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Death in the Stocks |  | Author: Georgette Heyer
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
Buy New: $7.57
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Seller: smokymtnbooks
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 48399
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 1402217978
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781402217975
ASIN: 1402217978
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A bobby on his night rounds discovers a corpse in evening dress locked in the stocks on the village green. Inspector Hannasyde is called in, but sorting out the suspects proves a challenge. Anyone in the eccentric, exceedingly uncooperative Vereker family had the motive and means to kill Andrew Vereker, who seemed to have been universally disliked. One cousin allies himself with the inspector, while the victim's half-brother and sister, each of whom suspects the other, markedly try to set him off the scent. To readers' delight, the killer is so cunning (not to mention the author), that the mystery remains until the very end
PRAISE FOR GEORGETTE HEYER: "Our Georgette Heyer display of the Sourcebooks reprints has been a huge success, not only to those early fans like myself, but to many new readers who appreciate her style and wit."
Nancy Olson, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC "Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."
Publishers Weekly "Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to."
Katie Fforde (20091130)
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Classic Mystery February 21, 2010
Sandra Kirkland (High Point, North Carolina United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Arnold Vereker has been found murdered and his body has been left in the stocks on the village green. Vereker was wealthy and as the police investigate, they discover many characters who had a motive to kill him, most of them his relatives.
There are his half-brother and half-sister, Kenneth and Antonia Vereker. Arnold was their guardian and kept them on a very short lease. Antonia is engaged to Rudolph Mesurier, the accountant at Vereker's business. Arnold had just discovered that Mesurier had been embezzling funds and was ready to prosecute him. Kenneth is also engaged, to a venomous but beautiful woman named Violet Williams. She flirts with every man she encounters, and makes it clear that her affections can only be bought and paid for, never freely given.
Then there are the investigators. Superintendant Hannasyde, finds the case perplexing, specifically because it seems so simple. Giles Carrington is Kenneth and Antonia's cousin, and also their lawyer. He helps the superintendant understand the relationships that exist, and they discuss the case over drinks and dinners. A further wrench is thrown in the case when another half-brother emerges; Roger, who the family had thought dead for years.
Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries such as those written by Agatha Christie will enjoy Georgette Heyer's writing. The character's speech and personalities place the setting firmly in England, and the mystery gets untangled satisfactorily. This book is recommended for all readers
classic English mystery December 31, 2009
cait (N.J., United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you would like to finish out your year with a funny, entertaining, cozy mystery, then once again I have a very nice Georgette Heyer book to offer for your consideration.
In the very early hours of the morning, the body of a dead man, dressed in evening clothes, is found on the village green, his feet in the stocks. The murdered man turns out to be the wealthy weekend visitor Andrew Vereker, and once police start to investigate the crime they soon determine that there are many people who, for various reasons, are not unhappy to find that Vereker has been sent on to his just rewards. Relatives, soon to be in-laws, business associates...all whom it seems greatly disliked the dead man and none of whom have an alibi. The very clever Superintendent Hannasyde is called in to solve the crime and he certainly has his work cut out for him with this cast of characters. Lucky for us, there is a lot of very funny and entertaining goings on for us to enjoy as that is accomplished.
Once again, as with the previous two Heyer mysteries that I have reviewed, I can totally recommend Death In The Stocks to fans of the genre, especially if you are a fan of these sort of English country house mysteries. I am not totally convinced if the culture she describes in her books ever really existed, and surely it does not now, some 60 or more years later, but it certainly is very entertaining. Heyer is the queen of witty, funny dialogue and the queen still reigns here. Great characters and great dialogue is what she excels at. If you have read and enjoyed the mysteries of Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayer and are not familiar with the perhaps lesser known Heyer, you need to check her out and Death In the Stocks is a great place to start.
I also must mention once again...because I love to repeat myself when I say something true...that I just love the look and feel and quality of these editions reissued by Sourcebooks. They are some of the nicest, high quality paperbacks that I have ever read.
If you are looking for a nice cozy to cozy up to on a cold winter night, perhaps with a cuppa tea and a slice of fruitcake, run out and grab yourself a Heyer!
