From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Detection Unlimited (Inspectors Hannasyde & Hemingway, #8)

Georgette Heyer

Start date: July 15, 2024

Finish date: August 6, 2024

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Why we're reading this: For all our Georgette Heyer fans.
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Mar 14, 2020 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: british, village, mystery, murder, country, georgette-heyer

This is the third of the series featuring Chief Inspector Hemingway that I’ve read, though it is the fourth in the series/subseries. Once again in a classic setting—a small English village—this one opens one summer evening as many of the residents are heading to a tennis party thrown by Mrs Haswell. On the way to and at the party we learn of a solicitor Mr Sampson Warrenby, who has recently moved to the village, and is not well liked, in fact disliked by pretty much all the residents. The party This is the third of the series featuring Chief Inspector Hemingway that I’ve read, though it is the fourth in the series/subseries. Once again in a classic setting—a small English village—this one opens one summer evening as many of the residents are heading to a tennis party thrown by Mrs Haswell. On the way to and at the party we learn of a solicitor Mr Sampson Warrenby, who has recently moved to the village, and is not well liked, in fact disliked by pretty much all the residents. The party guests are rather pleased that Warrenby chose not to attend, though his niece, Mavis, who is keeping house for him is there. Of course, by the time the games come to an end and the guests return, Mavis comes home to find her uncle shot dead in the garden of his home, Fox House. The local Detective-Inspector Thropton is away sick (similar to the case in Envious Casca), and so the Chief Constable decides to call in Scotland Yard, and Chief Inspector Hemingway is sent down, accompanied by Inspector Horace Harbottle.

While in some ways, the case before Hemingway is a simple one, a man shot dead in his garden, it turns out to be quite difficult to figure out as for one, there are so many suspects, all with different reasons to dislike Warrenby—from Mr Drybeck the solicitor whose practice and seats on various boards and committees have been taken away by Warrenby, to his niece, the saintly Mavis who seems to have fallen in love with a young Polish man, Ladislas Zamagorisky, who her uncle most certainly does not approve of, to Mrs Midgeholme, breeder of Pekes whose dog was kicked by Warrenby, many have reasons to dislike him, even kill him. In fact, Hemingway says at one point, ‘I don’t know when I’ve had so many possibles to choose from’ , identifying nearly nine. To add to it, there are 37 rifles of the kind used in the murder in the vicinity. And if these alone weren’t enough, nearly everyone in the village from the said Mr Drybeck and Mrs Midgeholme, to youngsters Charles Haswell and Abigail Patterson, to a ninety-year-old former poacher Mr Biggleswade, has turned into an amateur detective approaching Hemingway with their theories and information they consider of the utmost importance, some to throw suspicion off themselves, but others genuinely ‘trying to help’.

I enjoyed this one, especially since like Hemingway, I certainly didn’t figure out whodunit until he did himself (in the previous Hemingway book I read, Envious Casca I did figure the ‘who’ out); so the book kept me reading till the end. The abundance of suspects and amateur detectives kept me guessing as well. Like the other two Hemingway books that I’ve read, this one too is humorous, in Hemingway’s tone and his exchanges with Inspector Harbottle for instance, as well as in some of the characters such as Mrs Midgeholme and her line of prize-winning Pekes Ultima, all named with the letter ‘U’ (Ulysees, Umberto, and Ursula, but also Uppish, Unruly and Umbrella) and even the old poacher, for that matter. Hemingway’s observations in an instance or two do seem a touch insensitive or un-PC but overall he’s good fun. The rest of the characters too are pretty well drawn out, each standing out individually, and of course, more than one with their own secrets. I liked how Hemingway finally worked the thing out, picking up on various things that he’d missed when first told them—the explanation of who, how, and why runs into several pages where the Inspector is more or less putting together various pieces as he works it out. I find I’m really liking Heyer’s mysteries, ones more serious in tone like Penhallow as well as these lighter-hearted Hemingway ones a lot, and look forward to reading more soon.
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Aug 29, 2021 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

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

10/24/25 reread: eyeglass issues had me putting this book and another I was reading on hold - fixed now, but I lose interest if I dawdle too long in the middle of a book!

Anyway, down to 3.5-4 stars for me. Usually an enjoyable GA mystery, this one drags for me until the murder occurs and Hemingway is brought in from Scotland Yard. Heyer spends so much time setting up the large cast, and their movements, around a summer afternoon tennis party in the village of Thornden. The party is at the same 10/24/25 reread: eyeglass issues had me putting this book and another I was reading on hold - fixed now, but I lose interest if I dawdle too long in the middle of a book!

Anyway, down to 3.5-4 stars for me. Usually an enjoyable GA mystery, this one drags for me until the murder occurs and Hemingway is brought in from Scotland Yard. Heyer spends so much time setting up the large cast, and their movements, around a summer afternoon tennis party in the village of Thornden. The party is at the same time as the murder of an unlikable but successful lawyer in the village, so it is important to the mystery; but the details of the physical layout of the village and the natural areas, lanes, spinneys were rather tedious. I always struggle with juggling lots of characters and descriptions of the physical location of a crime; a map would’ve been helpful.

