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Envious Casca Georgette Heyer 9780099493662 Books

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Envious Casca Georgette Heyer 9780099493662 Books

This is the classic English country house mystery. The victim is a grumpy, wealthy old man and the suspects are his greedy, impecunious relatives and his shifty, nervous business partner. Two things set it apart from the herd. First, Nathaniel Herriard is found murdered in a LOCKED ROOM, so figuring out how the crime was committed presents even more difficulties than narrowing down the suspects.

The second thing is that it was written by Georgette Heyer who was a witty and acute observer of English society and it's absurdities in the pre-WWII period. Her characters are quirky and amusing, if not always very sympathetic. Like her other mysteries, it's an engrossing read, even if you have a hard time figuring out who to root for.

Neither snarly, sarcastic Stephen or his melodramatic sister Paula are particularly appealing and their Uncle Joseph (Nathaniel's brother) is easily the most irritating bumbling fool in the British Isles. Sturry the magnificently haughty butler and Stephen's perspective mother-in-law are each outstanding in their own way and I'm always happy to see sharp, off-beat Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard. He's a great fan of the theater, both professional and amateur. Just as well, because he's going to be treated to an Academy Award winning performance by one of his suspects!


Tags : Envious Casca [Georgette Heyer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>A classic mystery at Christmas. Perfect for fans of Mystery in White</i> by J Jefferson Farjeon. </b>It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor. And the mood is anything but festive. Six holiday guests find themselves the suspects in a murder inquiry when the old Scrooge,Georgette Heyer,Envious Casca,Arrow,0099493667,Fiction Mystery & Detective General,General & Literary Fiction

Envious Casca Georgette Heyer 9780099493662 Books Reviews

This is a nice, tight, locked door murder mystery. Heyer does it up in style old manor houses where a very uncongenial house party gathers for Christmas. Heyer plays fair. The clues to the villain are there. I challenge my fellow mystery lovers to try and spot who the real killer is.
Georgette Heyer is famous for her Regency romances, but readers may not be as familiar with her classic murder mysteries. Here she puts her twist on an English country house mystery set at Christmas. And this time, turkey isn't the only dead body on the menu. The story is full of her delightful wit and dysfunctional characters. So well does she hide her clues that, on a second reading a few years after my first, she actually fooled me into suspecting the wrong character again! Since then I have made it a holiday tradition to re-read this well-plotted tale of a family Christmas gone awry.
Of all G. Heyer's titles, I must admit this one is my least favorite. I don't get the title, either, but I'll assume it's an early 1900's British allusion. Heyer is better known for her string of Regency Period romances, but also wrote several mysteries worthy of praise. This one is the now-usual country manor murder where nearly everyone is a suspect. The main suspect, unlike her other novels, isn't a likeable fellow (even to the reader)-I wonder if perhaps Heyer actually invented the theme which mystery lovers now take for granted? As usual with her novels, she mingles a little romance with the mystery, thus appealing perhaps to romance readers. Unlike some of Christie's novels, all the clues are there. Try her other mysteries (Death in the Stocks, etc.) first. Spoilers As a hardcore Heyer fan, I have noted that the "good guys & gals" always have grey eyes. I personally have never met anyone with grey eyes....
I had always thought of Georgette Heyer as an author of romances, a genre which doesn't particularly appeal to me, but I wasn't aware until recently of her excellent mysteries. "Envious Casca" is considered one of her best. A disastrous house party gathers at an English country mansion to celebrate Christmas. There's a tyrannical head-of-family, his over-optimistic, ex-actor brother, some other bad-tempered relatives, a gold-digging fiancee, an aspiring playwright, a possibly shady business partner, a suspicious butler - all stereotypical characters, in fact, who are - as you might expect - at each other's throat. But beware. The stereotypes are made to be shattered and to deceive the reader, and Ms. Heyer neatly skewers the stereotypes. The murder, when it happens, is a classic locked room crime that simply could not have happened. Ms. Heyer provides legitimate (if well-hidden) clues while giving us an ingenious and exciting mystery, written with a great deal of with and humor. It's a delightful book.
So we have a Christmas gathering at a country house, a rich man and any number of relatives and acquaintances who need money. The party attendees really can't stand being each other's company. The rich man dies in a locked room. The characters are well drawn. My favorite is Sturry, the incredibly snobbish butler, who seems to find everybody else's behavior beneath contempt. It's fun to watch Inspector Hemingway, a rather sardonic detective, figure everything out. The crime is cleverly committed and solved. This book is now published under the title, "A Christmas Party." I like to think that the title was changed to take advantage of the Christmas theme rather than that few people understand the "envious Casca" reference
This period piece features a country house at Christmas, filled with unlikeable people and a complete lack of holiday spirit. When the host, a nasty old man, is murdered - apparently in a locked room - the back-biting seems to have turned into back-stabbing, literally. But, whodunit? Was it the shady businessman, the overwrought niece, the sardonic nephew, his bubble-headed fiancé, the misunderstood playwright, the bumbling uncle, his lethargic wife or the homely cousin? Or one of the servants? Or an outsider? The local constables are quick to confess this is out of their league, so Inspector Hemingway rides to the rescue. At times, this is funny, but since every single character is repulsive - well, maybe not the homely cousin, but everyone else - it was hard for me to get through.
This is the classic English country house mystery. The victim is a grumpy, wealthy old man and the suspects are his greedy, impecunious relatives and his shifty, nervous business partner. Two things set it apart from the herd. First, Nathaniel Herriard is found murdered in a LOCKED ROOM, so figuring out how the crime was committed presents even more difficulties than narrowing down the suspects.

The second thing is that it was written by Georgette Heyer who was a witty and acute observer of English society and it's absurdities in the pre-WWII period. Her characters are quirky and amusing, if not always very sympathetic. Like her other mysteries, it's an engrossing read, even if you have a hard time figuring out who to root for.

Neither snarly, sarcastic Stephen or his melodramatic sister Paula are particularly appealing and their Uncle Joseph (Nathaniel's brother) is easily the most irritating bumbling fool in the British Isles. Sturry the magnificently haughty butler and Stephen's perspective mother-in-law are each outstanding in their own way and I'm always happy to see sharp, off-beat Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard. He's a great fan of the theater, both professional and amateur. Just as well, because he's going to be treated to an Academy Award winning performance by one of his suspects!