Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Carit Andersen, [1970]. De trestjernede kriminalromaner. Heyer, bind 4.
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: "Ranks alongside such incomparable whodunnit authors as Christie, Marsh, Tey, and Allingham." �??San Francisco Chronicle Who would kill the perfect gentleman? When Ernest Fletcher is found bludgeoned to death in his study, everyone is shocked and mystified: Ernest was well liked and respected, so who would have a motive for killing him? Superintendent Hannasyde, with consummate skill, uncovers one dirty little secret after another, and with them, a host of people who all have reasons for wanting Fletcher dead. Then, a second murder is committed, giving a grotesque twist to a very unusual case, and Hannasyde realizes he's up against a killer on a mission... "Given the chance I could happily devour a stack of her novels one after the other." �??A Work In Progress "A few things that you are guaranteed when you pick up a Georgette Heyer novel of any kind are unique characters and a fast-paced plot." �??We Be Rea… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Eh. I actually liked the story - the characters are interestingly insane. Neville is a pain, but not an annoyance - Glass is an annoyance, though. Unfortunately, I remembered who the villain was, though not why - as soon as I read the first paragraph I remembered. Which meant that through all of
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Hannasyde's and Hemingway's puzzlement and working-out of clues and events, I was waiting impatiently for them to pick up this obvious fact and get the right guy. It made the whole thing less than interesting, as I knew they were following the wrong paths all the time. The Norths were idiots too, and Sally was a completely different sort of idiot. For a change, the viewpoints follow Hannasyde and Hemingway pretty closely - there are various conversations they didn't take part in, but that's pretty much an omniscient viewpoint. We don't get inside Neville's head, or Sally's, or anyone elses - see actions, but don't get feelings or motivations from anyone but the two. I think I would like it quite a lot if I didn't know who the murderer was, but as I seem to be unable to not know that (it's been years if not decades since I last read it...if I haven't forgotten by now I won't) the story is more than a little spoiled. Ah well. Try another. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
One of the better plot twists in the recent Heyer mysteries I've read, even though a good number of the characters were still fairly insufferable. Held my attention well, though.
LibraryThing member JulesJones
The fourth Superintendent Hannasyde book. Earnest Fletcher is found dead in his study, with a large dent in his head from a blunt instrument. On the surface he's a well-liked and respected man, but it soon becomes apparent that his nephew and heir is not the only one with a possible motive for
I actually spotted the murderer straight off, which bothered me not at all, as part of the fun was trying to work out whether I was right. The story itself is great fun, with Heyer's usual collection of sharply drawn characters, and her usual odd couple romance in the background.
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killing him. Unfortunately for Hannasyde, some of the people with motives are also his best witnesses, and some of them also have good reason to try to protect some of the other people with motives. He has a number of precise statements of the time of various events in the half hour leading up to the murder, most of which are not compatible and some of which are almost certainly true. It's only after a second murder that he begins to suspect the truth...I actually spotted the murderer straight off, which bothered me not at all, as part of the fun was trying to work out whether I was right. The story itself is great fun, with Heyer's usual collection of sharply drawn characters, and her usual odd couple romance in the background.
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LibraryThing member Riyale
Witty, humorous dialogue. Engaging characters. Fast-paced plot. Ranks high on my list of "Golden Age" mysteries.
LibraryThing member RapidCityPubLib
When Ernest Fletcher is found bludgeoned to death in his study, everyone is shocked and mystified: Ernest was well liked and respected, so who would have a motive for killing him?
LibraryThing member KimMR
It may be that I gave this 4 stars because I am such a Heyer fan. After all, the mystery wasn't that engaging and I guessed the culprit very early in the piece. But Neville's wicked tongue made up for other weaknesses. A fun read.
LibraryThing member JeffreyMarks
A great humorous mystery with a closed cast -- will keep you guessing up to the last minute. Wonderful author.
LibraryThing member barbmbtb
"A Blunt Instrument" was the fourth and last in the Superintendent Hannasyde mysteries. Georgette Heyer later formed a series based around the secondary character of Sergeant Hemingway. Although I haven't read any of the others, based on this book, it would appear that the detective character is
Heyer has been likened to Agatha Christie, but there, again, unlike Christie's Poirot and Marple series, there is not much emphasis on the detective. Christie's detectives are peculiar, out-of-the-box thinkers, with a vast experiential knowledge of human nature. Hannasyde and Hemingway plod through the facts. One is not necessarily the sidekick of the other, either, so there's no awestruck innocent who hares off after the red herring in order to play off against the brilliant detective who holds things close to his or her chest. ("Ah, Hastings, all will become clear, mon ami, if you will have the patience.")
Actually, that's an unfair characterization of Hemingway, who shows flashes of humor and gets in some comedic dialogue, especially playing off of PC Glass, the Bible-thumping, pompous constable who calls in the murder.