Otherwise, Hemingway, as always, is a delight - with his ‘flair’ and interactions with villagers, coworkers, everyone, really! His visit to a large, rambunctious, chatty family, and efforts to get information out of an elderly ex-poacher were highlights! And any time he ran into Mrs. Midgeholme, village gossip and Pekingese dog breeder…

7/5/24 reread: 4.5 stars for this entertaining GA mystery; so glad I purchased Ulli Berve’s excellent narration on Audible before it became unavailable. I think she does a wonderful job with Heyer’s snarky, clever mysteries full of quirky characters! I love listening while I read along.

8/2/21: This was great fun for me, the only Heyer mystery I hadn’t read somehow. As usual, Heyer assembles an interesting cast of characters (both suspects and potential witnesses) around an English country house murder. Minor characters, perhaps, but highlights for me were the cranky old former poacher, Mr. Biggleswade, and Gladys, the chatty cook in the household where the murder took place - and of course, Chief Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, flirty, friendly, charming, insightful by turns, but possessor of what he calls “flair”, which allows him to untie the knottiest murder puzzle. He is one of my favorite Heyer characters!

He and his latest assistant, the staid, rather somber Inspector Harbottle, are called in when an unpopular, pushing local attorney is found shot, sitting on a garden bench under a tree on a lazy summer afternoon. Heyer has assembled some great ‘types’ for our delectation, from the drippy, too good to be true niece, to the financially struggling old India hand, Major Midgeholme and his rather flighty wife, who raises champion Pekingese dogs (they provide comic relief in some enjoyable scenes - of course, the charming Hemingway knows how to get along with everyone, even the stately and standoffish sire, Ultima Ulysses, thus winning Mrs. M’s confidence!) It seems a straightforward case at first, but as Hemingway digs, with his “flair”, he discovers blackmail, and a previous crime that wasn’t what it seemed - and leads him to a satisfying conclusion.

I read my paperback copy, and enjoyed the Audible narration by Ulli Burve. I don’t think I’d enjoy her for Heyer’s romances, but for the golden age mysteries she has a knack for capturing the different tones and temperaments of the characters, from the assured, humorous, friendly, Cockney (?) voice of Hemingway, to the snappy tones of the no-nonsense vicar’s daughter, Miss Patterdale, to the snide, snarky mystery writer, Gavin Plenmiller. ...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

In Georgette Heyer's Detection Unlimited we have more suspects and more detectives than we can shake a stick at. Sampson Warrenby is dead and just about everybody in Thornden has a motive and the opportunity to have done him in. He's found slumped on a seat under the oak tree in his garden....with a bullet through his head. Most of the suspects were at an afternoon tennis party and were wandering about the area on their way home when the the shot was heard. When the local police decide to bring ...more

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Jun 11, 2016 Teri-K rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, historical-mystery, great-to-re-read, mystery-golden-age

This is a nice small English village murder mystery. Everyone knows everyone else and there are lots of reasons to suspect each other of the killing of a very unlikable man. I've read it several times but I actually remembered the wrong murderer until toward the end of the book.

While I reread this I kept thinking it would have been nice to keep a list of suspects, a timetable of their movements, and to create a map of the town where the murder took place. However, as I was also taking care of t ...more

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Jul 26, 2024 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have really enjoyed reading Georgette Heyer's mysteries and am sad now that I have reached the last of them. 'Detection Unlimited,' was published in 1953 and her first mystery published in 1932, with twelve crime novels in all. Obviously, Heyer is better known for her romances, a genre I dislike, which is why I probably never tried these until we read them with my book group.

Inspector Hemingway investigates the death of a solicitor, found sitting in his garden. The victim was a man who made h ...more

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May 13, 2018 ShanDizzy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

All I can say about the Inspector Hemmingway series is that I am glad that I finally finished all four of them. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. However, the mystery was somewhat interesting. ...more

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Jun 30, 2024 Jill rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: georgette-heyer

This is the last of Heyer's detective series. I liked it but not as much as some of the earlier ones. It starts with a tennis party, where most of the neighbours have been invited. This tells us of lots of the village occupants, making me feel I really needed a list of who was who, it also describes the lay out of the village, and although I got a bit lost at first, I managed to work it all out. When the party finally finished, a man is found dead, having been shot whilst sitting on a bench in h ...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Gina Dalfonzo rated it liked it · review of another edition

The good: The actual mystery was well done, and a pretty effective change from Heyer's usual formula (though to say too much about that would give the whole thing away).

The bad: I hate it when a writer feels compelled to keep pointing out how clever and wonderful her detective is. Especially when this supposed wonderfulness gives the detective a license to go around talking down to people. What I think was supposed to pass for camaraderie between Hemingway and Harbottle didn't come off well at a ...more

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Oct 15, 2016 Melinda rated it liked it · review of another edition

I felt like quitting this book by the time I had finished 50 pages. It was just so dull it wasn't until I had read over half the book that I got really interested. ...more

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