From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

No Wind of Blame (Inspectors Hannasyde & Hemingway, #5)

Georgette Heyer

Start date: February 14, 2023

Finish date: March 8, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 468 topics — 9,045 comments total

Buddy reads

* White Nights by Ann Cleeves (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 29 posts · 12 views

last updated Sep 04, 2025 12:17PM

* White Nights - SPOILER Thread - (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 17 posts · 12 views

last updated Aug 24, 2025 11:29PM

showing 6 of 6 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Nov 07, 2017 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I had only previously read one Georgette Heyer mystery before this one, “Death in the Stocks,” and, while I enjoyed that, I was not completely overwhelmed. However, on reading this novel, the first Inspector Hemingway mystery - first published in 1939 - I was really impressed and enjoyed this much more than the previous mystery I had tried.

In some ways, this is a typical country house murder. Ermyntrude Carter is the wealthy owner of Palings, who lives with her husband, Wally, her daughter, Vick ...more

34 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2016 Teri-K rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-golden-age, amusing-to-funny, old-favorites, great-to-re-read, historical-mystery

One of the pleasures of reading is that you can do things through books you'd never want to do in real life - like climb Mt. Everest or survive a concentration camp. Perhaps that's why I enjoy this book so much. I'm thankful I've never spent the weekend with a fortune-hunting Russian Prince, a young man who despises his father and insists on telling everyone about it, and a girl who treats all of life as dramatic theater - not to mention a murderer. Yet I find time spent with this book delightfu ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

May 05, 2010 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-with-gr-groups, my-library, reread, want-to-reread

2/2023 - Still a four star read for me, great characters, diabolically clever murder method - I had forgotten whodunnit, so enjoyed this reread.

August 2016 reread with GH group:
I reread this book last summer and my review is below, the only changes being a drop to four stars because I found certain characters more grating upon rereading, and the plot rather sluggish until Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard is brought in.

I understand why Heyer wrote it this way, and she does a masterful job se 2/2023 - Still a four star read for me, great characters, diabolically clever murder method - I had forgotten whodunnit, so enjoyed this reread.

August 2016 reread with GH group:
I reread this book last summer and my review is below, the only changes being a drop to four stars because I found certain characters more grating upon rereading, and the plot rather sluggish until Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard is brought in.

I understand why Heyer wrote it this way, and she does a masterful job setting the scene and introducing us to the fascinatingly off-beat residents of Palings and the passions and conflicts that lead to a murder. It's just a matter of personal preference - last summer I was so pleasantly surprised and entertained by the histrionic antics of some of the characters that 5 stars felt right.

This time I knew what was coming and still enjoyed it very much, I just saw lost patience with some of the slower patches (basically any scene without the mighty Ermyntrude and her fabulously precocious daughter Vicky!) Still recommended as a highly entertaining take on the British Golden Age country house murder mystery.

July 2015 reread, 5 stars:
I read somewhere recently that much of the pleasure in reading a great book is reading it at the right time, and that was certainly true for me in this case! I have collected an read many of Georgette Heyer's Regencies and mysteries, but this was one I couldn't get into when I tried to read it a couple years ago. This time, when I really needed a sure-fire entertaining read, Heyer really came through for me with this almost farcical Golden Age country house mystery.

Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard finds himself in the middle of an ingeniously plotted murder mystery with an unpopular victim, too many suspects with motives and a fiendishly clever murder method. I was thrilled with the identity of the murderer and the murder victim seemed like a thoroughly obnoxious cad, so the reader can enjoy the bone-dry British humor, sparkling dialogue and hilarious characters without a scrap of remorse - I really felt Heyer pulled out all the stops in creating the magnificent Ermyntrude and her daughter Vicky! Highly recommended to fans of classic British murder mysteries with a healthy dose of humor and a dash of romance - delightful! ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2017 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore added it · review of another edition

Shelves: georgette-heyer, british, series, humour, mystery, dog, dogs, murder, inspector-hemingway

The first of the Inspector Hemingway mysteries, I read this one for a “buddy read” with the Reading the Detectivesgroup here. This was also my first “proper’ Heyer mystery since the only other one I’ve read Penhallow while it did have a murder and some element of mystery, this lasted only for part of the book which was more a character study than a whodunit (though a very good one nonetheless).

The wealthy Ermyntrude Carter is married to Wally Carter, her second husband who sponges off her, lendi The first of the Inspector Hemingway mysteries, I read this one for a “buddy read” with the Reading the Detectivesgroup here. This was also my first “proper’ Heyer mystery since the only other one I’ve read Penhallow while it did have a murder and some element of mystery, this lasted only for part of the book which was more a character study than a whodunit (though a very good one nonetheless).

The wealthy Ermyntrude Carter is married to Wally Carter, her second husband who sponges off her, lending her money to his cronies she disapproves of, particularly Harold White, enters shady deals (with the said Mr White), and is not above entanglements either―in other words, not a very savoury person at all. Ermytrude, formerly on stage, enjoys admiration and admirers and has them in a “Georgian” Prince she has invited to stay at their country home Palings, and a neighbouring farmer Robert Steel, who makes no secret of his feelings, and neither of whom get along with Wally. But while she is quite dramatic in real life as well treating any place she is really as her stage, she is essentially a good hearted human being. Her daughter Vicky too is of the same mould, constantly in “scenes” of her own making, many to achieve her own objects. Also in the house is Wally’s cousin Mary who lives with the family and feels more for Ermyntrude (whom she calls Aunt Ermy) than for Wally. A narrow escape from a gunshot on the hunt for Wally provides only temporary respite, and he is murdered not soon after by another rifle shot, this time on the way to Harold White’s house (White lives in palings’ Dower House). With a number of suspects, most with motives equally strong (or not) (both love and money among them) and many with shaky alibis, the local police soon find themselves out of their depth sending for Scotland Yard, and Hemingway arrives on the scene, to solve the case where the who I didn’t manage to work out and the how turned out to be quite elaborate as well (I really loved how this part was worked out). The “romance” parts of it were the opposite, pretty obvious some way into the story.