This book, more than anything, is an upper class romance wrapped around a murder mystery. (Although Christie's books also had strong elements of romance, it shared equal billing with the mystery.) While the detectives plod with both their techniques and dialogue, the other characters are highly individual, sharp and wonderful embodiments of "the usual suspects."
The dead body is played by Ernie Fletcher, a rich ladies' man. His household includes his sister, Lucy, a dithery, socially awkward and snobby spinster; and his nephew, Neville, who is by far the best character, by turns insouciant, irreverent, blithe, and mischievous. Debt-ridden Neville especially is a prime suspect.
Good old Uncle Ernie was not just charming to the ladies but underhanded in his dealings with them as well, as it turns out. He holds IOUs for gambling debts incurred by Mrs. North, a comely neighbor, whose husband would not countenance her indebtedness. Mrs. North does not know which would be worse, that her husband is jealous of Ernie or that he isn't. They, too, are prime suspects. There are other suspects and victims, one of whom begins as one and ends up as the other. All the elements of a classic mystery are at the ready.
The amount of dialogue irritated me at first. It took half the book before I stopped gritting my teeth whenever one of the suspects would start in to make a point. The point was usually obfuscated first by dithering, temporizing, and non sequiturs before being made. PC Glass with his Biblical quotes and dour looks irritated me the most. His superiors barely tolerated him, and I would have sentenced him to patrolling sheep pastures for wolves were I in charge.
By the second half of the book, however, I started to enjoy it. Neville and Sally, Mrs. North's sister and a "crime novelist," bantered charmingly and tolerated Mrs. North's attempts to be her own worst enemy. A lot of the peripheral characters appeared fully, even if they only had a paragraph or two to call their own.
There is certainly a charm, however dated, to this upper class play of morals, and I can see why Heyer was popular, even during England's depression and the years of war. This is just pure escapism.
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actually a supernumerary. The police aren't bumbling but they exist to go down the list of most likely suspects, then to throw red herrings into the mix, before finally solving the case.Heyer has been likened to Agatha Christie, but there, again, unlike Christie's Poirot and Marple series, there is not much emphasis on the detective. Christie's detectives are peculiar, out-of-the-box thinkers, with a vast experiential knowledge of human nature. Hannasyde and Hemingway plod through the facts. One is not necessarily the sidekick of the other, either, so there's no awestruck innocent who hares off after the red herring in order to play off against the brilliant detective who holds things close to his or her chest. ("Ah, Hastings, all will become clear, mon ami, if you will have the patience.")
Actually, that's an unfair characterization of Hemingway, who shows flashes of humor and gets in some comedic dialogue, especially playing off of PC Glass, the Bible-thumping, pompous constable who calls in the murder.
This book, more than anything, is an upper class romance wrapped around a murder mystery. (Although Christie's books also had strong elements of romance, it shared equal billing with the mystery.) While the detectives plod with both their techniques and dialogue, the other characters are highly individual, sharp and wonderful embodiments of "the usual suspects."
The dead body is played by Ernie Fletcher, a rich ladies' man. His household includes his sister, Lucy, a dithery, socially awkward and snobby spinster; and his nephew, Neville, who is by far the best character, by turns insouciant, irreverent, blithe, and mischievous. Debt-ridden Neville especially is a prime suspect.
Good old Uncle Ernie was not just charming to the ladies but underhanded in his dealings with them as well, as it turns out. He holds IOUs for gambling debts incurred by Mrs. North, a comely neighbor, whose husband would not countenance her indebtedness. Mrs. North does not know which would be worse, that her husband is jealous of Ernie or that he isn't. They, too, are prime suspects. There are other suspects and victims, one of whom begins as one and ends up as the other. All the elements of a classic mystery are at the ready.
The amount of dialogue irritated me at first. It took half the book before I stopped gritting my teeth whenever one of the suspects would start in to make a point. The point was usually obfuscated first by dithering, temporizing, and non sequiturs before being made. PC Glass with his Biblical quotes and dour looks irritated me the most. His superiors barely tolerated him, and I would have sentenced him to patrolling sheep pastures for wolves were I in charge.
By the second half of the book, however, I started to enjoy it. Neville and Sally, Mrs. North's sister and a "crime novelist," bantered charmingly and tolerated Mrs. North's attempts to be her own worst enemy. A lot of the peripheral characters appeared fully, even if they only had a paragraph or two to call their own.
There is certainly a charm, however dated, to this upper class play of morals, and I can see why Heyer was popular, even during England's depression and the years of war. This is just pure escapism.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
I may have read too much Agatha Christie as I discovered the identity of the murderer very early on in the book, but it did take until the end to discover the why. Strangely for a murder mystery this didn't matter because there are some absolutely hilarious encounters in this book, particularly in
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the scenes involving Constable Glass and Neville Fletcher, which makes this a quick fun read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jennie_103
A little bit of a cheating twist at the end I felt. After all, there are certain laws about detective stories and this did kind of break one. Not as much as Roger Ackroyd but still...
