A houseful of people he loathes is not Sir Arthur's worst problem…It should have been a lovely English country-house weekend. But the unfortunate guest-list is enough to exasperate a saint, and the host, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, is an abusive wretch hated by everyone from his disinherited son to his wife's stoic would-be lover. When Sir Arthur is found stabbed to death, no one is particularly grieved—and no one has an alibi. The unhappy guests fi nd themselves under the scrutiny of Scotland Yard's cool-headed Inspector Harding, who has solved tough cases before—but this time, the talented young inspector discovers much more than he's bargained for.PRAISE FOR GEORGETTE HEYER:"Miss Heyer has the delightful talent of blending humor with mystery."
Boston Evening Transcript"Heyer is an author to read—this means you!"
New York Herald Tribune"Miss Heyer's characters and dialogue are an abiding delight to me... I have seldom met people to whom I have taken so violent a fancy from the word 'Go.'"
Dorothy L. SayersFrom Library JournalSir Arthur Billington-Smith is not a nice person: he is arrogant, opinionated, and abusive. His verbal abuse makes life a constant misery for his hapless wife, Fay. One truly awful weekend when Fay is trying to host a house party, Arthur's son and heir, Geoffrey, brings home Lola de Silva, a Mexican cabaret dancer who is wonderfully obtuse, vastly colorful, and totally unsuitable as a future Lady Billington-Smith. Arthur is absolutely incensed and takes his rage out on everyone. Therefore, when he is found stabbed to death in his study later in the day, all those in the house become suspects. The characters are all rather one-dimensional: a scheming female foreigner, an idiot son, the married couple from hell, and a strong, silent lover. In spite of this, however, multiple red herrings in the plot are cleverly designed to keep the listener guessing until the last chapter. Narrator Clifford Norgate does a very nice job of vocally "typing" each character, so it is easy to visualize the speakers and keep all the suspects separate. The audiocassette is in a flimsy cardboard box and will require sturdier packaging for library circulation. Recommended for larger public libraries where the works of Heyer are popular. Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Review[I] found the mystery in The Unfinished Clue really well-done, with information given at just the right points to keep me guessing and re-guessing until the finale.