I had almost forgotten about this book. I read it, thought it was okay, and forgot all about it. I barely remember the names of the characters! I think the heroine's name was Shirley (why this memory loss??). Bear with me. I remember the story. \o/
Summary
Frank, on his way to his Uncle's home, loses his way, and with dinner time long past gone, he is in a hurry. He runs in to a woman standing next to a car. Stopping to ask for directions, he is struck by her odd behavior.
He sees a dead body in the car.
Frank, on realizing this, asks the woman about it and then leaves. Apparently the fact that he is a barrister is not important right now. The woman, whether she his guilty or not, is to be left standing there and he goes on his merry way to a late dinner.
On reaching town, he informs the police of the murder (THANK YOU) and doesn't mention anything about the woman (!).
The crime centers around Norton Manor
Some thoughts
As it turns out, the murdered man is the butler. Things are confusing from start to finish with no clues available and the only suspicious character, the valet, murdered later on in the novel. Heyer leads us on a chase from which we can't hope to emerge victorious as various facts vital to untangling the events are known only by the esteemed barrister, Frank!!
Now I don't get the title. I can think of various reasons why the butler, why any butler could be murdered. He could hold secrets that someone doesn't want to leak out. He could be part of a nefarious smuggling ring, He could have issues of his own (yes, he could!). He could be someone in disguise!! (okay that ones a bit far-fetched.) All these options and more make the title ridiculous..............
Reading back, I think I went a little crazy. Well, that's how it's gonna be. Why Shoot a Butler? isn't a huge success, nor is it a colossal failure. It is just mediocre...
Frank, on his way to his Uncle's home, loses his way, and with dinner time long past gone, he is in a hurry. He runs in to a woman standing next to a car. Stopping to ask for directions, he is struck by her odd behavior.
He sees a dead body in the car.
Frank, on realizing this, asks the woman about it and then leaves. Apparently the fact that he is a barrister is not important right now. The woman, whether she his guilty or not, is to be left standing there and he goes on his merry way to a late dinner.
On reaching town, he informs the police of the murder (THANK YOU) and doesn't mention anything about the woman (!).
The crime centers around Norton Manor
Some thoughts
As it turns out, the murdered man is the butler. Things are confusing from start to finish with no clues available and the only suspicious character, the valet, murdered later on in the novel. Heyer leads us on a chase from which we can't hope to emerge victorious as various facts vital to untangling the events are known only by the esteemed barrister, Frank!!
Now I don't get the title. I can think of various reasons why the butler, why any butler could be murdered. He could hold secrets that someone doesn't want to leak out. He could be part of a nefarious smuggling ring, He could have issues of his own (yes, he could!). He could be someone in disguise!! (okay that ones a bit far-fetched.) All these options and more make the title ridiculous..............
Reading back, I think I went a little crazy. Well, that's how it's gonna be. Why Shoot a Butler? isn't a huge success, nor is it a colossal failure. It is just mediocre...
No comments:
Post a Comment