Heyer, Georgette - Footsteps in the Dark (1932)

C

A light-hearted thriller about a group of young people and their aunt who inherit a haunted house and unmask a gang of forgers.  The main influence seems to be Allingham’s early thrillers: anti-hero (really on the side of the law) with an ex-burglar assistant; family set-up (c.f. Look to the Lady); old house with secret passages; criminal gang; kidnapping of young people; and sense of fun and derring-do.  The elements are conventional—village inn, dope-fiend French artist, gang operating from haunted house (very traditional plot—Tintin, Hardy Boys, &c.)—but it’s steadily entertaining.

·        Michael Strange—a ‘snake’: appears to be a baddy, loved by heroine, really hero

·        Charles is a barrister, like Giles Armitage in Why Shoot a Butler? (and Heyer’s husband—who supplied plots?)

Nick Fuller.