Penhallow

by Georgette Heyer

Paperback, 1972

Status

Available

Call number

Fic Mystery Heyer

Publication

Bantam Books (1972), Paperback

Description

Hated for his cruel and vicious nature, ruling his family with an iron hand from his sickbed, tyrannical patriarch Adam Penhallow is found murdered the day before his birthday. His entire family had assembled for his birthday celebration, and every one of them had the ways and means to commit the crime. As accusation and suspicion turn in one direction, then another, the claws and backstabbing come out, and no one is exempt from the coming implosion.

User reviews

LibraryThing member goet0095

I'm so annoyed with this book I can barely write a review!!!
This book is by Georgette Heyer, the "Queen of Mystery and Suspense", according to the book cover. This book is not a mystery!!!!!!
It took until 3/4ths into the book for the evil patriarch to get murdered. I don't care if I ruin this for

everyone, because it was a horrible book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone! Before the father gets murdered, the author describes his 2nd wife putting poison in his whiskey, which he drinks every night. That is basically what happens in this book. That's it. I was so annoyed when I finished this book that I threw it across the room. My husband got up and retrieved it so I could throw it one more time! This was slightly satisfying.

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LibraryThing member gwernin

A very untypical book from Georgette Heyer, hard to compare with any of her other work, Penhallow is more of a psychological thriller than a mystery, albeit a rather slow moving one. Not especially enjoyable, either; although one couple comes out of it fairly well, I found the fate of another

character particularly undeserved and surprisingly moving. A sad book, by and large. If you haven't read any of Heyer's work before, don't start here.

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LibraryThing member kaulsu

A mystery....but the reader knows all the answers. Extremely well-developed characters, but a bit tedious to read since none of them are sympathetic!

LibraryThing member ryn_books

Not as engaging as other Heyer mysteries I've read. Well written and the characters are drawn well. However I didn't like any of them, nor cared what happened to them. The writing conveyed very effectively how dysfunctional the entire family is. The fact that I disliked them all so much made me

lose pleasure and interest in what I was reading.
However other readers may enjoy this as a purely psychological thriller set in the very-English 1930's class-ridden era.

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LibraryThing member riverwillow

Hmm according to Wikipedia following a lunch with someone from Hodder and Stoughton (her then publishers) Heyer felt patronised and as a result wrote Penhallow. Apparently Hodder refused to publish the book in the UK, although Heinemann picked up the rights - she also parted ways with Doubleday,

her US publishers, following publication and I can see why. It's a hard book to read, filled as it is with unpleasant characters, and has very little of Heyer's usually sparkling prose. It also takes a very long time to get to the murder. I'm glad I read it as it completes the set, but that is the best I can say about this.

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LibraryThing member RapidCityPubLib

Georgette Heyer is best known for her Regency romances. Early in her career she wrote some Mysteries. She was a contemporary of Christie and Sayers. Her mysteries were out of publication for sometime and are now available again. Although the book was contemporary when first written it now reads

like a historical mystery. The plot is a little dated by the standards of today but having waited so long to read it I really enjoyed it.

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LibraryThing member antiquary

A mystery with a rather Gothic atmosphere but a fairly modern setting. For me, less enjoyable than Heyer's lighter Regency romances.

LibraryThing member Condorena

I agree with most of the reviewers. I love Georgette Heyer but this was a terrible book, full of terrible people living horrible lives and making no effort to change them. Talk about misery. The only person more miserable is the reader. I had to break the pattern and leave the misery behind by

leaping to the end which was in the end very unsatisfying. This is the only Heyer I will get rid of. I do not recommend that anyone spend any time on it. It was depressing as well.

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LibraryThing member librisissimo

Nothing can be said about the plot without giving away the solution,

LibraryThing member Helenliz

This is an unusual book. Instead of the crime happening at the beginning, it takes place mid way and you know who did it. The police also don't solve the crime at the end. they know that what they have got as a solution is wrong, what they don't have is the missing pieces to show how and where it

is wrong.
The Penhallow of the title is Adam Penhallow, master of Trevelin. He is a tyrant and rules his family with an iron will, a nasty temper and a mean streak. A number of them live at home, and for his birthday he gradually draws them all closer. They are a mixed bag, some of the more likeable than others. Over the course of the book the family history is described and some startling news changes how some of them view themselves and the others.
I thought it quite inventive and well put together. The characters were all well drawn (if not all well balanced!) and they all interact in a believable way. It ends in a nicely ambiguous way, with things not seeming to turn out the way that had been imagined with the old man removed.

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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus

I didn't really enjoy this book. Very unusual for Georgette Heyer. I found the early part too long-winded and descriptive, and although the characters were good - once I'd figured out who was whom - I found the storyline rather disturbing.

The murder doesn't take place until over half-way through

the book, and then it's written in an unusual way, with the reader shown exactly what happens. I kept thinking there would be some twist - perhaps along the lines of Agatha Christie's classic 'Orient Express', but was disappointed.

The final paragraph in the book has the police inspector remarking that it was a very unsatisfactory case... and I would agree. Very strange, and rather disturbing.

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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Ugh. I think Heyer got challenged (or challenged herself) to write a "literary" novel - and succeeded. I kept waiting for the descriptions of the rather foul lot of people to turn into either a romance or a murder mystery - though the only mystery would have been who got killed. It did, sort of,

but as we get to see the murder being done there's no mystery to it. It is, from beginning to end, people attacking each other, acting foul towards one another, anything from being snarky to torrents of verbal and physical abuse. I'm sorry, a little, for Vivian, and a little less for Faith (because she's so utterly soppy). Clay is as wet as his father thinks he is. The rest of the boys are various forms of idiots - from too lazy to move on his own to "merely" utterly insensitive to anyone around them. Penhallow is awful. So why am I supposed to be interested in this? I repeat, UGH. I need to read something light before I attempt another Heyer - and I mostly enjoy Heyers.

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LibraryThing member JBD1

Not the usual Heyer mystery (and not even really a mystery), but a captivating read nonetheless. The characters are all either quite odious or pitiable, though, so beware of that.

LibraryThing member michdubb

Not much happens until about twelve chapters in so the first half of the book is fairly hard going. Interesting and unusual ending. Actions have consequences, but perhaps not what was expected. I just wish there had been at least one likeable character and a little less “blah blah blah” in the

beginning.

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