Customer Reviews

Behold, Here's Poison

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Behold, Here's Poison" by Georgette Heyer is a story that lingers in the mind. I read this book many years ago, but had the wrong author in mind when searching for it to reread. It was a delight to rediscover this clever story with a murder weapon I've never seen used in another story.
Her characters dance from the opening page as real people we'd never meet except between the covers of a book. This is the second appearance of Supertindent Hannasyde as he struggles to deal with vivid "dingbats" and less than helpful relatives who will do their dam-est to protect the family name and foul his investigation. Randall Matthews is so finely drawn he is best described by his beloved as a "amiable viper."
A comic read, which will find a place on your shelf of "keepers," if for no other reason than to study the exquisite art of the English verbal insult.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

The plot is not great, but the other qualities in the book make up for this deficiency. Her characters are charming and well-developed, and you'd never guess who the murderer is - although that may be because it's so unlikely. One of my favourite Heyer mysteries, along with Why Shoot A Butler and The Unfinished Clue. If you liked Heyer's mysteries, you could also try Mary Stewart, who writes suspense/romance as well.

Although she cannot be called a great mystery plotter (the murderer is highly unlikely and there is a dire lack of clues), her characters make up for any defects. The lovely dispicable Randall, is hilarious one of my favorite Heyer unheroes. I prefer her Regencies but the mysteries are highly palatable as well.

My Sister read this before I did and warned me to re-read it a second time for fuller enjoyment. She was right. Once I knew what to expect I just sat back and enjoyed the banter. I believe this one might just be my favorite Heyer mystery, not for the mystery so much but for the characters especially the "Un-Hero", his witty insults are excellent in the extreme - to be enjoyed even cherished.

I love to read British mysteries and try to always reserve time to read during breakfast and about an hour or two after. Then I have other things I must get done. 'Behold Here's Poison' Just would not let me get other things done! I'd put it down and soon find it calling to me, causing me to drop whatever work I was doing to discover the next delicious clue, the next character reveal, the next fun bit of dialogue and so on.
I admit it, I do enjoy a bit of romance with my mystery and this had just enough--but that hero! Or was he the villain? I loved the dry wit of him, but the arrogance, the snootiness...or was it simply his way of seeing through so much family pretentiousness? Oh, well, the characters were all of such disorder and varying degrees of crazy-yet-sane, that following them around made for a fun read, and also made the progression of the clues all the more interesting. And what unusual poison. And the heroine was likable and strong and, given the time period (1930s), feminine and apt to turn around for help. I like that she didn't do stupidly dangerous things. And I liked the determined policeman, too.
This was a most enjoyable read, amusing, baffling and hard to put down. And the route of getting to the solution was the best part, so this is a mystery I will relish reading again one day.

This is a mystery novel set in Britain around 1936 (which is when it was written). The mystery was clever, the pacing was good, and journey (full of the the characters' foibles) to the answer was fun.

The author introduces a lot of the characters quite rapidly at the beginning. It's not immediately clear how everyone is related to each other (especially since it's an odd assortment of relationships), but it all gets sorted out fairly quickly.

Most of the characters aren't exactly nice people, but they are interesting and idiosyncratic. Initially, I didn't like a single character (except maybe Stella), but I soon found myself enjoying all of them. The author adds a good-natured humor to the book which shows up in the dialogue and in the quirks of the various characters.

Though this is a mystery, the trouble with solving the mystery comes from the lack of obvious clues rather than from an abundance of them. I solved every part of the mystery except the who-done-it because the critical piece of information wasn't revealed until the very last moment. (However, the murderer was #3 on my list, so it is technically possible to guess.)

There is a small amount of swearing by one character. Many of the characters say derogatory (though usually true) things about the others. There are no sex scenes. Overall, I'd rate this as "good, mostly clean fun."


Genre Reviews
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When they re-issued the dozen or so Georgette Heyer mysteries recently, I was taken in by their appealing vintage cover artwork. What I discovered - to my surprise and delight - were wonderful English manor mysteries, similar in the Agatha Christie style.

These books blend a nice, cozy, old-fashioned mystery with Ms. Heyer's wonderfully snarky and dry wit, which adds up to genuine reading pleasure. I've plowed through nearly all her mysteries and will be sorry when I read the last. I wish she wrote as many myseries as she did Regency romances.

One of my favorite mysteries by G. Heyer. I'm replacing a very old edition so I can read it again and again.

Most of you are aware of my love for Georgette Heyer, so it's probably no surprise that I couldn't resist trying out one of her mystery novels. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed! I do believe that this woman could make a grocery list read witty!

Behold, Here's Poison is an entertaining little murder mystery with a "Clue" sort of vibe to it. The characters are a little wacky, but in a delightful and amusing way. There's the outrageously thrifty Miss Matthews, moocher extraordinaire Mrs. Matthews and her spawn...and then there's Mr. Randall Matthews, newly made head of the family. I fell in love with his quick tongue and smart remarks...made me laugh out loud a few times, drawing odd looks from my husband!

Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read such a great book! I truly enjoyed it and I think you will too!

The book itself is already highly enjoyable. Now this audio version by Hugh Dickson is MIGHTY enjoyable master performance if you ask me. I had been listen to it so many times over and love it every time because of the characters, dialogues, and the humors. Georgette Heyer + Hugh Dickson - BEHOLD, this book is a must read must listen and an absolute keeper.

p.s. The plot of this book is great in my opinion. I love it.