Joseph [the brother] was full of energy. It was nearly all benevolent, but, unfortunately for Nathaniel [the patriarch], who was not gregarious, he delighted in gathering large parties together, and liked nothing so much as filling the house with young people, and joining in their amusements.
It was Joseph who had been inspired to organise the house-party that was looming over Nathaniel's unwilling head this chill December. Joseph, having lived for so many years abroad, hankered wistfully after a real English Christmas. Nathaniel, regarding him with a contemptuous eye, said that a real English Christmas meant, in his experience, a series of quarrels between inimical persons bound to one another only by the accident of relationship, and thrown together by a worn-out convention which decreed that at Christmas families should forgather.The "young people" do show up. Nathaniel is successfully induced to invite his niece, Paula, and her playwright friend, and his nephew, Stephen, and his fiancée. Plus Mathilde, a friend of theirs.
This is a very Christmassy mystery, with decorations and planned festivities. Although most of the participants are not in a holiday spirit. Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard is called in on the case on Christmas Day, and is not at all happy about that situation. His arguments and interactions with his assistant Sergeant Ware provide some amusement.
It took me a while to get into the story; the first quarter of the book is mainly setup, introducing us to the characters and their relationships. Unfortunately the book is mainly populated by unsympathetic characters; fortunately, their problems and entanglements were very entertaining. At about halfway in, I was fully hooked.
For most of the book I had no clue who the culprit was, although towards the end it became clearer. Other reviewers have found it much easier to spot the killer, but either way, I don't think it matters. This is just a very fun book to read. I loved the humor and I was very satisfied with the ending.
Georgette Heyer (1902-1972) is primarily known for her regency romances, but she also wrote 12 mystery novels. Four of them featured Inspector Hemingway, and this the 2nd novel in that series.
Other sources:
The Murderous End of an Era at Tor.com
Two posts at Clothes in Books here and here.
Katrina's review at Pining for the West
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Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2010 (orig. publ. 1941)
Length: 396 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Series: Inspector Hemingway #2
Setting: UK
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: I purchased my copy
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