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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Not my favourite Georgette Heyer mystery, but I do love Timothy!
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
They Found Him Dead is a golden age British murder mystery by Georgette Heyer featuring Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway. Originally published in 1937, this reformat and re-release 5th March 2019 from Sourcebooks Landmark is 384 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. This book includes the first appearance of Timothy Harte who also appears in a later book in this series.
There is something so appealing and urbane about golden age country house mysteries and this is a good example of the genre. There are a number of suspects with an array of motives. There's a romantic subplot which resolves satisfyingly. There are clues and red herrings. The actual culprit wasn't as much of a surprise as in some of Heyer's other books, but it was a good denouement with a good outcome. The dialogue is witty and well written and the book plot moves along at a good clip which doesn't drag or become dull.
There is a surprising amount of humor to be found here and the addition of young Timothy (who also appears grown up in Duplicate Death) provides a number of genuinely funny scenes in the book. The language is relatively clean with just a bit of cursing, and murder.
It's wonderful that these old mysteries are being kept in print to be discovered and enjoyed by new generations of readers.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
They Found Him Dead is a golden age British murder mystery by Georgette Heyer featuring Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway. Originally published in 1937, this reformat and re-release 5th March 2019 from Sourcebooks Landmark is 384 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. This book includes the first appearance of Timothy Harte who also appears in a later book in this series.
There is something so appealing and urbane about golden age country house mysteries and this is a good example of the genre. There are a number of suspects with an array of motives. There's a romantic subplot which resolves satisfyingly. There are clues and red herrings. The actual culprit wasn't as much of a surprise as in some of Heyer's other books, but it was a good denouement with a good outcome. The dialogue is witty and well written and the book plot moves along at a good clip which doesn't drag or become dull.
There is a surprising amount of humor to be found here and the addition of young Timothy (who also appears grown up in Duplicate Death) provides a number of genuinely funny scenes in the book. The language is relatively clean with just a bit of cursing, and murder.
It's wonderful that these old mysteries are being kept in print to be discovered and enjoyed by new generations of readers.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've read a number of Heyer's romances, but this was the first of her mysteries that I read. To me it felt more like reading one of Agatha Christie's lesser novels than one of Heyer's. I missed the humour that I love in her romances, and I didn't grow particularly fond of her characters the way I usually do. They're all a bit too broadly sketched. The plot is decent, though, and I did enjoy reading the book, just not as much as I expected to.
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am a big fan of Georgette Heyer's Regency romance novels, and I think they come close to the exalted level of Jane Austen books. I was told that her mysteries came close to Agatha Christie levels of brilliance. While it was a good read overall, I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do a Christie novel. It definitely didn't have the same spirit and confidence of her Regency novels.
A blurb on the cover of the book proclaims that Heyer writes vibrant characters and witty dialogue, and I'd agree, with some reservations. I personally had some difficulty differentiating the characters at first, and also couldn't quite picture them in my mind until near the end of the book. Some of the characters could best be described as "stock", especially the investigative detective, Hannaysde. There is also a young boy, Timothy, who plays my least favorite kind of character, the youngster who is a fan of American mob films and eternally speaks in horrific mobster slang.
Also, I found the denouement and reveal of the culprit to be quite sudden and anti-climactic. Whereas Christie would have her cast of characters deliberately gathered to review the entire case, Heyer seems to name the guilty party only as a matter of afterthought.
The story itself is very typical of a Golden Age mystery. The setting is a large house out in the countryside, and the main cast is a sprawling, dysfunctional family. The plot kicks off with the birthday party of the current paterfamilias, who is found the next day, dead, at the bottom of a cliff. An inquest concludes in accidental death, but members of the family are not so sure. They are vindicated in this belief when the next heir is cold-bloodedly murdered.
I did think the crime itself was quite clever, and the reasoning behind the crime fit very well. Heyer certainly has a wonderful imagination, and her writing is clear and has a unique voice. However, in future, I may stick to her more historical novels.
A blurb on the cover of the book proclaims that Heyer writes vibrant characters and witty dialogue, and I'd agree, with some reservations. I personally had some difficulty differentiating the characters at first, and also couldn't quite picture them in my mind until near the end of the book. Some of the characters could best be described as "stock", especially the investigative detective, Hannaysde. There is also a young boy, Timothy, who plays my least favorite kind of character, the youngster who is a fan of American mob films and eternally speaks in horrific mobster slang.
Also, I found the denouement and reveal of the culprit to be quite sudden and anti-climactic. Whereas Christie would have her cast of characters deliberately gathered to review the entire case, Heyer seems to name the guilty party only as a matter of afterthought.
The story itself is very typical of a Golden Age mystery. The setting is a large house out in the countryside, and the main cast is a sprawling, dysfunctional family. The plot kicks off with the birthday party of the current paterfamilias, who is found the next day, dead, at the bottom of a cliff. An inquest concludes in accidental death, but members of the family are not so sure. They are vindicated in this belief when the next heir is cold-bloodedly murdered.
I did think the crime itself was quite clever, and the reasoning behind the crime fit very well. Heyer certainly has a wonderful imagination, and her writing is clear and has a unique voice. However, in future, I may stick to her more historical novels.
A better done romance than is usual for Heyer mysteries, Terrible Timothy is a wonderful secondary character, as is the always welcome & sparkling Sergeant Hemingway. I did feel the story got bogged down a bit towards the end though.
But the murder & solution were good!
But the murder & solution were good!