The Toll Gate

 

by Georgette Heyer (read by Daniel Hill ) c. 1954

an annual re-read

 

 

 

 

 

More mystery than romance

I like this one. I like the characters -- both the romantic leads and the entire cast of secondary characters. I like the setting -- a bit outside the normal "life among the titled gentry" as it is set at a wayside toll gate in the middle of nowhere. I like the dark, gloomy atmosphere; there is not a lot of sunlight, warmth, bright colors and happy people in this tale. I like that the romance takes a backseat to the mystery.  In other words, I like everything about this very entertaining read.

Not quite four stars.

 

P.S. Terrible cover for a story that is anything but light and bright.

The Talisman Ring

 

by Georgette Heyer (read by Phyllida Nash ) c. 1936

an annual re-read

 

 

Jealousy runs in the family

 

Wrongly accused and on the run, heir to the title Ludovic Lavenham must find the signet ring that will prove his innocence -- and fall in love with the ingenue along the way. 

I love when Heyer combines a mystery to be solved with a budding romance, or two.  This one has all the hallmarks of a GH romance -- melodrama, quirky secondary characters, laugh out loud dialogue -- with enough twists and turns in the mystery to entertain a broad audience of readers.

Not quite 4 stars

 

 

The Quiet Gentleman

 

by Georgette Heyer (read by Cornelius Garrett)

No longer available on Audible 

 

 

 

Someone is trying to bump off the *Heyero

Gervase Frant, heir to Stanyon Castle and the family title, was pretty much disowned by his father, for no fault of his own. Now Pop has died and Gervase has returned from the war to assume his rightful place as head of the family, owner of Stanyon Castle and Earl of St. Erth.    But, someone is out to kill him and St. Erth has to figure out who and why. The book was written and published as a Regency Romance (a genre created by Heyer, who has been imitated but never equaled), so all of this intrigue is sprinkled among the budding romances and the merry dance of who will end up with whom.

Heyer is known for her secondary characters and in this tale , Gervase's valet/former batman  and his stepmother are the two stand-outs. I just love the valet's  Spanglish-- his blue collar, for want of a better word, English mixed with words and phrases picked up  on campaign in Spain (somewhat in the mode of the educated nobility and gentility littering  their speech with Gallicisms). Stepmother is the quintessential  Heyer dowager.

The Quiet Gentleman is one of a handful of Heyer Regencies that mixes romance and intrigue .

Not quite four star Heyer.

Definitely a contender for Halloween bingo:  Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery,  Murder Most Foul,Romantic Suspense

*  A fandom conflation of Heyer and hero.  There are also Heyeroines.