I'm in the home stretch of my Georgette Heyer Reading Challenge. Even thought it's a perpetual challenge, it feels good to know that I'll be finishing it up this year. Just finished Duplicate Death last night and have started They Found Him Dead (last one!). If I had paid attention to publication dates, I would have reversed the order--because these two novels are almost companion pieces. We meet some of the central characters in They Found Him Dead and it would have been nice to read the books in chronological order. Ah well...maybe on my next read-through.Duplicate Death centers on double death that begins at a cut-throat night of duplicate bridge at the home of a not quite top drawer member of society. No one is really quite sure how Mrs. Haddington managed to win the good graces of Lady Nest and with them an entrance into society. But there she is and there she plans to stay. She's got a beautiful daughter to launch and she's scheming to land her a suitable husband (read rich and titled). She invites a houseful of guests for a night of bridge play....but they certainly didn't expect it to turn into a game of murder.When one of the guests steps away from the game to take an expected phone call, his tablemates become a bit restless when he does not return within a reasonable amount of time. It is discovered that someone has cut his game short....permanently. Daniel Seaton-Carew is discovered, strangled with picture wire around his neck. There are a limited number of the guests who were not tied to a bridge table during the crucial minutes....and it is up to Inspectors Hemingway and Grant to sift through the motives and movements and try to identify the guilty party. Things become more complicated when Mrs. Haddington herself is found strangled in the same room and in a similar manner a few days later. The crimes look the same...but have they been committed by the same hand?This mystery is a bit of a mixed bag for me. There is some very witty dialogue and some engaging characters. I particularly like Timothy Harte and his brother James Kane--both of whom are in They Found Him Dead. Inspectors Hemingway and Grant are, as always, great fun to follow as they scoop up clues and interview folks. The major jarring point is Hemingway's very prominent attitude towards homosexuals in this one. I don't remember it being so pronounced in other novels...but then I don't remember it being quite so obvious to me when I read it before. But, that aside, this is a very interesting mystery that keeps the pages turning and the reader guessing. Three and a half stars.
"...Mrs. Haddington's servants were at one in declaring that murders were not what they were accustomed to, or could put up with."p. 223There once was this land called England where the upper class knew their role and their servants knew how to keep them in their place. As far as I can tell, if we hadn't had World War II, this England might still exist. The only fly in the ointment is that every so often, folks with money that they made in some vulgar way, come along and knock this world off its axis. This gives the stories conflict and interest. Because this was an interesting place to live, there are lots of authors and readers who enjoy visiting this imaginary place on a regular basis. I am one of them. I enjoy historical romance and I like reading cosy mysteries set in the Enland of yesteryear. I found this book as I was cleaning my house and the next thing I knew, I was reading another mystery by Heyer. I had said that I would look for one of her romances, but I still have not done so. This novel was entertaining and diverting so I got to postpone my cleaning.Mrs. Haddington is a force to be reckoned with. Although no one is sure how she has done it, she has gotten one of the high-powered women in London society to sponsor her. Therefore her parties are the place to be and there are many respected guests at her bridge party. This makes the murder of one guest especially hard to take. No one, including Mrs. Haddington's servants want to have anything to do with murder.Inspector Hemingway has to deal with upper crust guests, flighty young women and even a gentleman he had encountered at another murder as Hemingway conducts his investigation. Solving this murder is complicated by twists, turns and red herrings. All in all this is a satisfying mystery, in my opinion. It is not too gruesome, dark or bloody. I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy the England of old. Although this is set after World War II, the characters all remember when England's empire was all-encompassing. I suspect that those who enjoy Downton Abbey might like this mystery also.
What do You think about Duplicate Death (2006)?
The story itself, the mystery, is nothing too special. I found the ending sort of a let down with no big build-up to the reveal. Although the process is interesting. What I absolutely enjoyed about this book was how campy it was. This is my first Georgette Heyer book, so I'm not familiar with her style or if her writing is meant to be serious or spoofy. But this mystery that included lives of the idle rich in England during the 1930's was written almost as if making fun of them and that life. It's definitely full of negative stereotypes. Maybe reading it in this time period makes it feel so ridiculous and over the top. Also, and I'm pretty sure this had a lot to do with why I loved this book, narrator Ulli Birvé did an AMAZING job. In fact, I'm almost thinking about joining Audible just so I can listen to her read more of Heyer's books. She's narrated many of them
—LVLMLeah
Stranglings, drugs, blackmail, high society and deep, dark secrets create a satisfying mystery that keeps you turning the pages. Several characters from an earlier mystery (They Found Him Dead) appear in this one, older and wiser after enduring WWWII. I found the characters (old and new) just as engaging as in her previous books, and the mystery well-plotted though once again the ending felt a little abrupt, perhaps because I'm used (too many Agatha Christie's maybe) to having the murderer confronted with his/her evil deeds (preferably in the drawing room, with all the likely suspects gathered around!).
—Christiane
An excellent detective novel with juicy, humorous text, a good depiction of the era of transition from old to modern english society, and loveable characters. I've read a lot of books from the Victorian period of the English upper class, but not really a book in the period in between (perhaps Downton Abbey period?), so this is a breath of fresh air. I also like that Beulah had such a spiky attitude that never bowed down to the people she didn't like. Heyer is an author I will definitely be reading more of.
—Zhi Xin Lee
