A Blunt Instrument [Paperback]

Georgette Heyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Witness the appalling murder of Ernest Fletcher; found in his study, his head severely battered. The motive for this dreadful crime seems utterly obscure, for Fletcher was universally liked. It is the exceptional Superintendent Hannasyde who uncovers the complex situation of Fletcher's financial and human affairs, pointing to a number of suspects. When a second murder is committed, the plot thickens as Hannasyde discovers some common factors that give a grotesque twist to a very unusual case.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Georgette Heyer, born in London in 1902, had her first novel published when she was nineteen years old and continued to write novels of many genres for more than fifty years. During that time she never made a public appearance or granted an interview. The great majority of her books are historical romances set in Regency England, such as Devil's Cub (1934), Regency Buck (1935) and Faro's Daughter (1941). They are admired to this day for the meticulous research and profusion of essential ingredients - arranged marriages, murder, fashion, upper classes, sarcasm and humour. Indeed, Heyer set the tone for this entire genre. She was also one of the first of the female mystery authors - the group that includes Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. When she died in 1974 she had fifty-one titles in print, legal translations of her work in ten languages and pirate editions in several others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus Ltd (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755108922
• ISBN-13: 978-0755108923
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,692,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own. Her first novel, "The Black Moth," published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote eleven detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilariously ridiculously funny., February 7, 2008

By 

NoNamePlease (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Blunt Instrument (Paperback)

Hilariously ridiculously funny. Again, Georgette Heyer's characters and dialogues are highly entertaining and witty. The plot is very well thought out too. I disagree with those who think this book is dull. Dull is never the word for this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bash on the Head, August 5, 2007

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Blunt Instrument (Paperback)

"A Blunt Instrument" is below the style expected of Ms. Heyer. Too many characters have a reason to kill Ernest Fletcher, a ladies man drawn to the fine line of repulsive, it makes a modern reader wonder why any woman would get within fifty feet of him.

The best lines are among Superintendent Hannasyde and Sargent Hemmingway as they plot the crime and its execution with a Biblical quoting local policeman who discovered the body. Other exchanges between characters seemed contrived and uncomfortable.

A good read, but not one of her best, which includes an interesting romance.

Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very readable but otherwise unmemorable, December 5, 2004

By 

Ron "[e-mail]" (Whidbey Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Blunt Instrument (Hardcover)

An old-fashioned murder mystery set in the days when life was simpler. I hardly ever figure out 'whodunit', and thus probably enjoy these types of books more than more discerning readers. But even I figured this one out fairly quickly. Maybe I've finally read enough to see the clues. Still, I recommend this as a lite-snack for the brain.