Georgette Heyer can write such likable characters, and I remember that for the first Heyer mystery I read, it was obvious who the murderer was because the person was the only character in the book, besides the victim, that I didn’t like. It didn’t matter, because it was fun to read anyway.
She isn’t so obvious about it in The Unfinished Clue, because there are several characters to dislike or feel neutral about. In fact, the title is more of a giveaway than the characters’ behavior, because it tells you what to focus on. If you can guess what it means, though, you get a gold star.
Dinah Fawcett arrives at her sister’s house to be met with an enraged brother-in-law. General Arthur Billington-Smith is often enraged, and he takes it out on his fragile second wife, Fay. This time, his son, Geoffrey, has become engaged and is bringing home his fiancée Lola de Silva, a cabaret dancer.
The house party consists of these people plus Arthur’s nephew, Captain Francis Billington-Smith, who wants a loan; Camilla Halliday, an attractive young woman who is letting Arthur take liberties in the hope of a generous gift; her jealous husband Basil; and Stephen Guest, a friend who is in love with Fay. Geoffrey turns out to be kind of a wimp and an idiot, and Lola completely self-absorbed.
Arthur rages throughout the weekend, which culminates in a stormy Monday morning. He tells Geoffrey he will cut him off if he marries Lola. Geoffrey goes to Lola vowing eternal love, and she tells him of course she can’t marry him if he doesn’t have any money. He storms off. Fay is lying down from a headache. There is a short visit by Mrs. Chudleigh, the vicar’s wife. Then Mrs. Twinings arrives, an old friend, to try to get Arthur to treat Geoffrey better, and she finds Arthur dead in his office, stabbed in the neck with a dagger from his desk. The crime boils down to where everyone was between 12:30 and 1. Only Dinah, who was on the terrace the whole time, has an alibi.
In most of Heyer’s mysteries, her detective team is Hannasyde and Hemingway, but in this novel the detective is Inspector Hardy. She hasn’t thought up Hannasyde and Heminway yet, I don’t think, but there’s another good reason why this book is different.
I was completely fooled by this mystery. I had some idea of the motive but was mistaken about the identity of the killer.
Georgette Heyer is just as gifted as Christie in creating vivid characters, and her mysteries tend to be a bit funny. In this case, Lola is a hoot. I had lots of fun reading this to take a break from A Century of Books.
What? Me Read? 
I haven’t read any Georgette Heyer books and it sounds like she might be a writer I’d really like! I actually have her book, Frederica, on my shelf. I really should read it soon! 🙂
Her comic Regency romances are really good. Frederica is a good one!
Oh! That’s good to hear! 🙂
Sounds fun! I haven’t read any of her detective novels in recent history — I think I may have read one or two in my youth but they’ve completely passed from my memory. Coincidentally though I have Death in the Stocks coming up on my reading list sometime in the next few weeks. Have you read that one?
Yes, I’ve read them all. That’s a good one.
Good to know!
I’ve only read four of Heyer’s mysteries, I think, and still have this one to look forward to. She does create great characters, even when they’re not all easy to like!
Yes, she does!
I really should read one of her books some day. You think this would be a good one to try?
Sure! It depends on whether the mysteries or the Regency romances (usually with at least some humor) appeal to you most.
I think I’d prefer the mysteries. Even with humor, I’m not much into romance. Plus regency era ones feel… well… less than realistic. I mean, Austen wrote them so beautifully, because she LIVED with them.
Oh boy, but Heyer is famous as the queen of the Regency romance. I feel sometimes as if all the other people writing in this space are copying her. Her research was so well respected that history professors sometimes made their students read her books, and she won a lawsuit against someone who used a word (or phrase, I’m not sure) that came from her research into private papers, so no one else would have known it. The novels (most of them—she wrote some serious historical novels, too) are light, witty, with sometimes ridiculous plots, and the romance comes at the end. You may have noticed that I hardly ever read romance novels, but I have read all of hers many times. Give her mysteries a try, and then you might decide to try one of her romances.
Oh… hm… Okay, so… just GO for it then. Thanks.
You’re welcome! If you choose to try one of her romances, I’d be happy to recommend a couple. She has some that combine a mystery with a romance. Those tend to be less funny, but she always has witty dialogue.
Okay, which book is the funniest, in your opinion? I’ll try for that one, then.
Well, if you want just plain silly, I would go for Friday’s Child, which tickles my funny bone. It’s interesting that on this page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgette_Heyer), they have the books divided into romances and historical novels. The ones under historical novels on this page don’t tend to be funny. They are her straight novels, and although well researched, aren’t as good in my opinions. I thought I had read everything by her, but I haven’t seen a few of the books under Romance novels. If you want something that is more like an adventure novel (but still funny), try These Old Shades. I loved that one when I was younger but I grew to love the sillier ones more as I got older. If you want something closer to a mystery, try The Reluctant Widow. Not as silly, but with witty dialogue. I find it interesting that they don’t list her mysteries in the space at the bottom of the page.
I wrote you a long reply and then accidentally deleted it. For just plain silliness, try Friday’s Child. Otherwise, you can see a list at the bottom of this page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgette_Heyer) that divides her historical novels into historical and romance. I would stick with the romances, because what they’re calling her historical novels seem to be a bit wooden. I think she’s trying not to misrepresent real people. In the list of romance novels, if you want something with a mystery that’s a little more serious, try The Reluctant Widow or These Old Shades, which was my favorite when I was younger. She really creates vivid and likable characters. I think you’ll like her. There are a few books in this list that I haven’t heard of, and I thought I’d read everything she wrote. I wonder if I can find copies of them. It’s interesting to me that they’re not listing her mystery novels in that bottom chart.
I got them both, actually. No matter. I see that I can get a good used copies of all of these for a good price from Awesome Books. I just put one of each of these on my wish list there. Thanks!
Oh, good! I don’t know what happened with the first one. I wasn’t finished writing it and it just disappeared.