Review: Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer.

Review: Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer.

Synopsis

Cover of Death in the Stocks

If you are one of this genre's fans the plot might seem already a bit cliche. A rich man from London, Arnold Vereker, is found murdered on the village green, stabbed in the back with his feet in the stocks. A "funny" murder or the right punishment or both?  The police soon find out nobody is very sorry to see the man dead - he was an extremely selfish, unpleasant creature. The suspicion at once falls on his immediate and rather poor family - an entertainingly eccentric half-brother, Kenneth, who is a budding artist, and a tomboy half-sister, Antonia (Tony), the breeder of bull terriers. None of them has anything close to a cast-iron alibi. What’s more, they both profited from the murder, inheriting a very handsome sum of money, not to mention a luxury London house and a country house as well. Did they murdered their brother in cold blood just for the filthy lucre? Is there another inheritor and another suspect? After all, the number of people who, for various reasons, loved the fact that Vereker has been sent on to his just rewards grows steadily with the story. As usual in Heyer’s novels, there are romantic complications as well - both siblings are on the brink of tying the knot with the wrong candidates. Will they realise their mistakes in time? Will the investigation help or hinder their pursuit of finding the right half?


After several plot twists and red herrings, all interspersed with Hannasyde's encounters with sometimes maddeningly eccentric Vereker family, the murder is resolved.

What I liked:

The book will entertain you for sure as great characters and great dialogue is what the authoress excels at. The Verekers were a treat, all of them! The mysterious murderer’s identity was a bit of a surprise (although I guessed it before the ending) so I consider it an asset too.

What I didn’t like

In my very humble opinion the plot could have moved a little faster; not always but from time to time anyway. Some scenes seemed to me quite unnecessary, even spurious. I didn’t like Tony’s fiancé very much for one thing and I wondered why it took such an intelligent girl so long to understand who and what he was. My second complaint is about the crime itself – although it was solved, the whole process was a little too quick and the ending seemed rather abrupt as if the authoress or her editor suddenly run out of time. I do missed these small theatricals of Monsieur Poirot who always presented the ugly deed from A to Z in a very exciting way.

The final verdict

If you are, like me, a fan of the mysteries by Agatha Christie or Dorothy L.Sayers, set mostly in the English countryside, I can totally recommend Death In The Stocks to you. It will be a pleasant entertainment during these long autumn and winter evenings. If you prefer something more ambitious or more adventurous, though, think twice.

Silent Saturday

Review: Georgette Heyer, „A Blunt Instrument”

Cover of A Blunt Instrument

Synopsis:

As I deal with a whodunnit here, I will keep the synopsis short and sweet. The plot of the book presents an old-fashioned murder mystery set in the days when life was simpler and gentlemen wore hats at any time of the night or day. Dame Agatha Christie would definitely feel at home and aprove.

A very religious, Bible-quoting policeman, called Malachi Glass, while patrolling his beat finds out that Ernest Fletcher was bludgeoned to death in his study. Everyone seems to be shocked and mystified about possible reasons of such a horrid murder - Ernest was old, rich, single, well liked and respected, although he also enjoyed an opinion of a ladies man. As usual, Ernest’s life, and his family's too, come under close scrutiny; the police is especially interested in his nephew, Neville Fletcher, who, as a main beneficiary, inherited a vast fortune. Neville doesn’t make the police work any easier, though, teasing mercilessly Superintendent Hannasyde; even the morose PC Glass is unpleasantly surprised as Neville quotes back some Bible at him. Is it just an innocent play of a young, bored prankster or maybe a cunning trick of an intelligent murderer? Why did Ernest Fletcher keep the IOUs of his beautiful gambling neighbour in the safe? Why did she pay him a clandestine visit shortly before the murder? Will her sister, a monocle-wearing mystery writer, guess the identity of the culprit and help the police with the investigation? Any help will come in useful as soon enough a second murder is discovered, right under the nose of the furious Superintendent. Will there be a third one?

