to write anything which doesn’t have a dollop of romance in it but it doesn’t descend into the gloopy, schmalzy sort.

Dorothy L. Sayers said Miss Heyer’s characters and dialogue are an abiding delight to me… I have seldom met people to whom I have taken so violent a fancy from the word “Go”.

One thing I must mention is that the only other Ermintrude that I have ever come across before is of course the cow in The Magic Roundabout. O.K. the spelling is different. But at the beginning I couldn’t help thinking of Ermintrude the cow whenever the character of Ermyntrude Carter was speaking.

If you want a reminder of that iconic BBC programme for children of all ages, have a look here.

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Blooding Mister Naylor by Chris Boyce

25 August 2010 22:24

This book was published in 1990 and my husband thought that I might enjoy reading it, and I did. Chris Boyce was a Scottish writer who wrote mainly science fiction but this one is a political thriller which is set in and around Glasgow. Just like I used to be, in fact the very first paragraph mentioned The Dumbuck Hotel, Dumbarton, which is where I worked when I was a schoolgirl and is a 10 minute walk from the house which I grew up in.

When Lexie Beattie, a veteran left-wing nationalist is discovered beaten to death in her own home, Alan Banks, one of the activists based at the peace camp (obviously modelled on the one at Faslane Naval Base) is accused of the murder and local lawyer and ex-army captain Jackie Naylor is given the job of defending him. He has defended the peace campers before but has never dealt with a murder and the senior partners in his firm do not want him to take the case on.

He soon discovers that there is a lot more to the case than he thought and he becomes embroiled in a world of double-dealing and violence.

It isn’t all doom and gloom, there is some humour scattered throughout the book, well it wouldn’t be Glasgow without humour and verbal duelling.

I did like this book but for me the fact that I could picture all the locations in my mind added to the whole thing and obviously that wouldn’t be the same for everyone.

It was published by Dog and Bone who are no longer in existence, which is a pity. I was going to offer myself to them as a proof-reader. The book is full of typos, extra words, missing words, just lots of mistakes, which is very annoying.

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Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg

19 August 2010 22:07

My husband read this book recently and he thought that I might like it.

It’s set in Denmark and Greenland. Smilla, the main character is a product of both countries. As she lived in Greenland until she was a teenager she has a good knowledge of the various types of snow and ice. She’s a bit of a loner really but has formed a close relationship with her neighbours’ young son, Isaiah. When he ends up “falling” from their snow covered roof Smilla decides that it must have been murder rather than an accident because of how his footprints on the roof look, and she sets out to prove the case.

The storyline is quite convoluted and eventually moves from Copenhagen to a ship bound for Greenland, at which point it changes from a domestic whodunnit into something a lot darker and more violent and veering towards science fiction.

However, I did enjoy the book although I don’t think it is one which I would like to reread in the future. I found the central character Smilla Jaspersen to be really likeable, which always helps.

I recently heard from Judith, Reader in the Wilderness that this book has been made into a film. I think it can’t have been very true to the book as I can’t imagine a film being able to deal with all the detailed twists.

I read this book as part of the Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge.

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Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

17 July 2010 23:49

I bought quite a few vintage Penguin crime books when I was in Stockbridge, Edinburgh last week. So I thought I should read one next and eat into the collection a bit.

I plumped for a Margery Allingham, mainly because I don’t think I’ve read one of hers for ages. Police at the Funeral was first published in 1931. It’s set in Cambridge and the sleuth Albert Campion gets a letter from an old friend who wants him to look into the disappearance of his fiancee’s uncle, Andrew Seeley. He has been missing from his home for about a week and Campion interviews the rest of the family in an attempt to discover what has happened.

It’s a very dysfunctional family, headed by the formidable 84 year old Great Aunt Caroline who rules the roost and holds the purse strings. The other members of the family all seem to be feckless and incapable of supporting themselves and despite the fact that they are getting on themselves in years they persist in behaving like nasty children.

This is weakest area of the book I think, because although it’s obviously important to the story to have the obnoxious characters, it does mean that the book is full of unlikeable people.

I enjoyed the convoluted storyline and towards the end of the book I did warm slightly to the surviving characters and I did appreciate the 1930s ambience of the whole thing.

So, if you like classic crime novels this is probably worth your while reading but I don’t think many people would rate it as a favourite.

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A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer

5 June 2010 10:52

This is the second murder mystery by Heyer which I have read and I must say that I found it to be entertaining reading. It was first published in 1938. She managed to combine mystery and comedy and she just couldn’t resist the temptation to throw in some romance too.

Ernest Fletcher is murdered whilst sitting at his desk and as there had been a lot of coming and going of visitors via the low window that evening within a short time of each other, Superintendent Hannasyde has trouble with the very tight timing involved in the case.

As with the other Heyer mystery which I have read, Footsteps in the Dark, I guessed the culprit early on in the book, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. In fact I quite enjoy getting it right.

It’s definitely what I would call light reading, but sometimes that is just what you need.

I read this book as part of the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010.

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2010 Flashback Challenge: January

14 January 2010 22:53

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.

It must be about 30 years since I first read this book and although it isn’t my favourite Sayers read, I think this is a good one to start with. It was written in 1930 and was her sixth murder mystery to be published.

It introduces us to the character of Harriet Vane. At the beginning of the book she is on trial for the murder of her ex-lover, who has been poisoned. Lord Peter Wimsey sees her in court and becomes interested in the case as he can’t believe that she is a murderer, although all the evidence points to her.

He takes on her case and during the course of his investigations he falls in love with Harriet making it all the more important that he can save her from the gallows.

Lord Peter owns a detective agency which is disguised as a typing bureau which is staffed by women who can infiltrate offices and companies which need to be investigated. The nickname for the bureau is ‘The Cattery’ and half in jest – half in earnest Lord Peter has compiled a list of rules for his employees. Rule 7 is:
Always distrust the man who looks you straight in the eyes. He wants to prevent you from seeing something. Look for it.

A very good maxim – I think.

The story line is autobiographical, telling of a disastrous previous relationship and although Dorothy’s lover wasn’t poisoned, she probably wished that he had been. She didn’t seem to have much luck with men and seems to have written the character of Lord Peter Wimsey to suit her perfect idea of a man. The character of Harriet Vane is very much based on Dorothy herself.

I enjoyed re-reading this book, but then I’m keen on things which are set in the 1920/30s. I started reading Dorothy Sayers books in the 1970s and in 1978, completely by coincidence we moved to Essex and the office window of my new workplace looked into what had been Dorothy Sayers back garden in Witham. She was long gone by then as she died in 1957.

I’ve also enjoyed viewing the various adaptations of her books over the years on the television.

Edward Petherbridge was perfect as the aristocratic detective and Harriet Walter seemed made for the part of Harriet Vane.

If you enjoy vintage murder mysteries you will probably enjoy this book.

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