No Wind of Blame

No Wind of Blame (1939) Georgette Heyer (Inspector Hemingway)

Ermyntrude Carter married Wally Carter, but has come to regret doing so, as Wally isn’t a great human. Yet Ermyntrude and her daughter Vicki Fanshawe, and Wally and his ward (and cousin) Mary Cliffe lived together on the money Ermyntrude inherited from her fist husband.

Although Ermy is badly put upon by Wally and others in this story, it’s Mary I feel bad for.

Mary, who disliked White, could not agree with Ermyntrude that he was Wally’s âme damnée. Having lived with Wally for many more years than had Ermyntrude, she suffered from fewer illusions, and had long since realised that his character lacked moral fibre.

Consider being an adult but still being a ward of someone solely because you’re female.

Ugh.

This was an adequate story, but interesting more for being a set piece for the late 1930s than for anything else. It’s got lots of slang at the time (which is often hilarious), but it’s a good reminder of the place women had in the world at that time.

Also, no medical privacy laws.

‘(I)f anyone knows the ins and outs of that household, it’s the doctor, for if you were to tell me the fair Ermyntrude doesn’t treat him like a confession-box I wouldn’t believe you.’

‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Small. ‘You wouldn’t hardly expect him to give away anything she may have said to him, would you?’

Plus, most of the characters are just awful.

Her father, who had been treating her with the politeness he reserved for public use, forgot, in the irritation of finding his cigarette-case empty, that in the presence of strangers she was his indulged daughter, and got up, demanding to know why she had not put out a box of cigarettes.

The Russian prince felt ridiculously fake, mostly because the way he put sentences together felt more French of Spanish than Russian.

‘You are the Inspector of Police? You desire to interrogate me? I understand perfectly. This terrible affair! You will forgive me that I find myself so startled, so very much shocked, I can find no words!

I have NOTHING to back up that assertion, yet I’m still making it.

It just wasn’t a very good story, but since it was my bedtime book, that was perfectly fine.

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Rating: 6/10

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