What I liked:

The sense of humour and witty dialogues are evidently the highlights of this whodunnit: best lines are passed among Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemmingway but some of PC Glass’s quotes, although rather grim, have had their merit too. The mystery itself, although relatively trite at first glance, proved to be more twisted than I expected – I haven’t guessed the identity of the real murderer till the very end (mind you I am not good at it).I also appreciated the fact that the policemen, presented in the novel, were close to real people, with all these foibles, quirks and flaws; I must admit that aspect of the police force I missed in Agatha Christie’s books the most.

What I didn’t like:

The story would have been more captivating, in my humble opinion, if only the late Ernest Fletcher had been presented as a younger and nicer man – a modern reader must wonder why any woman would get within ten meters of him. I was also surprised the character of his sister wasn’t explored more by the author who also happened to be a woman. The romantic thread seemed to me a bit of a stretch; it looked as if Ms Heyer were absolutely determined to feature a proposal in every single one of her books no matter whether it was probable or not. It was supposed to be a whodunnit, not a romance!

The final verdict:

A light reading stuff for the summer without nasty surprises inside- it wasn't bad but I wasn’t enchanted by it. It’s my first Heyer’s whodunnit, though, so I can’t say right now how it compares with the rest. However, I am likely to find out very soon – the second Heyer’s mystery is waiting on my shelves.

Wishful Wednesday, 11 August

The meme is hosted by Brooke Bluestocking Guide.

This week my wish is highly unusual but nevertheless I find it very interesting. As I've been recently stung by a wasp I would like to read a book about instects - these really creepy and alien creatures, leading mostly invisible life right next to us. Do you find vampires exciting? Check out some simple facts from the life of an ordinary spider and you might be very surprised indeed! The book is entitled "Insectopedia" and it was written by Hugh Raffles.

Cover of Insectopedia

  Let me quote the expert opinion here, published on the page of  Amazon.com:

"Insectopedia is one of the most remarkable books I have read in a long time. Like its subject, it is many things, all of them fascinating. First, it is a reference book of the first order: it is loaded with facts--some profound, others curious, and still others laugh-out-loud funny. Insectopedia is also part personal memoir, scientific detective story, and even cultural study. We travel the Amazon, visit Chernobyl, and enter laboratories and sidewalk cafes in search of insects and the ideas and cultures they inspire. Insects stir eerie fascination: they are beautiful, disgusting, important, and annoying. To some they are tasty. To others they are a source of sexual fetish. Who knew? In Raffles's hands insects become windows into our culture, science, health--even our psyche. In each page of Insectopedia, the more we learn of insects, the more we come to face--and sometimes even challenge--our own views of the world.
Hugh Raffles's work stands alone for what it says both about its subject and about us. After reading Insectopedia, it's hard to look at a cricket, a bumblebee, and a human being the same way ever again. I adored the book. What an accomplishment. And I thought I knew insects... --Neil Shubin"

Image via Wikipedia

---

Teasing Tuesday, 10 August

The Tuesday meme hosted by MizB at shouldbereading.wordpress.com

My teaser today will concern "A Blunt Instrument" by Georgette Heyer, p.47.

Cover of A Blunt Instrument

"Hemingway held the photograph at arm's length.'No, I'm pretty sure I don't connect her with the stage. No use asking you, Glass, I suppose?'

'I do not wish to look upon the face of a lewd woman,' Glass said harshly. 'Her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword'.

Asphodel Wormwood anyone? My review is coming soon!

Review: Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Review: Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

The book is the sequel to “Incanrceron" ,

Cover of Sapphique

which I reviewed here.

