Customer Reviews

No Wind of Blame

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of Heyer's most complicated murder mysteries. It is absolutely stuffed full of red-herrings.

As usual Heyer takes us to a classic English village, sometime in the 1930's, and into the home of Ermintrude, her daughter Vicki, Ermintrude's second husband Wally Carter and Wally's young relative - Miss Cliffe. Add to that mysterious Russian Princes, strange goings on in various shrubberies and unexpected shooting and you do have a very nice base for a mystery in the usual ironic Heyer-style.

In classic Heyer way she also mixes in a little romance, but in very un-Heyer-like move she does a switch in the romance which never ceases to annoy me each time I read it. In the beginning we are made to think that Mary Cliffe is the lead heroine and Vicki, daughter of the singularly eccentric Ermintrude, as the flaky it-girl. Somewhere in mid-book things suddenly do a volte-face and we are expected to accept Vicki as the heroine....anyway...

I don't know that this is one of Heyer's best mysteries, I rather like Behold Here's Poison - best - but it does deliver in wit and substance. It also offers a very satisfying mystery to try to work out.

Georgette Heyer was considered an excellent mystery writer when she began writing her stories in the 1930's. No wind of blame was written in 1939 and tells a neat story of murder and social manners of the time. There is an inspector and his superintendent, many clues spread throughout the story and a little love story all rolled into one. A great read if you enjoy English village mysteryies.

Michael Barnes does a stellar job of reading this book on the Chivers audiocassettes. His voices are perfect and very period (1930's England). And I actually caught things that I had not remembered from my first reading of this book a decade or so again.

If Heyer does anything well she has an ear for slang. I laughed out loud when Wally Carter (who had just confessed to some very bad behavior) was complaining about the fact that his neice and step daughter had found out about the behavior by reading a letter addressed to him. "It's not," he said sternly, "the clean potato." Never heard that saying before.

Then there is the Prince, not to be mistaken for Prince the dog, and the histrionic former actress turned lady of the manor, Ermintrude.

I agree that Heyer seems to have changed sympathies in main stream, but how could one not rather spend time with the imaginative Vickie than Mary who does have Solid Worth but is not nearly as much fun.

When rich widow Ermyntrude Fanshawe married neer-do-well Wally Carter, his ward Mary Cliffe also moves into the household at Palings, becoming Ermyntrude's social secretary. Wally is always stating that he'll be rich himself someday even if it's only inheriting insane Aunt Clara's money. Mary is aware of his faults and foibles--gambling and women. Ermyntrude has come to recognize that Wally is not the man she thought he was when they met and married but she stands by him.

Vicky Fanshawe, Ermyntrude's daughter, has finished school and is now living at home and is at loose ends. Ermyntrude had been an actress before marrying her first husband and doesn't want her daughter to follow in her footsteps. So, Vicky does her acting at home by playing various icon society types such as sporty girl, sensible matron, femme fatale, and so on. This of course, can be very trying to the rest of the household, not to mention the police investigators.

Add in a dodgy friend of Wally's, Harold White, and his two adult children, a neighbor or two, the country doctor, a Russian Prince in exile looking to marry money, unrequited love, a wronged mistress, murder, police inspectors local and Scotland Yard, mix well and you get an amazingly convoluted mystery.

This is one of those mysteries where there are lots of people who could have reason and ability to do the deed, but there is no apparent way it could have been done. Every bit of evidence seems to indicate that a different person is guilty. Then there's Vicky playing parts, Ermyntrude's histronics, Mary trying desperately to hold things together, and the usual rumors when murder occurs in a small village.

Dated by the language and some attitudes, but at heart No Wind of Blame is a modern mystery. Red herrings abound but it is solid police procedures and forensics that solve the case in the end. Heyer may have been the Queen of Regency Romance but she sure could write a good solid mystery.

I was so frustrated at the switch in "heroines" that I did not enjoy this one very much the first time, and it took me a long time to read it again. But for me, the 2nd and 3rd time with Georgette Heyer is often more agreeable and certainly this title qualifies. Because I was prepared for the change of "heroines", I did not expect so very much from the love story, but rather sat back and enjoyed the various characters introduced who could have committed the murder. From the phony prince, a shady neighbor, a Bolshevik blackmailer to a teenage heroine with an over active craving for drama there was plenty to amaze and amuse. For my money, Ermyntrude Carter the wife of the "victim" and Mother of Vicki the implausible heroine is the most enjoyable. But the real delight here is the mystery, one of her best - equal to the one in Envious Casca.

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.

Classic Heyer. A good story with a neat twist at the end. If you like mysteries, you'll like this.

Everyone wanted Wally Carter out-of-the-way until he ended up dead. But who fired the fatal shot. A finely crafted mystery that leads the reader through the convolutions of Inspector Hemingway's puzzle.
Romance plays a fine tune as two unexpected couples find the time to discover each other amid the investigation.
"No Wind of Blame" by Georgette Heyer has the crisp dialogue to keep you turning the page, which is her trade mark. No clue is predictable as to its outcome or conclusion even in the romance department.
A take to the dentist office mystery that will ease your trepidation as a good laugh is an antidote for pain.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

I've long been a fan of Georgette Heyer's romance novels, but have only recently started reading her mysteries. The mystery stories have been a little hit-and-miss with me. They show the author's trademark wit and intelligence, just as the romances do, but they lack the same sparkle--at least for me. But overall I enjoyed this book, and liked how Ms. Heyer misleads the reader both in the murder plot and the romantic subplots with some change-partner tactics near the end of the story. And if the romantic pairings were a little odd due to age differences, that's nothing unusual for Georgette Heyer. Her stories often involve heroes much older than their love interests--sometimes uncomfortably so. "No Wind of Blame" had some hilarious moments, due to the antics of the fortune-hunting Prince Varasashvili and the play-acting Vicky, and was never less than entertaining. Ms. Heyer's mysteries will never have the fond place in my hears that her romance novels do, but they are still enjoyable reads.

I've been so excited to read my first Heyer - absolutely convinced I would love her...but I've had trouble finishing the first few Heyer romances I've started. So I decided to try this, a Heyer mystery. This one, at last, was a hit.

Now THIS is my style! It reminds me of an Agatha Christie mystery...with a bit more depth. The husband of a rich woman is murdered...and everyone of his family and friends has a motive. And HOW was he murdered when the evidence says no one was anywhere near him when the shot was fired? (And of course the murdered man has a beautiful stepdaughter with several marriage possibilities - who is she going to marry???) Although I did figure out the love match very early, I did not figure out the criminal until the very end, and Heyer kept me turning the pages the whole way through.

I will definitely be trying out ALL of Heyer's mysteries. And maybe a few more of the romances.

Everywhere I look, Heyer's mysteries are not thought to be as good as her romances. For me, so far, it's been just the opposite.

This book is recommended for those who enjoy cozy mysteries with clever dialog and romantic subplots.