This is the first Georgette Heyer I have read and I enjoyed it very much, after a somewhat stodgy start.
The plot is a fairly standard Golden Age-style mystery set in a country house with family feuds, complex inheritance issues and so on, which is all very decently done. The real pleasure, though, is in the writing and Heyer’s creation of some excellently drawn characters, whom she brings to life with a wonderfully sly wit. She has obviously had a whale of a time writing the deliciously louche, cynical Randall – who, of course, turns out to have a soft heart under it all – and I had an equally good time reading about him.
I have to say that the first few chapters of scene-setting and establishing the rather complex family relationships were a bit of a struggle at times, but with the murder and the arrival of Inspector Hannasyde things perk up very nicely and I found this a very enjoyable read.
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