Customer Reviews

They Found Him Dead

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A wonderfull Heyer read, in the tradition of Detection Unlimited, this rollicking mystery will keep you guessing wildly till the last page! Charming new characters are introduced to complement familiar friends, Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway once again being called on to solve a baffling double murder. Absolutley delightfull!! Youll love Terrible Timothy, Pretty Paul and Dashing Dermott.

"They Found Him Dead" by Georgette Heyer is as close as Ms. Heyer gets to a series with the inclusion of Superindent Hannasyde and Sargent Hemingway in their third baffling case. Everyone is trying to help them solve the case as the heirs to a fortune are being assassinated.

Bright new characters command the stage with the star being Timothy Harte, a brash young man in love with American crime films, who tries his hand at learning to be a detective until he may be the next victim. It seems a shame this clever story was missed during the film noir period, it has all the perfect elements. An intriguing read with plenty of laughs.

Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

This is a typical English manor house murder mystery. I had expected more originality from Heyer since I am a big fan of hers and have read many of her novels. However, in spite of that, I couldn't put it down. As usual, her characters are very well drawn. I definitely recommend this book, but most of her other mysteries are better.

I definitely recommend They found Him Dead which is a similar in style to an Agatha Christie mystery. The first murder is quickly followed by the murder of the heir and its fun to try and figure out if only one person is responsible or two and why both victims were murdered.

I'm a fan of the classic British country-house mystery. I found Georgette Heyer's books recommended and decided to give them a try. I enjoyed this very much. This is the 3rd book in a short series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Hannasyde. I've also read the 1st in the series, but not the 2nd. The tones of the two books are very different, and so are the mysteries - this is NOT a cookie-cutter series. Both books had good character development, and were good portrayals of the time and the class. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes the good, old-fashioned British mysteries.

Note on Kindle formatting: I found no issues with Kindle fomatting.

The bodies pile up right from the start in this delightful, fast-paced 1930's British murder mystery.

As an avid Regency fan, I know and love Miss Heyer's historical romances. But I had no idea she also wrote contemporary mysteries. Contemporary, that is, when she wrote them in the 1930's. I love British mysteries from that period--art deco furniture and decorations, sleek, romantic clothes, and dialog chock-full of the idioms of the day.

The "Him" of the title is Mr. Silas Kane, patriarch of the wealthy Kane family and senior partner in the firm of Kane and Mansell. The story opens at Silas's sixtieth birthday party, introducing us to the eccentric cast of characters and the story setup when Silas refuses to do business with an Australian firm his partner, Joe Mansell, champions.

The next day, Silas is found dead, apparently having tumbled off a cliff on his nightly walk. An accident, surely. The firm, and the disagreement, passes to his nephew, Clement, who welcomes his uncle's fortune so that he can pamper his spoiled wife, Rosemary.

Alas, Clement's riches last only a short time, because, in a matter of days, he is found shot to death in Silas's library. Murder is definitely in the picture now, and the local police summon a Scotland Yard superintendent to untangle the case.

Who murdered Clement? Was Silas also murdered? Suspicion falls on everyone from Silas's starchy mother, Emily, to her self-contained companion, Patricia, to her grand-nephew, Jim, who is Patricia's fiancee and now the senior partner in the company. Other suspects include Trevor, Rosemary's oily would-be lover, the Mansells, father and slippery son, and even Oscar, the genial representative of the Australian firm. About the only person not suspected is Jim's half-brother, fifteen-year-old Timothy, who has overdosed on American gangster films and "helps" the police, thereby earning the nickname of "Terrible Timothy". (Hint, one of the suspects listed here is the murderer.)

The story is fast-paced, funny, and I didn't figure out the murderer until Miss Heyer revealed the culprit at the end.

All in all, a highly enjoyable read, and a book I couldn't put down. I look forward to reading Miss Heyer's other mysteries.

