Envious Casca (Country House Mysteries) by…

Envious Casca (Country House Mysteries) (original 1941; edition 2010)

by Georgette Heyer (Author)

Series: Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway (6), Country House Mysteries (9)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
967	39	21,618	(3.56)	128
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: 'Tis the season-to be dead... A holiday party takes on a sinister aspect when the colorful assortment of guests discovers there is a killer in their midst. The owner of the substantial estate, that old Scrooge Nathaniel Herriard, is found stabbed in the back. While the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered a locked room to commit the foul deed. For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, the investigation is complicated by the fact that every guest is hiding something-throwing all of their testimony into question and casting suspicion far and wide. The clever and daring crime will mystify readers, yet the answer is in plain sight all along... *Praise for Georgette Heyer:* "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'." - Dorothy L. Sayers "A writer of great wit and style." - Daily Telegraph "Ms. Heyer is one of the most entertaining writers I have ever ready." - Reading Extravaganza "Miss Heyer has the delightful talent of blending humor with mystery." - Boston Evening Transcript Georgette Heyer wrote over fifty books, including Regency Romances, mysteries, and historical fiction. Her barrister husband Ronald Rougier, provided many of the plots for her detective novels, which are classic English country house mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy, inventive plots, and sparkling characterizations. .… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	siriaeve
Title:	Envious Casca (Country House Mysteries)
Authors:	Georgette Heyer (Author)
Info:	Sourcebooks Landmark (2010), Edition: Reissue, 400 pages
Collections:	Read but unowned
Rating:
Tags:	20th century, british literature, crime fiction

Work Information

Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer (1941)

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English (38) Polish (1) All languages (39)

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Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)

I began to like this story at the end of Chapter 5, when the body of Nathaniel Herriard is discovered in a locked room in his English country house. Up to then, it was tedious reading for me: introducing a motley cast of characters, some of them silly people, and trying to keep track of them. This changed for me upon discovery of the body. After then it was enjoyable seeing the shenanigans of the Herriards and their guests. By the happily ever after ending, I was in awe of the story-telling and the interactions amongst the characters. Inspector Hemingway and Sgt. Ware's investigation was superbly described and recorded. Outstanding for me was the characterization in the story, which slightly outdid both the plot and the setting. Recommended. (

)

BrianEWilliams | Dec 29, 2023 |

I guessed the killer and the most important clue, which is very satisfying and makes me feel smart. (

)

blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |

Resigned to spending Christmas at Lexham Manor, Mathilda Clare wasn't sure what she dreaded most--the foul temper of Nat Herriard, the filthy-rich old Scrooge who owned the place, or the sweetness-and-light of his brother, Joseph. Joseph had concocted a guest list brilliantly headed for mayhem... acid-tongued young Stephen, his sly sister Paula, and Nat's sharp-dealing partner, with a finger in some strange pies. "There'll be murder before we're through," Mathilda laughed. And she was absolutely right. This it is no ordinary Christmas, when the holiday party takes on a sinister aspect when the colorful assortment of guests discovers there is a killer in their midst. The owner of the substantial estate, that old Scrooge Nathaniel Herriard, is found stabbed in the back, and the six holiday guests find themselves the suspects of a murder enquiry.

For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, 'tis the season to find whodunit. Whilst the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered the locked room to commit this foul deed. The investigation is complicated by the fact that every guest is hiding something-throwing all of their testimony into question and casting suspicion far and wide. The clever and daring crime will mystify readers, yet the answer is in plain sight all along.... (

)

Karen74Leigh | Jul 3, 2023 |

This is a classic locked door murder mystery. A family is gathered together for Christmas but they are anything but full of Christmas spirit. They are all fighting and at each others throats when the host, Nathaniel is murdered on Christmas Eve. After being entirely bewildered by the family member's testimonies the local constable sends for Scotland Yard. Inspector Hemmingway has to sort out the family feuds and contradictory stories to discover the murderers identity.

I originally read this as Envious Casca, when I found this volume at the second hand store I was excited until I realized I had read it before. That was a disappointment.
re-read 2/20/2023 (

)

catseyegreen | Feb 20, 2023 |

paperback

SueJBeard | Feb 14, 2023 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Georgette Heyer	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Addis, Matt	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Birvé, Ulli	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Griffini, Grazia Maria	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Liebe, Poul Ib	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Stuzka, Adele	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Stuzka, Anton	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Vernay, Perrine	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Country House Mysteries (9)

Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway (6)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Doubleday Crime Club (1941.25)

rororo (4026)

Is contained in

Royal Escape / Black Sheep / A Blunt Instrument / Regency Buck / Envious Casca / The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer

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Canonical title

Original title

Envious Casca

Alternative titles

A Christmas Party

Original publication date

1941

People/Characters

Hemingway (Inspector)

Important places

Lexham Manor, England, UK

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

It was a source of great satisfaction to Joseph Herriard that the holly trees were in full berry.

Quotations

Inspector Hemingway to Stephen Herriard: "And if you want a bit of advice, don't go leaving any more of your things about! It puts highly unsuitable ideas into people's heads, besides setting the police off on wild goose chases, which is a very reprehensible thing to do, let me tell you!"

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML:

'Tis the season-to be dead...

A holiday party takes on a sinister aspect when the colorful assortment of guests discovers there is a killer in their midst. The owner of the substantial estate, that old Scrooge Nathaniel Herriard, is found stabbed in the back. While the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered a locked room to commit the foul deed.

For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, the investigation is complicated by the fact that every guest is hiding something-throwing all of their testimony into question and casting suspicion far and wide. The clever and daring crime will mystify readers, yet the answer is in plain sight all along...

Praise for Georgette Heyer:

"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'." - Dorothy L. Sayers

"A writer of great wit and style." - Daily Telegraph

"Ms. Heyer is one of the most entertaining writers I have ever ready." - Reading Extravaganza

"Miss Heyer has the delightful talent of blending humor with mystery." - Boston Evening Transcript

Georgette Heyer wrote over fifty books, including Regency Romances, mysteries, and historical fiction. Her barrister husband Ronald Rougier, provided many of the plots for her detective novels, which are classic English country house mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy, inventive plots, and sparkling characterizations.

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