LibraryThing member leslie.98
after rereading in 2016 Maybe this is really only 3½ stars. I did enjoy Neville Fletcher & Sally Drew and of course Constable Glass! Unimportant but annoying is the fact that the picture on the cover of this 2006 Arrow edition not only had nothing to do with the murder but doesn't even represent
I recalled the solution to this one from the beginning of my reread andwhile this mystery does violate the "rules," I could admire how skillfully Heyer gave the reader clues pointing to the guilty person.
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the people in this book!!I recalled the solution to this one from the beginning of my reread and
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
During the last third of the book I had a sudden conviction of who was the murderer, and I was right.I feel rather chuffed about that, pleased with myself over it.
And I will spend the next few days thinking, writing and speaking in early 20th Century English. Some authors do that to one.
Ernest
I enjoyed it, inter-war fiction is some of my favourite reads and this was a good example, yes the characters behave in strange-to-a-modern-reader manners but I just let the story flow and enjoy. While I did work out the murderer it was still interesting to see what would happen with the main characters. I found it enjoyable, there was some reflection of the horrors of World War I lurking in the story which I found interesting as well, though not as much as in Dorothy Sayers.
And I will spend the next few days thinking, writing and speaking in early 20th Century English. Some authors do that to one.
Ernest
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Fletcher (and yes, the Murder She Wrote theme music was a regular feature of my reading of this) is found bludgeoned to death. Most of the people around him describe him as well-liked but this is on the surface only. When he's found dead and there doesn't appear to be a very long window of opportunity Superintendent Hannasyde has to investigate, helped and hindered by his bible thumping Constable Glass and the indolent nephew of the deceased Neville. As the layers begin to be scraped off the stories a lot of suspects begin to mount up and things get more and more complicated. Then a second body turns up...I enjoyed it, inter-war fiction is some of my favourite reads and this was a good example, yes the characters behave in strange-to-a-modern-reader manners but I just let the story flow and enjoy. While I did work out the murderer it was still interesting to see what would happen with the main characters. I found it enjoyable, there was some reflection of the horrors of World War I lurking in the story which I found interesting as well, though not as much as in Dorothy Sayers.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
historical-fiction, cosy-mystery, sly-humor, snarky, law-enforcement, verbal-humor, situational-humor, British-detective
Didn't know that she wrote early twentieth century police mysteries, and while the mystery was fairly good, the characters are so over the top, and the humor so delightful that I
I love a period mystery, and this one is great fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark via NetGalley!
Didn't know that she wrote early twentieth century police mysteries, and while the mystery was fairly good, the characters are so over the top, and the humor so delightful that I
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giggled and snuffled and guffawed through the whole book!I love a period mystery, and this one is great fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark via NetGalley!
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LibraryThing member BrianEWilliams
This is a chatty whodunit set in 1930's England. Ernie Fletcher is bludgeoned to death in his own home study one evening and Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. What follows is detectives doing a careful reconstruction of the timeline for the evening of the murder. At one until it seems none
There's a couple of standout interesting characters amongst the cast. Ernie's campy nephew who stands to inherit the family fortune twitters away in the background throughout the entire book, only to become a serious suspect at the end. The town constable who was first on the scene of the first murder spouts evangelical sayings to all and sundry throughout the book. Meanwhile Superintendent Hannasyde and his sergeant doggedly go about their sleuthing having to contend with these two characters as well as a clueless elderly lady, a know-it-all crime fiction author, a flaky damsel-in-distress type who cannot get her story straight, and so on.
The mid-1930's stye of dialogue is tedious at times, offset by the constable's evangelical bleating. These are minor annoyances in an otherwise good book.
All in all, it's an entertaining story and well worth reading.
I received my review copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley. The comments are my own.
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of the obvious suspects could have done it. Things get complicated when one of the suspects is bludgeoned to death in the identical fashion as Ernie.There's a couple of standout interesting characters amongst the cast. Ernie's campy nephew who stands to inherit the family fortune twitters away in the background throughout the entire book, only to become a serious suspect at the end. The town constable who was first on the scene of the first murder spouts evangelical sayings to all and sundry throughout the book. Meanwhile Superintendent Hannasyde and his sergeant doggedly go about their sleuthing having to contend with these two characters as well as a clueless elderly lady, a know-it-all crime fiction author, a flaky damsel-in-distress type who cannot get her story straight, and so on.
The mid-1930's stye of dialogue is tedious at times, offset by the constable's evangelical bleating. These are minor annoyances in an otherwise good book.
