Nobody has yet beaten Georgette Heyer for romance novels. Not for me, anyway. Although it does seem very reductive to label her novels as simply “romance”, even if the basic premise of most of them is marrying off the hero and heroine (or having the married ones realise they’re in love). Perhaps it’s the happy endings and generally positive feelings they evoke.

It hasn’t stopped me trying to find at least a second-best, given I’ve read all, or almost all, of Heyer’s novels. I think I’ve only got the handful of her suppressed contemporary novels and maybe one or two of her Historical novels (as if the romantic comedies aren’t also Historical novels) left to read. Off the top of my head, I know I haven’t yet read Simon the Coldheart.

The problem, though, with having read, re-read, and read again, the well-researched Heyer novels, both the “historical” and the “romances”, is that – confusions; let’s be kind – in the following-in-Heyer’s-footsteps novels of others do rather leap to the eye. In the past, this has often been enough for me to chuck the novel to the other side of the room and move on to another.

To be fair to Manda Collins, though, The Spinster’s Guide isn’t really following in Heyer’s footsteps: for one thing, it’s definitely Victorian-set (the 1860s), which was not Heyer’s preferred time (even if she did consider herself a Victorian). There’s no “Heir to Heyer” sort of marketing label on the cover. It seems unfair, therefore, to compare. Besides, Collins refers to Jane Austen and Nancy Drew in her bio.

The Spinster’s Guide has a fake betrothal between a couple who apparently can’t stand each other which, naturally in such a story, becomes real, and a murder suspect to clear. And a house-party full of other potential brides for the fake-fiancé, all feeling a bit aggrieved, as well as extended family a bit put out by the unexpected fiancée.

Once I’d finished muttering about some confused titles and honorifics, and settled into the murder mystery (the romance was tedious and neither party to it particularly interesting), I was mildly amused. Sort of. I’ve read worse. And stupider.

It’s been a while since I last read a Nancy Drew, but what this actually put me in mind of was the first of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films. It was the secret society what did it. There was a lack of the black magic, and the trying to take over the world, but still. There’s probably a Nancy Drew with a secret society. She’s been going for nearly a hundred years (is she still?), so she must have happened across at least one, but I don’t recall reading it. I have to put my preconceptions about Holmes to one side for the Ritchie versions, especially that first one.

I wanted to throw The Spinster’s Guide across the room somewhat less than one I’ve currently got going on my Kindle, and I might pick up the others in this series if I happen across them in the library (where I found this one), but I probably won’t go out of my way to find them.

In other joys this week, I happened across a delicious two-ingredient “brownie” recipe this week: 100g of melted chocolate to 1 ripe mashed banana. Mix and bake at 175C for about 25 minutes. Squidgy and if you use dark chocolate, you can pretend it’s healthy.