Customer Reviews

Footsteps in the Dark

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

 

 

Georgette Heyer is known mainly for her Regency romances rather than her mysteries, probably because she wrote more of them. Although all of her mysteries are good--and witty--Footsteps In The Dark seems to be the only one where Heyer went for outright comedy. There are chills enough in this tale of five people (husband-and-wife, two siblings, and an aunt) who have moved to what seems to be a haunted house, but there are some extremely funny moments as well. (There is one line in the book--which I will not quote--which sent me rolling on the floor for fully five minutes. You'll know when you reach it.)

Enjoy.

Their inheritance had all the aspects of an ancient country home including the resident ghost. Learning to live the peaceful country life brings anything, but repose. Georgette Heyer's, "Footsteps in the Dark" with its conventional, but welldrawn characters will have you laughing outloud when following her crisp dialogue.
Clues and red herrings bounce down hidden staircases and mouldering crypts as Heyer, at her very best, leads the reader through a labyrinth of mystery and suspense interspersed with a light romance. First written in 1932, it still has the power to enthrall. If you've ever dreamed of an old house in the country, this one has all the aspects of reality without electricity or a phone. A great read at any time, but we don't recommend by lamplight.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

It's funny sometimes, how books packed with so much excitement and memorable characters can just sit placidly on your shelf, waiting to be read. Footsteps in the Dark is a thriller mystery of the first order, complete with secret passageways, priest holes, skeletons and a cowled monk. Of all Heyer's historicals, it reminds me most of The Reluctant Widow (one of my absolute favorites!) with its full cast of characters, most of whom are related to each other. The book is full of hilarious one-liners and wonderful character interplay, Heyer's trademark. I find in books like this that I get so wrapped up in the chemistry between characters that the plot becomes secondary. It's unfortunate that character interaction is so hard to review, really, since it is such an integral part of books. In Footsteps in the Dark, the characters (Charles in particular, playing against Peter) all deal splendidly together, and the book is a great romp because of it.

I am thoroughly enjoying rediscovering Heyer, this time from the perspective of reading her mysteries set in Britain between the wars (if you haven't read her Regencies, you should!). She is light-hearted and fun, but the plots are all interesting and well planned. I prefer this one to Behold, Here's Poison, mainly because the characters are far more likeable and the plot develops in a more compelling way. Highly recommended!

There seems to be a knee-jerk reaction among Heyer's fans (of which I am one) to praise all her works, regardless of quality, to the skies. I wanted to love "Footsteps in the Dark", a recently re-printed entry in the "old dark house" genre of mysteries. I really did. However, this was Ms. Heyer's first foray into the crime novel, and it shows. Every element that her fans love--vibrant characters, witty dialogue, romantic tension--was missing from this book.
The plot requires all the characters, up to and including the undercover cop, to behave like complete idiots, and the dialogue--usually Heyer's forte--is cringe-worthy. The characters' ingrained snobbery and xenophobia, while by no means uncommon to works of this period, come off as particularly grating. And the "romance" between Margaret and Michael is perfunctory and unconvincing--indeed, Margaret has more real chemistry with her own brother Peter than with Michael, the "hero", who is smug, condescending, and dreadfully dim-witted, especially considering his profession. The only character who feels like a true Heyer creation is Mrs. Bosanquet, an elderly, scatterbrained aunt of the protagonists.
The pacing of the novel seems off as well--instead of action scenes and dramatic tension, we get lengthy exposition and page-long monologues to explain what is happening. Important plot points that should have been explored in detail are instead glossed over in a couple of sentences, while trivial details are discussed endlessly. In short, hackneyed story, clumsily executed. Skip this one and read instead "A Blunt Instrument", one of my all-time favorites.

Georgette Heyer is an often overlooked mystery writer of the latter generations. It's often exciting just to find someone under 30 who knows Agatha Christie...but Heyer was every bit as good, in a more tongue in cheek way. She added much more humor, & was quick to point out the ridiculous foibles of the 'upper crust'. Her stories made sense, kept you entertained, & wanting to read the next one soon. Just wish she'd written more in the mystery genre.

A ramshackle Priory (with no electric service so bring candles with you); Things that go bump in the night, a story about a ghostly Monk and a bit of a love story, what is not to like! If you enjoy humor with your mystery, this book has it all. The only thing missing is Heyer's CID detectives but that is a minor issue.
I love mysteries! But mostly I love English Cozy mysteries. I can't think of a better way to spend a cold winter evening than tucked into a comfy chair with a hot cup of tea at my side and one of Georgette Heyer's mystery books in my hands. Of course to make it perfect there should also be scones and clotted cream with that tea! I now have all of Heyer's mysteries. Unfortunately she only wrote a dozen of them. Where as she wrote at least three times as many romance books. Of those I have only read about five and out of those "The Talisman Ring" was my favorite. It is funny and there is a bit of mystery too. But I so enjoy her mysteries. Her Scotland Yard detectives, Superintendent Hannasyde and my favorite Sergeant Hemingway {soon to be Inspector and then Chief Inspector in later books} are right up there with Agatha Christie's Poirot. But with more than a touch of humor in the mix. And you must read "They Found Him Dead" before "Duplicate Death" because a few of the major characters are found in both books and one is now all grown up and right in the thick of things. Georgette Heyer was acclaimed as one of the finest mystery writers and I agree. Now that Sourcebooks have reprinted these, I can put away my falling to bits original copies.