Synopsis

In this part the alternating story lines between the Realm and Incarceron are much more distinct. Finn, an Incarceron prisoner who had escaped  with some help of Claudia, the Warden of Incarceron’s daughter, tries to get his kingdom back. Claudia believes that Finn is no other than Prince Giles, the lost son of the late king, abducted and imprisoned by his step-mother, queen Sia, in order to make room for her own progeny. John Arlex, the Warden of Incarceron, having tricked the queen into presenting Finn as the heir to the throne, removed himself temporarily from the scene. Now, his daughter is on her own to prove her point and make the rest accept Finn. Her belief is not widely shared to say the least of it, not even by Finn himself. Even Jared Sapient, her terminally ill tutor, doubts it, although he does what he can to re-open the portal to Incarceron and find some proof. Courtiers and aristocrats simply shun the newly-found prince as he is moody, taciturn and has no manners to speak of. What’s more, Finn himself seems to doubt this new persona more and more, as his memory hasn’t returned completely and his seizures and blackouts continue. Apparently the Realm is not going to be handed down to him (if it is really his) on a sliver platter. Apart from that, it turns out the world outside the prison is hardly a Paradise Finn had been expecting. Has he stepped out of the frying pan into the fire? Queen Sia hasn’t been idle either – once defeated, she is hell-bend on setting everything right again, staging a show with her own prince Giles as the main character. With two heirs apparent to choose from, who is an impostor and who is the real thing? Even Claudia has her moments of doubt. Is there any way of finding the truth?

Meanwhile inside the prison Finn’s oathbrother, Keiro, who, like Attia, Finn’s friend, was left behind, struggles to find his own way out. He believes Finn has forgotten about the oath and won't help them (or won't be let help them) to escape so he is after a mysterious artifact, the Glove of Sapphique, which, allegedly, might allow him to get the upper hand over Incarceron and be released. The rumour has it that the Glove is in the possession of a prisoner called Rix, a con artist and a vagabond, who travels with his troupe all over the prison to earn a living. Keiro makes Attia join that troupe and find out as much as she can about the Glove and its owner. They are running out of time, though, because Incarceron itself decided to abandon its prisoners, create a body and run away from it all - it's been feeling imprisoned without glimpsing the outside world. Unfortunately it means nothing more or less than death of all the people, inhabiting Incarceron. All the prison needs is the Glove. As Keiro doesn’t give a damn what happens to the others, it’s Attia’s job to make sure the Glove won’t fall into wrong hands. Will the Warden help her with that dangerous task? Whose hands are good and whose are wrong anyway?

What I liked:

Undoubtedly the storyline is a strong point of this series. The same verbal sleights of hand and creative story elements that made "Incarceron" so exciting a read are back in Sapphique; the authoress populates the prison with sentient beings that are unique and original. Nothing is as easy as it seems at the beginning of this dystopian tale and the main characters undergo huge changes to achieve their goals. I must admit this was one angst-filled novel, definitely darker than the first part but I liked it. The pace of narration was very quick, with enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the book right to the end.

What I didn’t like:

My concern is whether or not this is the real end of the story. I mean, it does resolve satisfactorily for all the main characters, but some of my questions remained untouched. I mainly think here about supporting characters like Queen Sia, the evil woman of the series. A powerful baddie should have been presented better in my view. Who and what was she? How did she manage to marry a king and become a queen in the first place? What gave her so much power and skills? Why did she decide to imprison rather than kill prince Giles? None of these was answered and it's a pity. I also feel there should be said more about John Arlex and his motives - why did he choose to return to Incarceron after all, knowing fully well the system was unstable?

Apart from that, I was expecting more character development; for example at the end of the book I still wasn’t completely sure what was the relationship between Jared and Claudia - was he a father-figure or a love-interest or maybe both? The same can be asked about Finn/Giles and Claudia - were they trully in love or were they just friends, allies and future married couple? I think (and hope) Ms. Fisher left an opening for a possible third book... that's my opinion.

ETA: The eyes of the Warden are still gray.

The final verdict:

If you haven't read Incarceron and Sapphique yet, start the series now and you won’t regret it. It is not flawless but it remains good and imaginative nevertheless.

Time for a break

 Hi everyone,

It's time for a break - I am being rather busy right now so there might be no other review coming soon. I would like to seize that opportunity and thank all these people who have visited my blog and commented here - you really rock, all of you!