During her lifetime, Heyer was better known for her Regency romances than her mysteries and that may still be true today. But if you are a fan of clever stories, with excellent dialogue and an amusing cast of characters in an English country house setting and have not checked out the dozen or so of her mysteries, you really owe it to yourself to do so. And happily, you have the very nice editions, reissued by Sourcebooks, to make it an even more attractive prospect.

In 'No Wind of Blame', we are in the English countryside of the late 1930's, in the lovely estate of Ermyntrude Carter. Ermyntrude was on the stage as a young woman and inherited the impressive house and her fortune from her first, beloved husband. Sadly, her second marriage, to the ner'do-well Wally, is not quite so beneficial. It seems he has found a number of seedy ways to spend her money, including gambling, wine, women and song and maybe a shady business dealing or two. His activities have drawn the displeasure of many in the neighboring community beside his wife. Those that care for Ermyntrude, including her daughter from her first marriage, Vicky, several admirers, including a very questionable Russian prince and even Mary, Wally's cousin and ward have their issue with Wally. And that just scrapes the surface of the suspects. Yes, suspects, because Wally will be shot to death as he crosses the estate and so starts the mystery, a mystery full of twist and turns, red herrings galore, a big and lively cast of characters and a nice dash or two of romance to top it all off before coming to a logical and satisfactory conclusion.

Certainly Heyer's books will remind you of Agatha Christie's to a degree, although I don't honestly remember Christie being quite so funny. Heyer is often very amusing and her excellent dialogue is really the high point of the book. At times, granted, it can make for some rather slow going because you really have to pay attention to what is being said, but you will be rewarded if you do. I will also warn you that the first quarter of so of the book may seem rather slow, because it takes a fair bit of talking to acquaint us with a rather large cast, most of whom will soon be suspects. But once poor Wally gets himself killed, things start to pick up, especially with the arrival of the witty Inspector Hemingway from Scotland Yard.

If you are a mystery fan, especially of the witty, clever English country house sort, you do really owe it to yourself to check out 'No Wind of Blame'. As Dorothy L. Sayers, quoted on the back cover of the book says, “Miss Heyer's characters and dialogue are an abiding delight to me...I have seldom met people to whom I have taken so violent a fancy from the word 'Go”.” ( )

Of the Georgette Heyer mysteries that I've read so far, No Wind of Blame is one of my favorites. It has a more balanced set of characters--with a few that are even tolerable people--and a strong mystery.

With the first third of the book reserved for character development before the murder, this book shows the strength of the Heyer mystery. A pieced-together family lives in their English countryside home, Palings. We have Ermyntrude Carter, a widow on her second marriage with an adult daughter, Vicky, from the first. Her husband of the last two years is Wally Carter who brought along with him his cousin and adult ward, Mary Cliffe. They are an unconventional set that have their good days and bad. Ermyntrude was on the stage in her youth and Vicky spends her days on her own mental stage and gets through her days by acting in different personae. In the adjoining Dower House is Wally's distant relative, the generally-disliked Harold White, who tends to bring out the worst in Wally. Ermyntrude has a retinue of admirers in the picture as well and when Wally is murdered one afternoon, there is no shortage of suspects.

I really enjoyed this book and it is one that I would definitely recommend to someone new to Georgette Heyer's mysteries. There were a few twists and turns and the requisite Heyer romance. It also features a new detective from Scotland Yard, Inspector Hemingway, who has a great sense of humor to match his strong wits. ( )

I liked this book because it seemed to have captured the very essence of English society of the time and it was just so accurately done I had no problems picturing the setting, the characters, and as I progressed with the story it just got more interesting.

I loved the mystery aspect of this, it certainly did keep me guessing! you're actually left until nearly the very end to learn who the culprit was. I found myself always changing my mind on who might have done it (some of my guesses were so outrageous I'm actually laughing about it now) but it was nice how it was written to make it look like as if each of the suspects could have possibly done it since they all had a motive to do it. Each suspect was explained with their possible connection to the murder and it was done in such a clever way you're left jumping from one character to another pointing the finger as to who did it. Definitely a job well done in that aspect of writing.

Character wise, I liked most of them. With a name like Ermyntrude what's not to like! I have to admit I liked Mary from the start. She just seemed so steady and had a serious head on her shoulders I enjoyed her character a lot. I thought Vicky was one of the most annoying characters in the book. I couldn't really stand her and her melodrama and immaturity just made you hate her even more, especially when she started pointing the finger and trying to get Inspector Hemingway to go to other possible suspects to take the blame off of her (in many ways I had it set in my head that she was the one who committed the crime and she was my main suspect, but only because I just couldn't stand her and wanted her out of the way). Hugh doesn't really help much with telling Vicky to be quiet and I really don't see what he sees in her but to each his/her own, right? (I rather wanted him to be with Mary). The Prince was such a stereotypical charming character but had a phony side to him that made him enjoyable to read, especially his behavior towards Ermyntrude, it was obvious he was after her, but it was just funny to see him try and get her attention.

