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A Blunt Instrument Group Read Feb 2016 Chapters 1-7
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HJ wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "...I know they said a woman wouldn't be able to do it but I wouldn't put it past any of the females in the story, including Ernie's sister...."I do find the suggestion that a w..."
Well, Helen is such a wet dribble that maybe she couldn't have done it, but, after all, Sally lugs a typewriter around so I think she's got muscles and most definitely could have bashed him in. And his sister would be the obvious woman to be able to get around behind him and whack him without his noticing. So, although the police have ruled them out, I think they're making a mistake.
HJ wrote: "Yes, Karlyne, I thought about this. I think it would be much more comfortable to wear glasses!"I just remembered that my dad wore glasses with just one corrective lens, because he got a metal filing in one eye when he was young (at least, I think that's the story!)
HJ wrote: "I don't think anyone has mentioned Neville and Sally except by referring to bright young things being glib and irritating the police. I think we're told about Neville's athletic prowess to make him..."I like Neville and Sally. I agree that Sally's monocle is an affectation but I just enjoy their 'piffle'.
While he seems artificial to us now, Neville strikes me as one of a class of young men common in the English between the Wars literature who uses a pose of uselessness and/or indifference to shield themselves. Perhaps this was really a way some men returning from WW1 had of dealing with things - why else did this stereotype arise?
Look at what Heyer shows so many Regency (and earlier) people to do. If they weren't at war, they were expected to be wagering in games of chance. Being productive on their own was frowned upon. Neville is at the edge where things were changing.
QNPoohBear wrote, “Anyone have any guesses as to "whodunnit" so far?”Because of the timing, my money’s on P.C. Glass, though I am curious about the whys. I wish it were Helen, because I find that neurotic, affected, clingy sort of a female really annoying.
I am at the end of chapter 2.
I was bothered more by The Grand Sophie. But both bothered me.
HJ wrote: "Sally has yet to become real for me. I'm put off by the monocle, which does seem a bit of an affectation to me. Add to that a cigarette in a holder & she really would be a sight to behold!
I think the relationship between Helen and her husband is very similar to Nell and Lord Cardross but not fleshed out as muchI love the constables biblical references and Nevilles replies.
Carol ♪ Blinded by the Light ♪ GR Background wrote: "HJ wrote: "Sally has yet to become real for me. I'm put off by the monocle, which does seem a bit of an affectation to me. Add to that a cigarette in a holder & she really would be a sight to behold."
I thought it was funny. It added a bit of whimsy to the story. Sally is a wannabe eccentric, I think.
I am reading the Kindle version. This is my first read of this book - I tried one or two Heyer mysteries but didn't really enjoy them all that much and gave up. Unfortunately I find that I still feel the same... There are some funny moments but the sparkle and wit and dialogue, and all of those that make reading her historicals so enjoyable is just missing. I feel like I am plodding through the book.I like Hannasyde and Hemingway, and that is about it.
I am still waiting for my copy to come from the library - my hold is still "pending". Who knew there would be a run on GH mysteries the very month I wanted it??
Sorry to hear that, but thrilled that others appreciate the allure of GH as we do - restores my faith in the reading public! (And if you're in the States, I'm just thrilled my fellow Americans are reading at all!)
Elliot wrote: "I am still waiting for my copy to come from the library - my hold is still "pending". Who knew there would be a run on GH mysteries the very month I wanted it??"PM me your address and I'll send you my copy.
Amy wrote: "Elliot wrote: "I am still waiting for my copy to come from the library - my hold is still "pending". Who knew there would be a run on GH mysteries the very month I wanted it??"PM me your address ..."
well, ain't you the nice one! Have pity on an old thing, tho'...uh...'PM'? Post-meridian is the only thing that comes to mind...
Elliot wrote: "Amy wrote: "Elliot wrote: "I am still waiting for my copy to come from the library - my hold is still "pending". Who knew there would be a run on GH mysteries the very month I wanted it??"PM me y..."
Thanks for the chuckle!
Abigail wrote: "Private message."D'oh! I would have figured that out eventually, right?
Elliot wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Private message."D'oh! I would have figured that out eventually, right?"
Thanks for the laugh, Elliot - glad I'm not the only Luddite in the crowd! Took me a minute and I realized what it meant - I just don't know how to do it...
Susan wrote: "Elliot wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Private message."D'oh! I would have figured that out eventually, right?"
Thanks for the laugh, Elliot - glad I'm not the only Luddite in the crowd! Took me a minut..."
Same here, Susan...thankfully, Amy took charge!
