The Unfinished Clue (by Georgette Heyer)

(Amazon UK link)

I am enjoying re-reading Georgette Heyer’s light crime fiction, something I only discovered in the past twenty years or so after having loved her historical romances since I was in my teens. I first read ‘The Unfinished Clue ‘in 2008, and had entirely forgotten the plot and the characters.

Dinah Fawcett is the main character in this book; she’s a likeable, determined young woman with a sense of humour and a lot of affection for her sister Fay. Fay is rather feeble, and married to the older, overbearing Arthur. Dinah goes to spend a weekend with her brother-in-law and sister, and discovers that their mansion is rather full of guests.

Arthur is in a bad mood, and particularly annoyed that his son George has announced his engagement to a Mexican singer, whom he is proposing to bring to stay. His nephew Francis is staying too, as are a couple whom Arthur and Fay met abroad, and a man called Stephen who is in love with Fay.. Fay has invited the Vicar and his wife to dinner, and also Arthur’s old friend Mrs Twining. So when everyone has arrived, there are twelve for dinner.

It’s clear from the start (and from the blurb on the back) that Arthur is going to be bumped off, and nobody is going to be upset about it. And, indeed, the deed takes place the following morning when most of the household are around, either sitting on the terrace outside, or in and out of the house for various pursuits. In good Agatha Christie style there are plenty of false trails and red herrings, but I found them a tad too obvious: it seems that everyone in the household had a possible reason to kill Arthur, though none had a strong motivation, and most had the opportunity…

Unlike Agatha Christie’s novels, however, the characters feel believable and I could easily remember who was whom. Statements are made by the police, and then Scotland Yard is called in, in the form of Inspector Harding who interviews most of the household including some of the servants. The only real clue is a scrap of paper under Arthur’s hand, and I did actually work out what it might refer to; whether this was due to a subconscious memory of the first time I read the book, I don’t know.

I had a hunch of who might have been the culprit, and was correct. However, I wasn’t able to work out the motivation, and it felt a bit like ‘cheating’ that a lot of information was revealed in the final chapters which the reader could not possibly have known.

Still, it’s a well-written novel with a bit of ironic humour here and there, and a light romance which I could see coming fairly early on, which worked well. The characterisation is so good that it makes up for the plot being less clever than Agatha Christie’s; and while I don’t like crime fiction as much as historical romances, I’m still glad I re-read the book.

'The Unfinished Clue', like most of Heyer's novels, stands alone; I don’t think Inspector Harding comes into any of the other books. If nothing else it’s interesting from the social history point of view. Heyer’s crime novels were written as contemporary, this one nearly 90 years ago. Yet, while the situations are obviously somewhat dated, the people feel realistic and modern.

Recommended, if you like this genre of light crime fiction.

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