The objectionable patriarch truly is the most dangerous role in detective fiction. Gregory Matthews pops his clogs via poison at a time when almost every member of his family has reason to wish him ill. Might the culprit be his thrift-obsessed sister, Harriet? The dramatic Zoe, wife of his late brother, who goes out of her way to perform virtue; or maybe her children, Stella and Guy, who both have reasons to fear being severed from the inheritance. And who could leave out the prodigal son who sweeps onto the scene – though he seems to prefer cutting remarks to deadly murder. Then there’s the fact that the local doctor initially certified the death as natural. Superintendent Hannasyde attempts to investigate.
This book has a classic country house setup – as I mentioned in the synopsis, the hated patriarch gets poisoned, and the suspicious family are all around to fight over the results. The family setup is an odd one, with Gregory and his sister living in the house alongside his brother’s widow. We never see Gregory alive, but he seems to have kept these very different people together in the same house out of spite, and his will actually requires the two women to continue to live there. Heyer is adept at creating caricatures which can be placed into opposition, such as the joyless and thrifty Harriet, and the self-centred Mrs Matthews, who hides her gold-digging under a veneer of pious understanding. The incident of the Dead Man’s Loofah was a particular standout (possibly my high point of the book actually). These are well-crafted caricatures, but they’re never drawn outside their allotted lines. Some characters are capable of hidden characteristics but still express their one characteristic whenever they are on stage. That everyone continues to have almost identical arguments does make all the arguments into argument soup eventually, though they are entertaining while they’re happening.
I never really sympathized with any of the characters, which could be fine, except that Heyer introduces an element of romance between two of them and presumably expects the reader to care about them. She does try and establish some chemistry between the two, but it’s a very sudden turnaround, and the subplot begins to take up more and more space in the book, just as the detective part should be reaching its climax. The book also starts very slowly, and I found it a slog early on – partly since it does actually take a bit of time for everyone to find out that the death is a murder. Throughout the book the investigators are flummoxed by how the victim could have been poisoned. It’s not exactly an impossible crime in practice, as the difficulty is that much of the evidence has been destroyed. But the way it’s clued is fairly good. The motive part of the plot is a bit of a mess, filled in at the end with a lot of new information.
Unfortunately Superintendent Hannasyde, who is supposed to be investigating it, is utterly useless. If the other characters are fairly one-dimensional, Hannasyde might actually be zero-dimensional. He finds a lead, but he’s finding it a bit difficult to investigate. By which I mean he didn’t find out enough on his first attempt. So what’s a member of Scotland Yard to do? Why, tell his problem to the main suspect, of course! What do you do if a suspect notices the guy you have tailing him? Remove the tail completely, of course! I desperately wanted Freeman Wills Crofts’ Inspector French to turn up and show this guy how to do his job, or alternatively demote him to constable. It could be argued that he’s not the main detective, but then I wonder why we spend any time at all following him?
To sum up, I think the main reason to read this is for its witty arguments and social humour. But this aspect came to grate on me by the end, as the characters refused to show any depth. No need to wonder how they might react to an unexpected development: you already know.
Anyone who wants to read for the actual detective content, the clueing is decent and there is a good hidden poisoning method. But the focus is firmly on the family interactions and the humour, and the actual investigation is a complete afterthought. The conclusion might be surprising, but is not particularly satisfying.
If you want deeper characterization and/or an interesting detective plot, then Christanna Brand can do both, along with good arguments too.
If you’re after the romance plot you may be expecting from Heyer, this seems like a particularly shoehorned in example of it, and to be honest, it seems like the relationship would crash and burn in no time.
Other opinions:
Clothes in Books
Desperate Reader
Literary Potpourri
My Reader’s Block
Mystery File