Who would kill Ernest Fletcher? He was known as the perfect gentlemen, but Inspector Hannasyde finds that a lot of people may have wanted him dead. Can he find the murderer before he finds another body?
I really wanted to like this book. It started out great, but went downhill from there. It was tedious and boring, and I found that I didn’t care about the ending. The two stars were based on the beginning. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Georgette Heyer has been a favorite author of mine for many years. She’s more known for her excellent Regency romances. However, her mystery stories are just as well written. Sharp characters, subtle humor, and intriguing plots make these a delight to read, I’ve always thought she was a master at writing dialogue. This book was first published in 1938. If you enjoy reading old English mysteries written during this time period, you’ll love this one. Amid all the murder and mayhem, there’s some fun and a touch of romance to lighten up the tension. This is one of my favorites of her mysteries, and I was glad to see it in print again.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I have read all Georgette Heyer's Regency Romance books more than once, but this the first mystery I have read of hers. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. The same method of writing as in the romance books. I recognized the similar characterized in the book. I knew the guilty party almost at once. It was similar to mysteries of that time. It reminded me of a lock room story. The characters are all there, the damsel in distress, the stern husband, the sister who is amusing, the silly nephew, the butler, and the cook.

Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway are called to a home and find the homeowner dead by a blunt object. The timeline shows no one has time to do the murder. After some silly actions by the characters, Inspector Hannasyde knows the answer. This is the fourth book in the series.

I highly recommend this book and series.

Disclosure: Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

Ernest Fletcher has been murdered. This makes no sense, because he was such a wonderful man. At least that is what his sister says to the police. Ernest's household also contains his nephew Neville. Neville is a young man who apparently has no reason to exist, but he enjoys every minute of his existence.

After the police begin to look into things, they find that there may have been many people who would have wanted Ernie to be dead. Some of them are nearby Helen, her husband John and her sister Sally are neighbors. The three of them were not fans of Ernie.

It turns out Helen had been to the house the night of the murder. She was trying to retrieve some IOU's which Ernest held. He did not want to surrender them to Helen, he had a better idea.

Inspector Hannasyde, Sergeant Hemingway and Officer Glass seem to be finding too many clues which take them in too many directions.

Ms Heyer creates characters who are interesting, entertaining and have witty conversations with one another. These characters are no exception. Even at the worst of times for the characters, there is humor and sophisticated dialog.

Figuring out the villain was not difficult. Even figuring out the motive was not difficult. But the journey getting to the solution was filled with fun.

Ms Heyer liked playing with words. And also playing with her readers. She wrote at a time when authors were expected to be sophisticated and able to travel in the best circles. Ms Heyer's characters were people who were sophisticated and able to travel in the best circles. That did not mean they always met the best people.

If the reader enjoys reading stories from a different era, then this is a wonderful book. If the reader enjoys an author who loves what she does, then this is a wonderful book. Most of all, if the reader wants to laugh at the silliness of human beings, then this is a perfect book.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

Another good mystery from Bridgette Beyer while all her books are worth a read i especially liked this one, it keeps you guessing till the end

A Blunt Instrument is the 4th of 4 Inspectors Hannayside & Hemingway mysteries. Originally released in 1938, this reformatting and re-release on Sourcebooks Landmark imprint is 352 pages and due out 2nd April 2019.

Golden age mysteries are my favorites. I love the settings, the characters, and the (usually) civilized dialogue. Georgette Heyer isn't my absolute favorite golden age author, but I've read (and often re-read) most of her books. Though this is the 4th book to feature Inspector Hannayside, it works well as a standalone and there are no spoilers from earlier books with the inspectors.

As other reviewers have stated, this is less of a 'whodunnit' (the culprit is heavily foreshadowed) and more of a procedural with very droll and witty dialogue. I loved Neville and Sally (a monocle wearing mystery writer!), there were several places they had me smiling and chuckling out loud.

A worthwhile and diverting read. The plotting is straightforward and the book makes a nice 'commute' read in that it can be picked up and put down without struggling to remember where you were.

Four stars.

This is a chatty whodunit set in 1930's England. Ernie Fletcher is bludgeoned to death in his own home study one evening and Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. What follows is detectives doing a careful reconstruction of the timeline for the evening of the murder. At one until it seems none of the obvious suspects could have done it. Things get complicated when one of the suspects is bludgeoned to death in the identical fashion as Ernie.

There's a couple of standout interesting characters amongst the cast. Ernie's campy nephew who stands to inherit the family fortune twitters away in the background throughout the entire book, only to become a serious suspect at the end. The town constable who was first on the scene of the first murder spouts evangelical sayings to all and sundry throughout the book. Meanwhile Superintendent Hannasyde and his sergeant doggedly go about their sleuthing having to contend with these two characters as well as a clueless elderly lady, a know-it-all crime fiction author, a flaky damsel-in-distress type who cannot get her story straight, and so on.

The mid-1930's stye of dialogue is tedious at times, offset by the constable's evangelical bleating. These are minor annoyances in an otherwise good book.

All in all, it's an entertaining story and well worth reading.