Susan wrote: "Thanks for the laugh, Elliot - glad I'm not the only Luddite in the crowd! Took me a minute and I realized what it meant - I just don't know how to do it... ..."How to send a private message on Goodreads:
Click on the name of the person to whom you want to send a message in the grey strip at the top of a post/comment made by them.
That will take you to their page.
To the right of the boxes which say "Add as a Friend" and "Follow Reviews" you will see a link "Send Message" -- click on that.
You will be asked to re-enter your password to confirm your identity.
You will be taken to a Compose New Message page. You must fill in the subject line, and then type your message in the box. If you want something emailed to you, you will need to include your email address in your message.
Then when you're happy with your message, press Send (below the box).
Note that private Goodreads messages to you show up in your Inbox, accessed by clicking on the envelope fourth from the right on the grey strip at the very top of each Goodreads page. When you have an unread message waiting this envelope is highlighted, I think.
HJ wrote: "Susan wrote: "Thanks for the laugh, Elliot - glad I'm not the only Luddite in the crowd! Took me a minute and I realized what it meant - I just don't know how to do it... ..."How to send a privat..."
Thank you for taking the time to explain that! I've had GR friend requests and I wanted to accompany my acceptance with a thanks, or looking forward to reading your reviews, etc., and I would type something and just hope it went off into the ether and the person would see it, but couldn't be sure - so thanks!
Dear Lord I'm still waiting for this book to come in the post!!! The postal system between Ireland and England is horrendous. I think I'd have received a parcel from Mars faster. At this rate I'll be reading February's and March's challenge together.
It was easier & faster for me to get embroidery floss and Belfast linen for my counted cross stitch sent to England from California than to try and find or order it in country. Very frustrating.
HJ wrote: "How to send a private..."
Great explanation HJ!
I'd just add you have to put in your password for every Goodreads session to access your PMs or edit your profile. GR says this is to keep your account secure
Kim wrote: "It was easier & faster for me to get embroidery floss and Belfast linen for my counted cross stitch sent to England from California than to try and find or order it in country. Very frustrating."That really surprises me! So many British mysteries hang on the time of the posts that I thought it must be a model of efficiency.
Susan wrote: "HJ wrote: "Susan wrote: "Thanks for the laugh, Elliot - glad I'm not the only Luddite in the crowd! Took me a minute and I realized what it meant - I just don't know how to do it... ..."Thank you for taking the time to explain that! ..."
You're very welcome.
Karlyne wrote: "Kim wrote: "It was easier & faster for me to get embroidery floss and Belfast linen for my counted cross stitch sent to England from California than to try and find or order it in country. That really surprises me! So many British mysteries hang on the time of the posts that I thought it must be a model of efficiency. ..."
I think you'll find that's only mysteries written in the olden days! I think there's an Agatha Christie which turned on the fact that one could be certain that a letter posted at a certain time would be delivered with the afternoon post (something else which doesn't exist any more). I was amused and amazed that the post was once that efficient.
Certainly any element of "over the seas" makes post very uncertain and delayed these days.
Yep, I only read olden days mysteries!Our U.S. Post Office is... interesting. Sometimes it's quite efficient and other times not.
Well I'm appalled at the postal service from England to Ireland. No wonder people buy kindle books. I like to have the actual book in my hand and due to the fact that my local bookshop has a dismal supply of books and the post the way it is I think my kindle will have a lot more books on it in the not too distant future.
Teresa wrote: "Well I'm appalled at the postal service from England to Ireland. No wonder people buy kindle books. I like to have the actual book in my hand and due to the fact that my local bookshop has a dismal..."Do you have anything equivalent to Amazon's Prime service? Their delivery system is generally very quick and efficient. I buy a lot of second-hand books and sometimes they'll be marked "fulfilled by Amazon" although not often, I have to admit.
I agree HJ - for all their other flaws, the Amazon Prime Service is fantastic.
I know there's a reason why we can't access Amazon Prime but I can't remember it. They were very fast at dispatch and delivery when I first started buying from them, however, I've had to email them a few times to ask them to dispatch the parcel because it contained a gift. It can take them up to five days at times just to send the order out.
I'm surprised the mails are so slow within the UK and Ireland - I've also ordered many second-hand books on Amazon Marketplace from British used book sellers and they always say it could be up to three weeks for delivery to the States, but I always get them within 7-10 days.
most of the books I order through amazon come within a few days. even the ones from America come within a coulle of weeks.
I get mine the following day with Amazon Prime.
Lucky ye!! I too have had books delivered from America faster than from UK.
speaking of books delivered, I just got Amy's copy of "A Blunt Instrument" in the mail today, so I'll be doing some furious reading to catch up with you all before the end of the month! Thanks, Amy! Oh, and it turns out to be providential that Amy did send it, because just after she agreed to do so, the library got back to me to tell me that the copy I had requested had apparently gone lost, stolen or strayed. So I would have had no way to indulge without her!
