Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our buddy read of Georgette Heyer's first foray into the mystery genre, published in 1932.

The Priory may look ramshackle in appearance, but Peter, Margaret, and Celia, are totally charmed by their newly-inherited country house.

But there's more to The Priory than meets the eye.

Left empty for years, hardly a single person has set foot inside and, down in the village, the locals whisper of a ghostly figure that roams the halls . . .

When a murder is committed, the new owners start to fear the rumours are true – but is their new home really haunted, or is someone trying to scare them away?

Apparently, Heyer did not wish this mystery to be re-printed, although I am sure that our resident Georgette Heyer specialists, can cast more light on this issue than I can! I look forward to hearing their thoughts on that and the book in general.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

Interested to hear who read this one. I thought it was charming and really enjoyed it.

I've got the ebook on order from the library but it hasn't come through yet, so I will be a bit late to join in. Hoping I will have it soon. I've enjoyed the other Heyer mysteries we have read so far.

I read it many years ago, and will start a relisten in the next day or so (although I'm not really happy with the mysteries' narrator). All I remember was thinking that the family/home arrangement reminded me of Dornford Yates' Pleydell family living at White Ladies, and wondered if those books were an influence on Heyer.

If Charles is meant to be a lawyer (more shades of the Pleydell family) then I would expect him to know that if you find a human body then you must inform the police - even if you believe the body to be hundreds of years dead. And a skeleton might be ancient, or it might be more recent (or it might be a prank - check for wiring!). There is also no mention of the remains of clothing - buttons, or buckles or fragments of cloth - which would have gone some way to confirm the age of the skeleton. Without it, you have a naked body stowed in the hole, not a priest trapped.

And why would there be a 'priest's hole' in a house built by someone so Protestant that they were awarded land after the Dissolution of the Monasteries?

I will then wonder about the rationale behind sealing up the entry point before telling the police about it - and then claiming that 'no offence had been committed'.

I thought I requested this from the library, but I seem to be wrong (Impossible!) so will be joining in quite late. I also thought I had read it before, but GR disagrees. Not my day.

I'm going to try and get to this, but probably only in December

I've read this so many times I think I can participate without re-reading, but I might change my mind if it rains all week.
I had to get used to her mysteries in general, and then I didn't take to this one right away. I've since learned to really enjoy it, however.

In the past reading Death in the Stocks made reading Footsteps in the Dark attractive. However, it was a struggle. For me this wasn’t anywhere near as enjoyable. I got to the end and the mystery was excellent. The getting there was for me a bit torturous.

Louise Tothill wrote: "In the past reading Death in the Stocks made reading Footsteps in the Dark attractive. However, it was a struggle. For me this wasn’t anywhere near as enjoyable. I got to the end and the mystery wa..."

Agreed - I’ve read and enjoyed most of Heyer’s mysteries, some a few times, but this was an early effort and it shows. I listened to the audiobook this time, and she is not my favorite narrator (although she has done several Heyer mysteries), which didn’t help. I think they use this narrator because she has a very plummy, cool, upper crust accent, which fits the tone of the characters- wealthy, upper-class 1930s Londoners.

I enjoyed it, there was the usual Heyer humor, but some characters were irritating, and I felt like the mystery dragged on a bit - even after the bad guys became rather obvious to a mystery buff! Still, Heyer’s early efforts are usually as good as many an author’s best!

Susan in NC wrote: " I listened to the audiobook this time, and she is not my favorite narrator (although she has done several Heyer mysteries), which didn’t help."

Her mispronounciations - 'prophesy' pronounced as 'prophecy' and (possibly not in this book) 'sal volatile' as if Sally was rather impulsive - and odd phrasing put me off, but I don't have a paper copy of this book.

Rosina wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: " I listened to the audiobook this time, and she is not my favorite narrator (although she has done several Heyer mysteries), which didn’t help."

Her mispronounciations - 'proph..."

Lol, very true - your plot observations above gave me a chuckle, and I agree about the narrator! I have a paperback copy , but I like to listen to audiobooks while I knit, and this was the version I was able to find.

