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

Nov 05, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

First published in 1932, this is Georgette Heyer's first mystery. Charles, his wife Celia and her siblings, Peter and Margaret, inherit a country house - The Priory - and go to stay there with their aunt, Mrs Bosanquet. The Priory is rumoured to be haunted by 'the Monk,' and the house, which lacks amenities, such as electricity, helps add to the atmosphere of spooky menace. As more and more people warn them off, both Charles and Peter suspect there is a reason for why someone wants them to stay ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Leslie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

On this reread (my 4th?), I have decided that this is really 3½ stars not 4 so I am downgrading it.

I still like this romantic suspense type mystery but the romance angle in this one is pretty slapdash. So surprising for a Heyer book too!

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2020 Jill rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: georgette-heyer

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was a bit silly overall, but the banter between the family members, I found very amusing. Margaret proved to be silliest, and there was no way anyone who knew her would trust her with confidences. This book had all the elements needed to make it cosily spooky, an old priory with hidden passages, a questionable inn, some very eccentric characters, and a ghost.

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2018 Paperbackreader rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: all-collections, british, mystery, detective, fay-pub-lib, audiobook

I have an insatiable appetite for vintage mysteries. When you read a lot of books from the same genre you will, of course, find a lot of average to bad works among its ranks. From my previous encounters with Heyer's detective fiction, I know her books are not that great. I remember hating "They Found Him Dead" and finding "Detection Unlimited" likable. "Footsteps in the Dark" is, mercifully, no "They Found Him Dead" but I still think Heyer's mysteries are full of weak characters and plot holes. ...more

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May 14, 2021 Geraldine Byrne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime, humour-light

One of Heyer's wittiest detective novels, with equal dollops of humour and romance, and some nefarious criminals thrown in. Combines the best of Heyer's skill as a romance novelist with her ability to spin a good detective yarn. Likeable characters, classic Golden Era crime, and stands the test of time very well. ...more

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