All in all, it's an entertaining story and well worth reading.
I received my review copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley. The comments are my own.
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LibraryThing member Vesper1931
Seemingly well-liked Ernest Fletcher is found dead in his study. But there may be quite a few people whi wanted him dead, but with all the evidence how could the murder be done in such a short time. And then there is a second murder.
It is for Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway to
I did find that the guilty party may have been too obvious and there were some really annoying characters, like Officer Glass and the idiotic Helen North. But overall the story was enjoyable enough.
A NetGalley Book
It is for Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway to
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investigate.I did find that the guilty party may have been too obvious and there were some really annoying characters, like Officer Glass and the idiotic Helen North. But overall the story was enjoyable enough.
A NetGalley Book
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LibraryThing member smik
My interest in reading this vintage crime title arose after reading an "In the Spotlight" post by Margot Kinberg. Margot says that A BLUNT INSTRUMENT is a clear example of a Golden Age mystery, with a solid emphasis on mystery and a puzzle, focussing also in the "who" and "why".
Another review that
I thought it differed in many ways from an Agatha Christie novel - it was very heavy on dialogue, reading almost like a drama script. The characters were rather peculiar and there was quite a lot of humour, particularly in the form of the interaction between Sergeant Hemingway and Constable Glass, who constantly quoted from the Bible. I thought about half way through that there could only be one answer to who the murderer was, and surprisingly was right.
It is not going to send me off looking for another Heyer mystery though.
Another review that
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I read said it was a romance clad in a mystery, the romance being what we usually recognise Georgette Heyer for.I thought it differed in many ways from an Agatha Christie novel - it was very heavy on dialogue, reading almost like a drama script. The characters were rather peculiar and there was quite a lot of humour, particularly in the form of the interaction between Sergeant Hemingway and Constable Glass, who constantly quoted from the Bible. I thought about half way through that there could only be one answer to who the murderer was, and surprisingly was right.
It is not going to send me off looking for another Heyer mystery though.
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LibraryThing member cmbohn
Ernest Fletcher is discovered at his desk with his head bashed in. Scotland Yard is on the case. But for every suspect, there's an alibi. Soon there's none left. So whodunnit?
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
Here's the thing about most Golden Age mysteries: the puzzle is all. No matter how witty or clever or brilliant the writing is, it's almost never about the characters themselves, but about the murder mystery puzzle. Which is, of course, why I read mysteries; I love the puzzle and I love trying to
I solved this one on page 88-89. I don't think I did anything particularly clever, just that a certain passage hit me a certain way and it all became clear to me. The only thing I ended up getting wrong was the relation of the murderer to one of the characters and then only because I imagined the murderer to be the wrong age.
I didn't dnf, or skip to the end to see if I was correct solely because, when Heyer is 'on' with her writing she is on, and this is one of her better writing efforts, even if the plotting went astray (and I've found out her mysteries were all plotted by her husband). The story behind the mystery plot is a farce and Heyer thoroughly caricatures everyone except Hannasyde. The dialog was electric and even though I was thoroughly impatient with Neville at the start, I thought him wildly entertaining by the end. I wanted to keep reading just to see what he'd say and do next.
So, 2 stars for the plotting because... page 89. There was never any doubt on my part that I was wrong. But an extra star because the characters are Heyer at her wittiest and most hilarious.
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solve it. But unfortunately, if the reader does solve the murder/puzzle, there's not a lot of characterisation to fall back on; solve the puzzle and the remaining story can be tedious.I solved this one on page 88-89. I don't think I did anything particularly clever, just that a certain passage hit me a certain way and it all became clear to me. The only thing I ended up getting wrong was the relation of the murderer to one of the characters and then only because I imagined the murderer to be the wrong age.
I didn't dnf, or skip to the end to see if I was correct solely because, when Heyer is 'on' with her writing she is on, and this is one of her better writing efforts, even if the plotting went astray (and I've found out her mysteries were all plotted by her husband). The story behind the mystery plot is a farce and Heyer thoroughly caricatures everyone except Hannasyde. The dialog was electric and even though I was thoroughly impatient with Neville at the start, I thought him wildly entertaining by the end. I wanted to keep reading just to see what he'd say and do next.
So, 2 stars for the plotting because... page 89. There was never any doubt on my part that I was wrong. But an extra star because the characters are Heyer at her wittiest and most hilarious.
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Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1938
Physical description
198 p.; 18.5 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Jørgen Jørgensen
Omslagsfoto: Jørgen Jørgensen
Omslaget forestiller en forskrækket dame
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "A Blunt Instrument" af Ellen Duurloo
Omslagsfoto: Jørgen Jørgensen
Omslaget forestiller en forskrækket dame
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "A Blunt Instrument" af Ellen Duurloo
Similar in this library
Pages
198
DDC/MDS
| 823.912 |