Thursday, November 10, 2011

Book Review - Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book I’ve read by Georgette Heyer. Three siblings, Peter, Celia and Margaret, inherit a former Priory and head there for a little vacation, along with Celia’s husband, Charles. Joining them is their Aunt, Mrs. Bosanquet. The Priory appeals to all of them, even though it lacks certain amenities, such as electricity. However, since they all like it, they settle in for a vacation. As they go out and about and meet various people from the village they begin to hear stories about the Monk - the ghost that supposedly haunts the Priory. At the same time, strange noises can be heard at the Priory and a skeleton is discovered. Yet, they decide to hang in there and figure out what’s it all about as they don’t really believe it’s a ghost.

It took a bit to get into the story as the writing style is “older” for lack of a better term. For example, the aunt was referred to as either Mrs. Bosanquet or Aunt Lillian - it wasn’t consistent. It also took me a bit of time to nail down the time period. That aside, I enjoyed the setting, both the Priory (secret passages and rooms to be discovered) and the village. I enjoyed the friendship between the siblings and between the brother and his brother-in-law. They all seemed to approach the problem at hand with rationality and practicality, not counting Mrs Bosanquet’s turn with a Ouija board, which was totally in line with her character.

The mystery was a bit light, but original. There was a side romance that went from 0 to 60 in one second, which I felt was a bit rushed, but it didn’t detract from the story.

Overall, while it wasn’t a spectacular story, I enjoyed the book and will read others by her.


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