Heyer Mystery You Don't Want to Miss December 22, 2009
Leslie
While Georgette Heyer is primarily known for her Regency Romances she also wrote a number of historical fiction, short stories and mysteries. Death in the Stocks is one of her mysteries. It starts with the death of Arnold Verekers and ends with the murderer being caught. Typical, right? But what happens in between those two events is what made this such a captivating and different read from my usual. Heyer has written a most amusing novel with some characters who are not very likable but are still quite interesting not only in their lack of remorse at the death of Mr. Verekers but in their actions after the murder.
The deceased, Arnold Vereker, seems to have inspired dislike, even hatred, in just about everyone he met. It's up to Superintendent Hannasyde to sort the lies from the truths and figure out who killed Vereker. There is no lack of suspects, from Verekers half siblings, Antonia and Kenneth, both spoiled, indulgent and self-absorbed people who cared little for their half-brother except for his money. In fact, Antonia becomes quite upset when anyone refers to Arnold and her brother and makes a point of correcting the mistake by reminding them that he was her half-brother.
Then there are Antonia and Kenneth's intendeds, Rudolph Mesurier and Violet Williams, respectfully. Mesurier works for Verekers and we find out, has been up to a bit of embezzling from Verekers' company. He fully intends to pay it back but it still provides a motive for murders. Violet Williams comes across as a lovely young woman with a bit of a soft heart and even shows some sadness over the death of Verekers. She enjoys the finer things in life and while she is to marry Kenneth, he is an artist who is unable to afford those things for Violet. But with the death of his half-brother, Kenneth, being the heir, inherits and can then provide Violet with the type of lifestyle she enjoys.
Superintendent Hannasyde's questioning of the possible suspects was the source of wonderful and witty dialogue. The way Heyer had Hannasyde volleying questions and returning the answers with more questions, attempting to make sense of those answers, all made for some face paced scenes with the reader, at least this reader, not always sure who the most likely suspect was. The twists and turns Heyer takes getting to the finale had me changing my mind a few times as to who I thought killed Arnold Verekers.
The lack of remorse and blatant disdain Antonia and Kenneth show for their now deceased brother comes across as both amusing and at times morbid. They seem to lack the ability to curb their show of dislike for their half-brother. Part of what I found so fascinating is their lack of remorse for the deceased. The way Antonia and Kenneth speak of their half-brother regarding his death borders more on fascination and the financial effect on them rather than any sadness. I was never sure what either of them would utter next. I didn't know if they were completely guileless or quite devious and guilty of the murder.
Antonia and Kenneth did have someone on their side. Their cousin and legal counsel, Mr. Giles Carrington. He actually had a brain and would at least attempt to curtail his cousins more unrestrained comments. He was the calm in the eye of the lives of the Verekers. Carrington was the one that attempted to make some sense of the mess his cousins found themselves in. Carrington was a character that Heyer gave not only the intellect to sort through the mire of the events leading up to and after the murder but to keep a clear head amidst the chaos of his cousins lives.
If you are in the mood for something witty, well written and decidedly different, then definitely give Death in the Stocks a try.
 What a way to kill a man October 21, 2009
Rebecca H. Collins
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Did I enjoy this intriguing mystery. Did it hold my attention till the end?. I would have to give a resounding yes to both these questions. I dont really know why I enjoy these books so much except to say they are written about another time and place and written so well that you think you are there or at least wish you were. Another great Heyer novel
British Classic Crime - At Its Best September 28, 2009
Lisa Marie (NJ)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When they re-issued the dozen or so Georgette Heyer mysteries recently, I was taken in by their appealing vintage cover artwork. What I discovered - to my surprise and delight - were wonderful English manor mysteries, similar in the Agatha Christie style.
These books blend a nice, cozy, old-fashioned mystery with Ms. Heyer's wonderfully snarky and dry wit, which adds up to genuine reading pleasure. I've plowed through nearly all her mysteries and will be sorry when I read the last. I wish she wrote as many myseries as she did Regency romances.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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