Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

This is the first in the Inspector Hemingway mysteries, first published in 1939.

A Russian Prince, scandal and blackmail, a lot of theatrics, plus a murder which seems almost impossible to solve...



Please refrain from posting spoilers in this thread - thank you.

I thought this mystery was so much better than the previous mystery we read by Heyer. It seemed much more thought out, with quite a complicated plot. Although I found Vicky ,the daughter , rather over the top, I was willing to forgive her behaviour,due to her having a theatrical mother with copious amounts of money.
The victim,I didn't really think was as bad as he was painted, but as it seems with most GA books , he was not a likeable character, so the death was more of a nuisance than a tragedy.
The underlying romance was fine by me, in fact quite comical at times.

I totally agree, Jill. I would have happily given up Heyer after our last outing, but this was SO much more enjoyable.

I will be starting this tomorrow, I hope, and am looking forward to it. So far Heyer's mysteries have been a bit of a mix, some better, others less so, but always a three star "liked it" rating.

I really enjoyed this one and I loved Vicky - very amusing. I enjoyed her endless series of personas! One of the lightest and most humorous mysteries I've read.

Just started last night, and I’m enjoying the characters.

I enjoyed how comical the whole book was.

Yes, Heyer has a very light touch. I am reading the second, Envious Casca, now and it has a similar feel. Has anyone read the rest in this particular series? I haven't actually explored if there are more, but I think this was a spin off series from the one we read earlier?

Susan wrote: "Yes, Heyer has a very light touch. I am reading the second, Envious Casca, now and it has a similar feel. Has anyone read the rest in this particular series? I haven't actually explored if there ar..."

There are four totally- I haven't read the other series- Hannasyde yet bu that has four as well.

There are a lot of silly, mischievous young girls in GA mysteries, but I was just thinking that I hadn't come across one who wears as many different outfits to put across different characters as Vicky does.

Then the next mystery I picked up, Will o' the Wisp: A Golden Age Mystery by Patricia Wentworth, features a rather similar character who also plays dressing-up games! However the Wentworth character so far seems to be a bit more OTT than Vicky, though I am enjoying her portrayal too.

I ended up rereading this via audiobook CDs from the library - the narrator, Ulli Birve, did an excellent voice for Ermentrude but some of the male characters came across as wooden.

I like this Hemingway mystery, mostly because I find Vicky & Ermentrude so amusing. If I lived with them, I would probably feel as Mary did but luckily I don't!

I think Mary thought Vicky's play acting could be dangerous. Often though, you just think these girls are bored - if they went to work, or did something useful, they would have less time to hang around dressing up and thinking up mischief! Mary seemed to throw herself into the caring role, so that gave her a role in the house.

I'm still early in the book - pre-murder - and enjoying meeting these characters. Vicky definitely has too much time on her hands. I like Vicky and Ermy, but if I were Mary I'm not sure I would have retained my sanity. I even feel a certain affection for Wally, though he has done nothing to earn it. Their neighbors are interesting as well: one attending the party to raise money and see how the evening goes; the other for religious conversion opportunities. The last Heyer I read, A Blunt Instrument, had a bible-quoting policeman that Hemmingway dreaded, so I am interested to see his reaction to this woman.

There seem to be quite a few comically over-the-top religious characters in GA mysteries!

Susan wrote: "I think Mary thought Vicky's play acting could be dangerous. Often though, you just think these girls are bored - if they went to work, or did something useful, they would have less time to hang ar..."

Amidst a murder investigation it could have been

Yes, obviously. Do you think Mary suspected Vicky? Or was she worried that the police would just not know her enough not to take her seriously?