It's a 3.5 or 3.75... I found it enjoyable, though (with a few exceptions) rather less amusing than some of Heyer's other mysteries. Still, it had me convinced through the whole book that I knew "whodunnit"-- until the very last moment, when I learned that I was wrong! (So shocking, as I never seem to guess correctly. *sigh*) All in all, a perfectly acceptable cozy mystery.Tidbits (with SPOILERS):(view spoiler)[--I guessed right away that the mysterious note ("There") was an attempt at writing the name "Theresa" or "Therese"-- and I was equally well convinced that Theresa was Sir Arthur's first wife, who'd killed him to protect her son's interests. Where I went wrong, however, was in assuming that the ex-wife was Mrs. Twining. Oops.--Lola was an amusing caricature. And someone had the gall, after meeting her, to say that foreigners are particularly subtle!! --"'Of course, if you admire that bold kind of good looks, I suppose you might call her pretty. Personally, I never trust people with brown eyes, and I should not be at all surprised to hear that she was not better than she should be.'" (I always love a good dig at "people with brown eyes". Yes, we're very untrustworthy-- not to mention that we're full of... oh, never mind.)--Ugh, Dinah's (and everyone else's) attitude toward Inspector Harding is so snobbish! He's so obviously a gentleman that Dinah "absolutely can't go on calling you Inspector, Mr. Harding. It sounds so utterly wrong--..." At least she has the decency to be slightly embarrassed to speak in such a way before the Sergeant, who is not a "gentleman". This type of thing comes up again and again, throughout the book, and it's just gross. Oh, and of course, Harding makes the decision that he'll retire after this case-- because he has oh-so conveniently inherited enough money to start a farming enterprise-- and apparently it would have been unthinkable to ask her to marry him while he was still a lowly detective. ~grumble~--"'Let us all put the name of the person each of us thinks did it into a hat, and see who gets the most votes.'" (Ha ha ha! You know, if he weren't a gambler and a thief, I'd much prefer the irreverent Francis to the rather dull Inspector Harding... You'd hardly like to deal with him in real life, I'm sure, but he's so much more amusing to read about.) --And now everyone lives happily ever after. Well, except that Mr. Chudleigh has lost a beloved wife-- and will have to cope with the knowledge that she hid her past from him (which is not a small thing, considering his strong convictions on the subject of divorce and remarriage). Oh, and poor, pathetic Geoffrey has just lost his mother without ever having the chance of reconciling with her. But other than that, it's peachy keen. ...But it's a murder mystery, despite the cheerful trappings and witty banter, so... (hide spoiler)]
For real, is there anything as fun as an old-fashioned murder mystery in an English country house? They're like catnip to me, to the extent that I've seen Gosford Park at least six times and aren't even close to getting sick of it.Speaking of which, Georgette Heyer's The Unfinished Clue is almost a carbon copy of that movie. We have a motley assortment of guests gathered together in a country home for the weekended (they include the host's mistress, the man in love with the host's wife, and the host's son with his new fiancee), and the host is an insufferable dick to everyone, giving everyone a motive. It's so similar to Gosford Park, in fact, that murder itself is almost exactly like the movie - the host, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, is found stabbed to death in his study. Actually, the solution to the mystery is pretty similar to Gosford Park as well, and that's all the detail I'll go into without spoiling it. The whole thing is a fun, classic detective adventure, with fantastic characters. The detective is great, the suspects are all fully realized and complex, and Heyer also has a running joke where multiple characters remark on their own suspicious actions and how they totally could have done the murder themselves. The best example of this is Billington-Smith's son, who brings home his Mexican dancer girfriend, Lola, to meet the family (it goes over about as well as can be imagined). Once the murder occurs, Lola instantly dons excessive mourning clothes and goes around loudly telling anyone who will listen that the police might arrest her because she had the most reason for wanting to kill her boyfriend's father. Then she has a talk with her agent and decides that it's probably better if she doesn't get arrested and backs off. I only wish there had been more of her, but then again, her schtick might have gotten old pretty quickly. I have to admit, however, that I guessed the ending to this mystery almost immediately. More accurately, I guessed the motive behind the murder, but was wrong about the identity of the killer - but I was still damn close, much closer than I should have been, since I'm usually so bad at guessing how these stories end. But transparent ending aside (view spoiler)[right down to the detective proposing to one of the female suspects at the end - ugh, Heyer, not again (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about The Unfinished Clue (2007)?
This is a good one, and even though it's not the first time I've read it, I couldn't work out who the murderer was. But it all makes sense when you do know, and all the clues were there. Well, most of the clues. And lots and lots of excellent red herrings and period atmosphere.What I like most about Georgette Heyer's mysteries, though, is the humour. I mean, there's a murder, which is quite serious, so it's not side-splitting. But it's very enjoyable, and there is (as usual) a nice little romance as well. A good light read.
—Deborah
I am new to Georgette Heyer. And I am so ashamed of waiting this long to get here.Sir Arthur is a retired military man. He treats everyone equally. He is rude and belittling on an equal basis to everyone he meets. He believes his is superior to each person he encounters. He treats his wife Fay like someone beneath contempt. His son is verbally and emotionally abused. There is a house party filled with guests both wanted and unwanted. Among the unwanted by Sir Arthur is Dinah, Fay's sister. There is also the cabaret dancer who has become engaged to his son who is not welcome. Among the wanted by Sir Arthur is Camille Haskell. His attentions to Camille are so obvious they draw jealousy from her husband.It is not exactly a surprise when Sir Arthur is the victim of a murder. I personally stood and cheered for a few minutes when his body was found.And so the fun begins.There is an intrepid detective from Scotland Yard. Neighbors and servants who all have opinions. This is a really well plotted story. We are pointed in the right direction but it is not an easy ride. The hints and clues are there, but until the very end, I just knew who was the murderer. I was wrong. The characters are very well done. The reader feels as if they can picture each person as they are described. And most of the characters are people we may have met in real life.I enjoyed this book very much and intend to find more Georgette Heyer books. If you have never tried one of her stories, this one would be a good starting place.
—Annette
Golden Age mystery. Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is not a pleasant man, and his unpleasantness is at full force on the weekend in which his son brings home the Mexican cabaret dancer he claims he is going to marry, to a country house party already filled with disparate people working at enough cross-purposes to hang each other. His murder, while not much of a tragedy, is about the only thing that could have made the weekend more ghastly.This was one of my least favourite of the Heyer mysteries. On the one hand, I didn't guess the murderer, so it has that in its favour: but on the other hand, the identity of the murderer did feel rather random, and not as well set up as it could have been. I suppose that's a fine line to walk, though. But it was the characters who let the story down, for me: they were simply not as good as Heyer can do. The Mexican cabaret dancer spoke like a Frenchwoman - I simply could not get her dialogue to come out in a Hispanic accent in my head - and one of the other characters peppered his speech with "Er"s, which made it a punishment whenever he spoke. The detective wasn't Hannasyde or Hemingway, but a young gentleman who formed one half of the B-plot romance - the greatest impression he left on me was of what a snob Heyer could be, since he worked as a romantic interest only because he meant to quit as a detective and live on a legacy he'd come into, immediately after this case.
—Jarrah
