From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Footsteps in the Dark

Georgette Heyer

Start date: November 14, 2020

Finish date: December 10, 2020

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Our group includes many Georgette Heyer fans who wanted to read more of her mysteries.
[close] Our group includes many Georgette Heyer fans who wanted to read more of her mysteries.

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What Members Thought

May 05, 2010 Susan in NC rated it liked it

Shelves: currently-re-reading, tbr-with-gr-groups

2020 reread: 3.5 stars down from 4, since I’ve read several more Heyer mysteries, and they are better then this early effort, but Heyer’s humor shines through, and this is still fun. I listened to the audiobook this time, and the narrator is not one of my favorites (although she has done many Heyer books). I forgot most of this plot, the bad guy is fairly obvious, as is the romance - but it’s still rather sweet. I found myself getting distracted, the book failing to hold my interest midway throu ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 05, 2013 Teri-K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: old-favorites, mystery, great-to-re-read

I have a lot of fondness for this book. It's the first of Heyer's mysteries that I read back when I was a newlywed haunting used book stores. I wasn't a fan of the author then, as I'd only read a couple of her romances, and those not her best. But I fell in love with this book and I still really enjoy revisiting it.

I liked the interactions between our 4 MCs, their fond, amusing aunt, and the general setting of an old country house. Sardonic Charles was a delight, but I especially liked Margaret ...more

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Mar 16, 2018 Maine Colonial rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: british, mystery

I was having one of those reading funks, where I couldn’t seem to find anything I was enthusiastic about reading. Actually, it was a listening funk, since it was only affecting my audiobooks. When that happens, I either re-listen to something (like a Dorothy L. Sayers) or I find some lightweight book, ideally a Golden Age mystery. In this case, I picked this Georgette Heyer mystery, since I’ve enjoyed them before and I like the reader, Ulli Birvé.

Unfortunately, this was not up to snuff. For most ...more

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Dec 02, 2020 Franky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, 2020-reading-challenge, mystery, classics, crime, historical-fiction

At the heart of the mystery in Georgette Heyer’s Footsteps in the Dark is the strange phenomenon that seems to lurk about the Priory, a dilapidated old mansion that apparently has a bit of a history. A group of people have inherited this house, but the whispers from those around about a ghost—dubbed “the Monk” -- that lurks the halls of the Priory have them concerned about whether to stay or seek shelter someplace else. And is it a phantom or something else that is trying to get them out of this ...more

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May 23, 2019 Becky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewcopy, 2019reviews, 2019goodrule-old, 2019familytreechallenge, ng_rc_hallshame

First sentence: "And I suppose this is the approach-course," said Charles Malcolm. "Full of natural hazards." His wife, Celia, replied with dignity: "That is the tennis-court.' Charles made a derisive noise. "All it needs," she said, eyeing him, "is a little leveling." "All it needs," said Charles rudely, "is a hay-cutter and a steam-roller. And this is the place you wouldn't sell!"

Premise/plot: Is the house haunted or not--that is the question driving Georgette Heyer's Footsteps in the Dark. Lo ...more

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Oct 09, 2020 Lillian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-vintage-golden-age, holiday-reads, read-in-2020

This was a very fun and fast paced country house murder mystery. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it. It is light with witty banter between the characters. It reminds me so much of the equally fun movies from the 40's and 50's that combine some humor with a murder mystery and usually a creepy country manor. It is predictable but still a very entertaining read! ...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Michelle rated it liked it

This is the first Heyer mystery I've read and it was good, but I found it substantially less engaging than her historical romance novels. Footsteps in the Dark is a mystery set in 1930s Britain and written contemporaneously. The Fortescue/Malcolm family inherit a reputedly haunted mansion, move in, and experience a number of incidents that look like a haunting ... until it is clear that criminal activity is afoot, when the sleuthing begins.

The dialogue is great and the story was good, just not ...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-cosies, myst-set-andor-auth-uk, vintage, reviewed, myst-fems-project, suspense-thriller

A nice young couple and their extended family inherit a house called "The Priory", near the small village of Framley, in spooky rural England.

Left a rambling, old, almost decrepit house in the country by their elderly uncle, Londoners Celia, Peter and Margaret think they’ll have a jolly old time renovating it and living there over the summer. But local hostility and the rural isolation and increasingly spooky happenings begin to dampen even Celia’s bouyant spirits, as ghostly sightings and soun ...more

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