I received my review copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley. The comments are my own.

Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery, we have a perfect well liked gentleman found bludgeoned to death. As is usual, however we also find on further probing the gentleman was not such a perfect one after all.

Ernest Fletcher was a light hearted ladies man. When he was found murdered at his desk in his own house the investigation reveals that the root cause for the murder has to be linked to a woman. There was also a very small time frame, just a few minutes before he was murdered and his body discovered by the local bobby actually whilst on his rounds.

Conflicting reports of all those involved in the crime throw up nothing because each person sticks to their original stories and their alibis all seem to be holding up very well.

Like all good classic crime novels, this one was hard to catch. It caught me unawares.

I've liked Georgette Heyer for her regency romances and now I like her for her crime novels as well.

Georgette Heyer always writes entertaining fiction. This is not my favorite, but it's still a good read. An English mystery with a twist. Cozy mystery fans will enjoy this one.

This was a fine mystery. I did feel that the detectives didn't have developed enough personalities, and I found Glass to be extraordinarily irritating.

This is probably my least loved Georgette Heyer book, including her historic, contemporary, regencies and mysteries. To avoid spoilers, I will not say how I felt about the mystery or the characters, just to say that the mystery was not very mysterious, and the characters less than Heyer's high standard. Still, my least favourite Heyer is still pretty good comparatively.

"A Blunt Instrument" is a mystery set in England and originally published in 1938. It's the fourth book in a series, but it works as a stand-alone. It's a clue-based puzzle mystery. It seems like everyone is lying to the detective, so he had to sort through and check out everything to determine what was true. By the time his sergeant jokes that the timing--as supplied by two people--proves that the murder could not have happened, I had a pretty good idea of who the murderer was. But an objection that was used for one suspect would have applied for this one as well. It turns out I was correct, and the issue that kept me from being certain about whodunit was never even addressed. The characters were interesting and had a fun sense of humor, so the story was fun to read. There was no sex. There was occasional use of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.

A wickedly funny book, with an all the time scripture quoting policeman who never takes a breath. Much talk of wayward women and immodest men. And a wickedly unexpected ending, one which I could not have imagined. Great fun in times when an actress could be looked upon as a loose woman. Georgette Heyer is an excellent writer of the golden age of mysteries.

Georgette Heyer does not disappoint in this golden age mystery which has a novel twist in the end. The characters were not without their humour and it was a joy to read, maybe a little old fashion in todays climate, but will certainly appeal to the readers of mysteries of the like of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayer.

What a fabulous book! A thrill and twist involved here. Again the characters are superb and believable although for once I think I might have figured out the murderer before the end. However it was so incredibly well written I didnt trust myself on the answer till the end. Loved seeing familiar figures in the detectives!

I really enjoyed this very traditional, old fashioned mystery. Actually, I loved this book, and I wish Heyer had written as many mysteries as she did romances. It was sort of a combination of police procedural, cozy, and British country house mystery all rolled into one. Although it wasn’t full of action, my interest never flagged. Heyer’s characters are interesting, her humor is subtle, although it can be almost laugh out loud at times, and her plotting is excellent. Plus, there is just the tiniest bit of romance incorporated into the story.

This was a novel where I had the right suspect firmly in mind within the first half of the book. I couldn’t figure out how or why though, and Heyer kept presenting me with more and more possibilities. By the time she wrapped it up, I must have considered a half dozen possibilities.

This is a mystery that I think would be enjoyed by pretty much anyone who enjoys a slightly old fashioned novel. It is clean, and the violence is minor and understated. Even though it is predominantly a mystery, it still has a bit of a gentle feel about it.

historical-fiction, cosy-mystery, sly-humor, snarky, law-enforcement, verbal-humor, situational-humor, British-detective

Didn't know that she wrote early twentieth century police mysteries, and while the mystery was fairly good, the characters are so over the top, and the humor so delightful that I giggled and snuffled and guffawed through the whole book!
I love a period mystery, and this one is great fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark via NetGalley!

A delightful cozy mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie. It's not really surprising, but due to Heyer's wonderful writing it provides hours of good fun, filled with her trademark bickering and interesting characters. A nice, comfortable read, perfect if you're looking for a good old-fashioned mystery!

Originally published in 1938, this mystery has at its centre a very striking idea, and it gets off to a cracking start, with a death on the first page. However, although there are some good characters, romance rather takes over, and the plot settles into a somewhat routine pattern, with a further killing, and a bit too much pondering over an “impossible” time-frame for the first murder.

The two couples, Mr and Mrs North, and Sally Drew and Neville Fletcher are neatly contrasted, with the verbal fencing of the latter pair adding some light relief. Superintendent Hannasyde is rather ponderous in his pursuit of justice, while Sergeant Hemingway deals with the bible-quoting local Constable Glass.

I thought that, despite its apparent cleverness, the solution was easily spotted at a very early stage, with only the motive awaiting further information, but even this was guessable, given the personality and behaviour of the first victim.

Very readable, but not a difficult puzzle for Golden Age detective enthusiast.