A few criticisms about this book, well the plot is a little slow but it's to give you a proper introduction to the characters and a way to get you to know them more so the mystery will work out perfectly. I understand that and think it was a necessity otherwise if you were just to read about the suspects and their motives without really getting to know their character it just wouldn't be a fun read at all. It could have moved a little more quickly though. Another thing, because this book was written in the 30's, it's a very different style of writing and I found it a little hard to get used to. Plus Inspector Hemingway got so analytical about the case, and if you combine that with the style of writing it got hard to follow and understand sometimes. I had to reread some passages to get the understanding of it.

Overall, a wonderful mystery read if you have the patience to get through the writing and a slow moving but interesting plot.

No Wind of Blame (Georgette Heyer) is a rollicking murder mystery full of colorful players and numerous plot twists. The first quarter of the book is devoted to introducing the reader to the vast array of characters. The descriptions are not overt. Yes, the usual physical details are given but the true nature of each individual is cleverly exposed through dialogue and reactions to situations and each other. Ermyntrude, the drama-queen of a widow, Prince Alexis who blatantly expresses his desire to marry Ermyntrude while her husband was still among the living and the properly steadfast Inspector Hemingway are just a few of the principles that create a quick and sometimes comical read. Personally, my favorite character was Vicky, the daughter of Ermyntrude from her first marriage. Vicky lives each moment of the day as if she is on stage – literally. She changes clothing and personality depending on the situation and other players involved. She actually becomes jealous when she discovers she is NOT considered a prime suspect in her step-father’s murder and creates a storyline making her the “star” of the investigation. The investigation following the murder is a head-spinning venture for Inspector Hemingway with everyone a suspect. His job is made all the more difficult with that not one of those suspected seems to be very concerned and at times, say and do things that creates even more doubt as to their innocence. There are some love triangles, some unexpected twists and a satisfying conclusion.

It took me a few pages to acclimate myself to Ms. Heyer’s writing style. There are some dated phrases but this is to be expected as the book was originally published in 1939. It certainly has stood the test of time and I look forward to reading other titles from this entertaining author.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Inc. for allowing me to read and review this book. ( )

The events recounted in No Wind of Blame centre around a country house somewhere in England in the late 1930s. The house belonged to the first husband of an ex-chorus girl, who inherited it along with his considerable fortune and his collection of guns, some suitable for his hobby of big game hunting and some suitable for upper-class pursuits in England. The permanent inhabitants of the house include the daughter of the first marriage, the second husband, and his younger female cousin, previously his ward. As the story proceeds, we meet quite a lot of other people, house guests, neighbours etc. and might well think that it would be no bad thing for a few of them to eliminate each other, though others are attractive. One person begins to stand out clearly as the most likely victim and another as the most likely perpetrator. This doesn't hurt the book, it's no big deal if you correctly identify the murderer early on. The mystery lies in their true motive and in the technical ingenuity of the crime. The various characters and their interactions are interesting too. There are romantic subplots, two of which get resolved in the last couple of pages, not necessarily as expected but satisfactorily.

Well into the book, the murder occurs: the victim is shot and instantly killed while crossing a bridge. The police find the murder weapon, one of the rifles from the big house, in a convenient shrubbery. The ground is hard and dry, except near the stream which the bridge crosses. There are no footprints to help identify the murderer and all we can conclude is that they probably didn't cross the stream while coming or going. The questions arise, who could have expected the victim to be in the right place to be shot, and who has no alibi for the relevant time.

Since the local police fail to make rapid progress, Inspector Hemingway and a sergeant come from London to assume control. They make more careful search of the area where the gun was found and find a few bits of junk which might be somehow relevant. They check alibis more carefully and are able to break some, enabling them to chase a few red herrings. In the end they find the motive and explain how the murder was done and so convict the killer. The most difficult part, for the police and the reader, is to find an adequate motive, but Heyer has treated us fairly and told us all we need to know to solve it.

This isn't a book I can be wildly enthusiastic about, but pleasant enough. If you want your murder mysteries to have plenty of action or really difficult problems, this isn't the place. If you're happy with a fairly gentle little story but with a mystery thrown in, this is one.

(Improved after comments from Reviews reviewed.)