No Wind of Blame (1939)

A buddy read with my friend Jemidar and worth closer to 3 1/2 stars.

The third last novel in my 2011 Heyer mysteries reading project, this is neither my favourite nor my least favourite of these novels.

I'll start with what I liked about it. As with all of Heyer's mysteries - and most of her other novels - this novel features seriously eccentric characters who engage in witty banter while doing strange things. If anything, the eccentricity is ramped up in this novel and I was kept laughing, which is no bad thing. Further, I actually didn't guess the culprit in advance. I should have and I probably would have if I hadn't entertained myself by deciding that one of the other characters was going to be the murderer because he wasn't an obvious suspect. Clearly, I should have explored the possibilities a bit more before committing myself. Finally, the "howdunnit" was ingenious and not readily guessable (although in relation to this, see below).

Now for the things I didn't like. There was an entirely unnecessary romantic moment tacked on to the last paragraph which didn't grow out of the narrative. And the "howdunnit", while ingenious, was possibly a little too ingenious for plausibility. Surely the murderer could have come up with a less complicated way of doing in the victim!

I wouldn't recommend this as a shining example of the Golden Age mystery genre. But, for someone dedicated to reading Heyer's entire oeuvre, or for someone dedicated to reading as many examples of 1930s mysteries as possible, it's not a bad way to while away a few hours.

It was also great fun to do as a buddy read. Thanks, Jemidar. ( )

No Wind of Blame, one of Georgette Heyer’s thrillers, was published in 1939 and features the usual accoutrements of the country-manor murder: an upper-class family simply seething with complicated relationships and eccentricities, whose family party is crashed by a competent detective from Scotland Yard who is less than respected by the local authorities. This particular title also boasts a money-hungry Russian (or rather, Georgian, excuse me!) prince, an angry “Bolshie,” and a dog that mysteriously does not bark.

The murder itself is a bit contrived (well, okay, more than a bit). The likelihood of such elaborate and complicated mechanics actually working to murder someone seems quite improbable, but we’re not here for that, right?

Where Heyer shines, as usual, is in her characters’ dialogue and relationships. Mary Cliffe is the ostensible heroine, as the story opens by her staid side, but her young relative Vicky soon steals the show. Mary is left bland and lackluster and sensible on the sidelines, for Vicky is an actress (or fancies herself one, anyways) and is always playing some dramatic part. One day she she is Sports Girl; another, Early Victorian, and so on. It would be exasperating in a real person, but in a literary creation it’s highly amusing.

Ermyntrude Carter is another brilliantly drawn character, a rather foolish woman whose hysterics and “woman’s instincts” make life a trial for Inspector Hemingway. And yet there is a kindness and humility about her; she’s hard not to like, even when she is being ridiculous. One is thankful that she does not fall into the clutches of Prince Alexis Varasashvili, the smooth-talking prince who would like nothing better than to take the fair Ermyntrude—and her fortune—to have and to hold forever.

The title is taken from the line “And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe” in Hamlet, when Claudius is plotting with Laertes to murder Hamlet and make it look like an accident. It doesn’t perfectly fit here, as there is no way this death looks like an accident, even superficially, but it’s certainly a catchy title. All in all, this is a predictable but fun mystery to be enjoyed for its wit and comedic merits more than anything else. ( )

Fun characters. ( )

Read my review at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog! ( )

As always, Heyer doesn't disappoint. It's been a long time since I'd read this book, because my original copy was falling apart. So, as soon as my new copy arrived, I began clearing the decks to read it. The writing is still fresh, the characters engaging, and the storyline still works.