annieb123
Written on May 16, 2019
Duplicate Death is the 7th mystery featuring inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway by Georgette Heyer. Originally published in 1951, this reformatting and re-release was published 7th May 2019 by Sourcebooks. It's 400 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.
This is a well written classic British murder mystery with varied characters (many unlikable and rather awful) in a high society setting. I will say that this mystery shows its age more than a lot of her other books which I've read. There were a number of fairly offensive racist/sexist/intolerant themes in the book which diminished my enjoyment somewhat. Even the otherwise decent and evenhanded Inspector Hemingway's descriptions of one character's 'flamboyant' homosexuality made me sad and uncomfortable. I do know that the book is a product of its time, and to read 60+ year old books means that the reader should be prepared to do so with the understanding that we're viewing them through the lens of our (supposed) progress.
There's a surprising amount of humor throughout the book and the denouement is well written and the 'whodunit' plays by the rules of fair play.
The thing about Georgette Heyer is that the reader pretty much knows exactly what they're getting and it's always an enjoyable journey.
I appreciate Sourcebooks for making these books available to a new generation of readers, and especially in electronic format.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.