From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Unfinished Clue

Georgette Heyer

Start date: July 11, 2021

Finish date: August 7, 2021

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in our series of Georgette Heyer buddy reads.
[close] Next in our series of Georgette Heyer buddy reads.

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Buddy reads

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What Members Thought

Feb 15, 2010 Susan in NC rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, my-library, tbr-with-gr-groups, currently-re-reading, want-to-reread, reread

6/2023: reread with Heyer group - still a favorite Heyer! I love the low-key romance between (view spoiler) Heyer seemed to insert a strong, levelheaded, self-deprecating ‘normal’ person into each of her mysteries, to serve as a foil against the quirky, obnoxious, and/or highly-strung characters that generally make up the house party full of suspects.

And of course, the brilliant dance 6/2023: reread with Heyer group - still a favorite Heyer! I love the low-key romance between (view spoiler) Heyer seemed to insert a strong, levelheaded, self-deprecating ‘normal’ person into each of her mysteries, to serve as a foil against the quirky, obnoxious, and/or highly-strung characters that generally make up the house party full of suspects.

And of course, the brilliant dancer Lola da Silva is one of my favorite characters. I put this in my original review, but have to move it up, makes me guffaw every time: when Lola is interviewed by the inspector, she speaks one of the best lines I have ever read:
...it was quite easy for me to go down in my négligée and stab the general. I did not stab the general, because I did not think of it, and besides, in England I find it does not make one popular to kill people.”
From a mystery point of view, I also felt there was just enough timetable discussion among Harding and his sergeant to be a respectable GA police procedural without making the reader’s eyes glaze over in boredom. And finally, there’s a very well-done (IMHO) red herring toward the end about the killer; I’ve read it several times, and I’m still almost taken in! For all of these reasons, I think this might be my favorite Heyer mystery.

2021: Reread with Reading the Detectives group. Still a favorite Golden Age mystery, Heyer’s humor and quirky characters make it a fun and entertaining read (or listen - I have the Audible). I noticed more about the low-key romance developing between two favorite characters, and appreciated the way Heyer handled it, didn’t let it take away from or overshadow the mystery at all. I still love the flamboyant, pragmatic and rather mercenary dancer, Lola de Silva; as Dinah says, “she’s good value”!

2019: I have read this book at least once before, years ago, but had forgotten most of it. I vaguely remembered who might have done it, but wasn’t sure until at least the last few chapters, but greatly enjoyed this reread.

Heyer wrote some of my favorite golden age murder mysteries - she brings her gift for creating quirky, humorous characters and sparkling, clever dialogue, adds in solid, satisfying puzzles, and gives me delightful, entertaining stories. I think this book gives us one of her best comic characters, Mexican dancer Lola de Silva. She has become engaged to high-strung, sensitive Geoffrey Billington-Smith, and the couple’s arrival to a country house party at his father’s estate sets the conflict in motion.

The father in this case is Sir Arthur, the eventual victim, and a right nasty blowhard he is! Inspector Harding of Scotland Yard, eventually called in to solve the case, has his hands full, between the loathsome victim’s many potential enemies and the houseful of possible suspects...

But the totally self-involved Lola is hilarious! Naturally, Sir Arthur was appalled at his son and heir’s choice of her as a fiancée, and made his dissatisfaction clear to everyone. Not that Lola cared; when he’s found murdered, she begins to wonder aloud if it would do her career good to be arrested for the crime!

When she is interviewed by the inspector, Lola speaks one of the best lines I have ever read: “...it was quite easy for me to go down in my négligée and stab the general. I did not stab the general, because I did not think of it, and besides, in England I find it does not make one popular to kill people.”

Delightful - I love this book, and won’t let such a long time go by before I reread it again! ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Maine Colonial rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british, mystery, novel

It's always hard to transition to a new book after I've read something really good. When that happens, I look for a good "palate cleanser," meaning a book with a straightforward story that's engaging without being too challenging.

A Georgette Heyer mystery really fits the bill. I think of her mysteries as what Jane Austen would have written if she'd been transplanted to the Golden Age of Mystery. There is always a cast of ill-assorted characters, some of whom will be the kind you love to hate. T ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2015 Teri-K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: amusing-to-funny, mystery, z-own-audio, great-to-re-read, romance-suspense

Lovely English country-house murder novel that never fails to please. The victim was a bully to his wife - a long-suffering, wilting flower. The man who loves her is chivalrous to the extreme. There's the level headed sister, a couple of not-good-for-much heirs who are good for lots of witty dialogue plus a Mexican cabaret dancer who provides the silliness. Two neighborhood ladies pop in to stir things up now and then, and the Scotland Yard detective is the best example of the breed - intelligen ...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Bev rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, vintage-mystery, country-house, bought-2010

As per usual in Georgette Heyer's country house mysteries, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is not your usual genial, bluff country squire. He is a mean-spirited, autocrat who seems determined to make everyone he meets dislike him. He belittles his wife, bullies his son, refuses to play Lord Bountiful to his nephew, has frequent skirmishes with his sister-in-law, and has no problem giving his unsolicited and shocking opinion to anyone else who comes to his home. His one pleasure will be to flirt outr As per usual in Georgette Heyer's country house mysteries, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is not your usual genial, bluff country squire. He is a mean-spirited, autocrat who seems determined to make everyone he meets dislike him. He belittles his wife, bullies his son, refuses to play Lord Bountiful to his nephew, has frequent skirmishes with his sister-in-law, and has no problem giving his unsolicited and shocking opinion to anyone else who comes to his home. His one pleasure will be to flirt outrageously with one half of a couple that he and his wife met abroad...or so he thinks. His plans go awry when several unexpected guests arrive for a weekend holiday--including his son and his newly betrothed. Sir Billington-Smith is incensed when he is introduced to his prospective daughter-in-law who just happens to be a Mexican cabaret dancer. The weekend becomes unbearable as the lord of the manor takes out his wrath on every available person.

Thus, no one is surprised when Billington-Smith is found murdered in the library, stabbed with the Chinese letter opener he kept on his desk. The only surprise is whether the police can find anyone who didn't have a motive to kill the man. It doesn't take long for the local constabulary to decide that there are too many people involved with too many motives and their request to Scotland Yard brings Inspector John Harding to the scene. Harding must pick his way through the minefield of family discontent to find the guilty party.

This is a pretty standard Heyer mystery. Lots of stock characters--the difficult patriarch, the nephew in need of money, the son out of favor, the flamboyant woman. What makes this one are the characters of Inspector Harding and Dinah (Sir Billington-Smith's sister-in-law). Dinah is just about the only who can stand up to Billington-Smith and Harding is a very human inspector. It's a shame that Heyer didn't make him a frequent character like Hemingway and Hannasyde. There are also plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing until the very end. I was just sure that I had cleverly spotted the murderer when Heyer gave the plot one final twist to prove me wrong. I enjoyed this romp through the 1930s--not her all-time best, but still a delightful country house murder. Three stars. ...more

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Feb 10, 2022 Ruskoley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, 1930s

I have given this novel five stars because there is nothing wrong with it. That is to say, I do recognize the plot-storyline is not exactly everyone's favorite. Maybe country house murders are not interesting. But none of that has anything to do with the book as it is. And frankly, I cannot find anything to complain about whatsoever.

I love all the characters, which I believe is one of the frequent compliments to Heyer's writing. I feel like they were all very real and very interesting and very e ...more

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Mar 28, 2021 Laura Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, british-isles

3.5 stars I prefer Heyer's romantic-comedies, but I enjoyed this golden-age country house murder; engaging characters and plot with a dash of romance. ...more

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