This is one of the very few Georgette Heyer novels I hadn't read before, and also one of the two I didn't enjoy. The characters are very generic, the 2 younger women in particular having no particular traits at all. The police have no method, the officer also seems to have no real personality except an occasional feeling of annoyance. The love interest for the unmarried sister is completely inexplicable, odd considering the author's expertise in romance. I like some of Ms. Heyer's other mysteries, love most of her romances, and enjoy mysteries like the Peter Wimseys, older Agatha Christies and Ngaio Marshes, but I definitely do NOT recommend Footsteps in the Dark.

Has the Priory really been empty all these years?

Peter, Celia and Margaret inherit the old house after the death of an absent uncle who was afraid of the resident ghost...the Monk. The old house with its overgrown garden harbors a old abbey cemetery and an ancient inn as a neighbor in the forgotten village nearby. Strange tales are told about a shrouded figure who haunts the old house, yet no records of the building's dark history can be found. A skull rolls out of the wall and a system of passages is discovered...but where do they lead and what skulduggery do they conceal?

Why does Michael Strange act so...strange? Why does the vacuum cleaner salesman insist on cleaning huge portions of the house for free? Is he looking for something or someone? Duval the weird french artist is found hanging from a crossbeam... is it murder? A dark detecive novel indeed!

This mystery novel written in 1932, the Golden Age of Mystery, has much interesting dated language "planchette" or a "quiet rubber in the evenings"(card game)that could have been footnoted for inhabitants of the twenty first century who like archaic English.

Detective fans love facts and there are many here that, unfortunately, let the "cat out of the bag" rather quickly. The supernatural rather quickly becomes merely suspenseful as the skull rolls out after one of the characters opines that there must be skeletons in the wall. Other facts carelessly reveal the Monk well before the plot progresses. The plot is filled with excessive detail that slows the book down, much like the old movies that never edited out redundant intermediate scenes. Maybe the detail is meant to derail us from predicting the final destination of the story!

This book passed my rail commute test. It kept me occupied from looking at the dreary snow covered villages of Hessen- one chapter at a time.

There are many things you can expect from a Georgette Heyer mystery. One is a superb mystery and another is a liberal dose of levity. This particular book is really quite a good ghostly Monk story. Everyone in the village knows that The Priory and it's grounds are haunted by The Monk. Too many people have seen that apparition to leave any doubt about that. Even so, Celia and Charles Malcolm along with her brother and sister, Peter and Margaret Fortescue are determined to stay on and enjoy their holiday. The Priory has no electricity so they only have candles and lamps to light their way but that just adds to the adventure. Except that the adventure begins to turn into one frightening episode after another with The Monk making more and more appearances. Charles and Peter are determined to get to the bottom of what is going on, but there are so many people who keep turning up at odd times on the grounds of The Priory. Then a skull rolls down the dark stairway, a priest hole is found in the upstairs hall and a horrible groaning sound scares everybody witless. Now the men are going to the nearest town to lay all their facts before the police and see if they can't find some answers to these happenings.

Written in 1932, this novel is classic Heyer in her presentation of the "bright, young things" who are the lead characters in the book. There is also an eccentric entomologist who is hunting moths at night, the retired bachelor Colonel, the village doctor who has started drinking too much, the busybody Vicar's wife, the artist who paints really dreadful pictures, and the suspicious man that Margaret Fortescue can't help but be attracted to. In this book Charles Malcolm is the quipster in the crowd, always ready with a joke to get everyone over the frightening or bothersome moment. A Georgette Heyer mystery isn't usually riddled with murdered corpses and this book is no exception. She built her books on character relationships and atmosphere. In this book, she has accomplished a wonderful result in both those areas.

This book is just an old fashioned good time. If you enjoy reading Ngaio Marsh, Patricia Wentworth, Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie or Margery Allingham, you will be very glad to add Georgette Heyer to your list of classic mystery fiction writers. She never disappoints.

This mystery is set in 1930's England and revolves around an inherited country home of Peter, Celia, and Margaret. They decide to make a stay there to see if the country life suits them. There is a rumored ghost on the property, "The Monk", strange sounds in the night and a mysterious stranger who may have darker motives. While the characterization was not particularly strong, the story has some charm, even though the mystery is less difficult to solve with a modern perspective. Some of the character's behavior is sterotypical (the slightly inept country policeman, for example) and some of actions of the characters, while probably fitting with the time period, are a bit jarring to modern sensibilities. It was an enjoyable, if not overly involving story.