OK, so I'm jumping in late to the party here...My version is the Sourcebook, 2010 edition that Amy very kindly sent me...
Impressions so far: the writing isn't *bad* - it's certainly competent - and I have kind of a soft spot developing for Sally and her monacle, as well as the Bible-spouting PC Glass...but a certain something is certainly...lacking in GH's mysteries, and I'm puzzling over what it is.
I mean, Dorothy L. Sayers certainly had her share of artificially bantering characters and fantastical murder set-ups (and even, sad to say, anti-Semitic and even racist references), yet I adore her works and read them over and over: whereas with this one - even tho' I am enjoying it - I can tell I'm not going to have that kind of relationship with it. GH's Regencies, on the other hand...well, those go in the "read over and over" pile along with Sayers.
So what is it? It's not that GH is incapable of writing memorable characters and working deeper themes into her work, Heaven knows! Why did she write such great historical romances and such (comparatively) throwaway mysteries? 'Tis a mystery to me, at any rate...thoughts, anyone?
You’ve put your finger on it, Elliot! There’s just something lacking in GH’s modern-day tales. Perhaps it’s that she was creating her own world (albeit very well researched) in the Regency novels, but in the mysteries she is too limited by reality. There’s a language she could use for the Regencies that lends them charm, but she can’t use that language in the mysteries.I have to say I’m a bit sympathetic. After writing a novel in something resembling Jane Austen’s voice, I tried to write a contemporary thriller—but all my humor came out in Austen’s words! It was discordant and just wrong for the thriller. I had to abandon it and turn to working on a historical novel, where I could use the language my brain was attuned to. Maybe GH, after getting that Regency language so finely honed, struggled to write without it.
Abigail wrote: "You’ve put your finger on it, Elliot! There’s just something lacking in GH’s modern-day tales. Perhaps it’s that she was creating her own world (albeit very well researched) in the Regency novels, ..."& I know one of her brothers described her as a square. The Regency world she created is supposed to be more conservative than the real Regency world. Maybe she felt more comfortable there.
I expect either Heyer enjoyed writing contemporary mysteries or they were less work. I wonder how lucrative they were compared to her romances or her historical works.If she just wrote mysteries, I doubt if I would ever have heard of her. I don't care for her mysteries.
This is my first time reading this one - I am trying to postpone the moment of having read all of her books, but sadly I am drawing near that point!Reading on a kindle, started a few days ago and just a few moments ago I finished it.
I usually like her mysteries, in a different way than I love her historical works.
Heading straight over to the Spoilers thread!!
Abigail wrote: "You’ve put your finger on it, Elliot! There’s just something lacking in GH’s modern-day tales. Perhaps it’s that she was creating her own world (albeit very well researched) in the Regency novels, ..."Well, one of the things I found a bit jarring was how deliberately archaic PC Glass's speech is. I mean, I don't care how much of a bible-thumper he might have been...would he really use the word "dwell" instead of "live" as in, "I know where the woman dwells"? Now, a 19th-century Evangelical Bow Street Runner I could see speaking like that, but this is supposed to be 1938! (or maybe it's supposed to be set earlier...for some reason this one has a really 20s vibe to it).
Elliot wrote: "Abigail wrote: "You’ve put your finger on it, Elliot! There’s just something lacking in GH’s modern-day tales. Perhaps it’s that she was creating her own world (albeit very well researched) in the ..."I think that if you're immersed in an archaic version of the Bible, you'd probably speak that way, too. I have memories of older people using that type of language!
I like how his language is “off,” signaling that his mind is off. He certainly brings the crazy!
Although there were two people using that biblical language.
Yes, the butler uses a lesser version of the same language (as well as one other character, much later, whom I won’t mention for fear of spoiling). And a few other characters bone up on the Bible in order to be able to top him.
Abigail wrote: "Yes, the butler uses a lesser version of the same language (as well as one other character, much later, whom I won’t mention for fear of spoiling). And a few other characters bone up on the Bible i..."Which is a feature that I love. It's just that (oh, crap, another comparison to Sayers - oh, what the heck) I find myself thinking about the character of Bill Rumm in "Strong Poison" (I think it's "Strong Poison") - the reformed safe-cracker turned Evangelical. Somehow his Bible-chewing manages to turn him into a strong, believable, if still 'colorful' character for me, and PC Glass's does not; even tho' I generally admire Heyer's use of language to mark character.
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Especially when they started talking about a real crook being considered, why they didn't think of a black-jack, at least to discard that possibility to the reader.