This book despite being a “murder mystery” was far lighter in tone than Penhallow (that being the only one I can compare it to). There is a lot of humour throughout the book (the Inspector himself has a great sense of humour and I enjoyed his observations) making the entire book a fun read. I also enjoyed the characters, the very dramatic (actually rather melodramatic) Ermyntrude and Vicky, the sensible Mary, the somewhat silly Janet White, and the lively banter between Hugh Dering (one of the Carters’ neighbours) and Vicky, though when I think it over, I realise Hemingway reacted far more favourably to Vicky and Ermyntrude’s antics than I would have had I been in his place―considering they were solving a murder, that is. Palings is a rather “crazy” set up and when the Inspector says something to the effect that he doesn’t wonder why Wally’s aunt (who is in an asylum) landed there, I found myself inclined to agree. The mystery itself was also very enjoyable though I did feel it took a lot longer getting “started” than I would have liked. Still it gave one an opportunity to know all the characters and their antics better. A pretty good and fun read. I look forward to the next Hemingway mystery which I will be reading with the same group next month. Hope it is as much fun! Four and a half stars. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2021 Lady Wesley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-with-a-touch-of-romance, listened

Review of the audiobook narrated by Ulli Birvé

Apparently, I bought this audiobook some time ago and never listened to it until today. I quite enjoyed it, as the circumstances of the murder plot make it appear that nobody could have killed no-good Wally. It was quite complex and kept me guessing until the end; my knowledge of mechanics was not sufficient to figure out whodunnit.

The victim's fabulously wealthy, not-so-grief-stricken wife, Ermyntrude (and where did Heyer find that name?), is most a ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

May 05, 2011 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, vintage-mystery, bought-1993

In No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer tragedy befalls the Carter family during an eventful visit from a Russian prince. There is talk of shady business deals, a scandalous blackmail letter arrives, and the grieving widow has a couple suitors already lining up to comfort her in her hour of need. For it seems that no one much cares that Wally Carter was dead. Certainly not Ermyntrude, his flamboyant wife. After the scandals she's endured...well, good riddance to bad rubbish! Her impossibly intens In No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer tragedy befalls the Carter family during an eventful visit from a Russian prince. There is talk of shady business deals, a scandalous blackmail letter arrives, and the grieving widow has a couple suitors already lining up to comfort her in her hour of need. For it seems that no one much cares that Wally Carter was dead. Certainly not Ermyntrude, his flamboyant wife. After the scandals she's endured...well, good riddance to bad rubbish! Her impossibly intense teenage daughter merely sees the situation as another scene in which to use her inherited histrionic abilities. And Wally's ward, Mary, looks to be all lined-up for a nice tidy inheritance. There is also Harold White, sometime business partner of the deceased, who doesn't seem all that concerned that his partner will no longer be able to contribute to their latest venture. No one cares that Wally Carter is dead. But someone cared enough to shoot him straight through the heart. Who could it be? And how did they manage to get into those bushes without being seen or discovered by the protective dog? The superlatively analytical Inspector Hemingway reveals his unnerving talent for solving a fiendish problem.

Either Heyer is back on form in this one or I'm feeling better....in the last mystery I read by her the characters all seemed a little too much. The bickering was too strident; everyone was trying too hard. Not so with No Wind of Blame. The internal bickering is back on target, there are plenty of motives and red herrings, and though it soon becomes obvious who the culprit is (if you use your vintage mystery logic) it's still a puzzle as to how s/he did it.

The most enjoyable part of this novel for me was the interactions of Ermyntrude and her daughter, Vicky Fanshawe, with the rest of the characters. Both women have acting blood in their veins and it shows. Poor Inspector Hemingway is in for a shock when he first meets Vicky...even though he is warned by one of the supporting cast. This is one of the best bits which takes place as Vicky tries on the persona of innocent girl in the hands of the badgering policeman:

Vicky, who had cast herself down on the sofa, raised her face from her hands, and demanded: "Why don't you say something?"

"I haven't had time to learn my part miss," replied the Inspector promptly.

"Inspector, it's a privilege to know you!" said Hugh.

Vicky said fiercely, between her teeth: "If you ruin my act, I'll murder you!"

Later, when Hugh Dering reminds Hemingway that he had warned him, Hemingway retorts: "Seems to me you'd better have warned me to bring along my trick cycle. Quite out of the picture, I was. Well, I've met some queer people in my time, but this little lot fairly takes my breath away. Don't tell me the Duchess of Malfi isn't on the stage, because I wouldn't believe you!"

There is overacting on all sides from Ermyntrude to Vicky to the Russian Prince Varasashvili. Vicky is in rare form, changing her character daily (if not more often). But it isn't truly overdone and it adds lots of color and humor to the story. The supporting characters (even those who aren't vital suspects) are fun and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I doubt that most readers would dream of how exactly the murder was committed. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2015 Yorky Caz rated it it was ok

not impressed. draggged. I do love a good who done it but i think I would of murdered half these characters myself. Grow up...shut up...grow a backbone.....stop blathering.....didnt really warm to any of them.

1 like · Like · see review