Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

Charles and Celia, along with Peter, and Margaret, brother and sister to Celia, have inherited an old house in a small village in England. An eccentric Aunt had left it to them complete with no electricity and a ghost known as the Monk. It has an old Priory and a neighbor, Mr. Titmarch, who floats around in the dark of night chasing moths and crosses regularly onto their land. The other Neighbors are the Colonel, and the Vicar and his wife. If the place only had rats Celia and Margaret could probably manage but they draw the line at the Monk.

Georgette Heyer writes a very well-executed Mystery with this one. Her characters are droll, sophisticated and amusing.The book is a light-hearted mystery but at the same time there is a sinister undercurrent. Things keep happening that are odd.  Heyer, has a natural genius for farcical remarks and post-war humor in which the men are both bored, sanguine and witty while they perform quite heroic things they make light of...this was a very good book to start at night but the problem was how to stop. I like the way the Golden Era produced mysteries.The plot and people are entertaining enough that I kept reading till the early hours and still kept on.

This one is much lighter, and funnier than other Heyer's but the plot is no less interesting. The Aunt adds a lot to the eccentric side. I wish I could have joined them while they moved the planchette around. I just really like the characters in this one. I feel Georgette Heyer is underrated as a mystery writer. This is a good one...

Blurb:

What begins as an adventure soon becomes a nightmare...

Locals claim it is haunted and refuse to put a single toe past the front door, but to siblings Peter, Celia, and Margaret, the Priory is nothing more than a rundown estate inherited from their late uncle-and the perfect setting for a much-needed holiday. But when a murder victim is discovered in the drafty Priory halls, the once unconcerned trio begins to fear that the ghostly rumors are true and they are not alone after all! With a killer on the loose, will they find themselves the next victims of a supernatural predator, or will they uncover a far more corporeal culprit?