My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I haven't read a mystery novel by Georgette Heyer, although I have read and loved some of her Regency Romances. The mystery novels, based on this one at least, are quite different, although the writing style, that helps make Heyer's novels so good, of course, remains.
This is a classic country house mystery, with a small cast of possible suspects and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. Compared to modern thriller and mystery novels, the plot of these type of books is quite slow, which might put some people off, but I have to admit that I've long been a fan of this classic who-done-it style.
Overall, I liked the main characters, although they are very much of their time. But what about the mystery itself. For me, a mystery has to 'work' I don't need to have been able to solve it myself, but it has to make sense when all is explained. Fortunately, in this case, everything was tied up neatly and there wasn't a sudden non-sensical conclusion. In actual fact, I'd guessed who was behind it all and what some of the other characters were up to quite a while before it was revealed. I don't think that it was completely obvious either though, which is the other danger with these type of books.
Footsteps in the Dark was a satisfying and enjoyable read. if you don't like the type of gentle mysteries from the golden age of that type of novel then this probably isn't for you. If you are a fan of a classic murder mystery, however, then I'd urge you to give this one a go.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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