I ordered this one and waiting for it to arrive. I'm in once I finish a few other reads, probably in December.

This book is still £1.99 on Amazon at the moment. I cracked and bought it after getting fed up with waiting for the library ebook! I'm just starting it and must say the cover of the ebook I'm reading looks very Christmassy. Wondering if this will get me in an early festive mood?

Judy wrote: "This book is still £1.99 on Amazon at the moment. I cracked and bought it after getting fed up with waiting for the library ebook! I'm just starting it and must say the cover of the ebook I'm readi..."

Footsteps in the Dark was much more Halloweeny than Christmasy!
I hope you enjoy it anyway.

I can see what you mean so far, Jackie - the early chapters are feeling quite spooky!

I'm halfway through now, and so far I don't really think it's up to the standard of the other Georgette Heyer mysteries I've read - quite fun though! I have a view as to who I think the main villain is, but will see if I am right.

I didn't guess but I usually don't, if the author is at all skilled I get redirected and distracted away from all the clues.

This one wasn't my favorite of her mysteries, which might be Behold, Here's Poison or The Unfinished Clue.

I'm about up to Chapter 5 and it definitely has sort of a "haunted mansion" tale vibe to it, so I agree with Jackie. I'm enjoying the overall atmosphere, but it has a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to this mystery, right? (I'm assuming this is what the author intended, and this is my first read from her). It seems that way, sort of light. I like when characters like Charles and Peter are trying to do some amateur sleuthing at various points to figure out what the noises are.

I like Charles - he's very charming and a bit sarcastic, but not as amazingly rude as vaguely similar characters in some of Heyer's other books!

Judy, I think Heyer's mystery characters are, over-all, harder to like than her historical romances, but not in this example. I find all of the family likable, and enjoy their interactions, especially with their Aunt.

I learned in the Heyer group that she is often writing about a generation known as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_...
so when the slang seems awful and the characters bitter and hard to like, it might be an accurate portrayal of her contempories.

I find the story here not as good but like the people in it better.

(view spoiler)[ except for the romance, which is easily her least good! (hide spoiler)]

Jackie, I have read a lot about/by Bright Young Things, but must admit it hadn't struck me to think of Heyer's mystery characters as belonging to that generation, probably because I always think of her as a Regency writer and had been tending to think of her modern characters as Regency people in modern dress!

However, now that you've said it, I can see that her bitter characters do have a Bright Young Things feel to them - though in this book I thought the humour was more lighthearted than some of the others.
From those I've read so far, I definitely agree with your comment "I find the story here not as good but like the people in it better."

I'm only a couple of chapters in and enjoying the interaction among the family members, and the few neighbors I've met. So far there is only a haunted house mystery.

Sandy wrote: "I'm only a couple of chapters in and enjoying the interaction among the family members, and the few neighbors I've met. So far there is only a haunted house mystery."

That's how I feel. The mystery of the ghost is very interesting and how many are very superstitious towards it. I like the interactions with the family as well. I just arrived at Chapter 9. Charles' visit with the odd French painter Duval was interesting and perhaps foreboding of something to come....

I didn't end up liking this as much as I had hoped. It wasnt a bad story per se, but it felt like an average haunted house mystery without a lot of depth or development to it.

I enjoyed reading the book quite a bit, though it was really just a bit of froth without much substance. The characters kept my interest, from the family, especially the aunt, the hapless local policeman and his quarry, and the poor vacuum cleaner salesman.

I've finally started it. It's a reread and I do her remember her later books as being quite a bit better than this one.

I've just started this on e-audiobook from the library. I thought I was going to have to wait for it until the middle of this month but it suddenly popped up as available so lucky for me I think somdone must have returned it early. I agree with others about the narrator.

I finished this one and ended up enjoying it. It has a light sort of mystery quality with some wit and humor, but that sort of gave it some charm. It was sort of a fun mystery trying to figure out the mysteriousness of the Priory. Anyhow, this was my first read from Heyer and I'll look into others.