ARC provided by Sourcebooks

Silas Kane just turned sixty and everyone has gathered for the occasion. The party is not going so well as it is marred with arguments. When money is involved nothing can ever go well. Silas decides to go for a walk in the fog and the next morning he is found dead. Everyone thinks it was just a accident, that he slipped and fell of the cliff in the fog, but then someone shoots Clement, the hier.

Now we can tell that this murder mystery is all about who will inherit, Silas Kane's money and who has the greatest motive to kill. Everyone is a suspect, Mrs. Kane didn't even shed a tear when she heard her husband was dead. Rosemary couldn't wait to move into the bigger house and get more money. Mr. Harte was always saying something about knowing that the night looked like a great time for a murder. Joe Mansell was mad because Silas wouldn't expand the firm like he and his partners wanted. Everyone has a motive for murder, but who is the real killer and why?

Talk about your big whodunit, Georgette Heyer lays out a great murder mystery in her book They Found Him Dead. This one the first book I have ever read by this author and its a classic (1937) I wish I could say that I had some great authors to compare her too from these early era's but I am sorry to say I have not read as much of the classics as I would like too. Shame on me I know, but I have never even read a Agatha Christy novel, but I am sure Georgette Heyer would rank up there with her in great murder mystery authors.

It was a little hard for me to read about times, but most classics are if you are not use to them. Books from different time era's just read different. That doesn't mean that she couldn't deliver a great book. I always thought I might have guessed who had done it, but I was a bit surprised at the ending.

The characters reminded me a bit of reading a Austen novel, the were funny and witty and loathed each other. It is always fun to read about rich families and how much they pretend to love each other as long as they get the money. Though sometimes the dialogue was hard for me to follow, it was fun and brough the characters to life.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of whodunits.

They Found Him Dead is a mystery in the tradition of the cozy English country house whodunits, and I loved it. A birthday party is held for Silas Kane at his country home, Cliff House and a whole cast of quirky English characters attend, including his mother, business partners, young cousin, and the cousin's half brother, a rambunctious teen who loves exploring and is into everyone's business. When Silas does not come down for breakfast the next morning, family and staff look for him and he is found dead at the foot of the cliff, apparently falling during his pre-bedtime walk.

The inquest declares it an accident, but young Timothy Harte is convinced it was murder, and it looks like he may be correct when Silas's heir is shot dead at his desk. The local constabulary calls in Scotland Yard, and with Timothy in the middle of their investigation, they still manage to gather information and come up with several suspects. The investigation takes a fresh direction when it appears that attempts are being made on the life of Jim, the second heir!

I enjoyed all of the quirky characters, the ladies' maid who is overly loyal to her mistress, the no-nonsense young housekeeper, the smarmy business partner who likes to make moves on the ladies, the demanding and crotchety grande dame, and all the others. Each character description is precise, right down to their clothes and hobbies, making them vivid and easy to remember when try to figure out who is committing these murders. Definitely try They Found Him Dead or one of the other Georgette Heyer mysteries that have been re-released by Sourcebooks. They are all very reasonably priced and in paperback.

[...]

"They Found Him Dead" is a mystery set in the 1930s in England. I think this is my favorite of the Heyer mysteries that I've read so far. The characters were nicer and less, um, neurotic, than normal, so I actually liked them rather than simply finding them interesting or amusing. The humor in this book was provided by Timothy's youthful ideas and antics regarding the murder. I found all of the characters complex and engaging.

As usual, Heyer introduced a large number of characters at the very beginning, many of whom had non-typical connections to each other. This made for a somewhat slow start as I tried to figure out all the "who is who," but the pacing picked up and was excellent after that.

The mystery was very clever. I did guess correctly who-did-it and why about halfway through, but only because I've read way too many mysteries. And I still thoroughly enjoyed discovering if each new clue supported my theory or not. One thing that I thought particularly clever was that Heyer had her Inspector go through all the possible culprits the same way the reader is so it's not simply a matter of picking the one suspect that no one is looking at closely.

There was very minimal bad language and no sex. Overall, I'd highly recommend this mystery as well-written and entertaining clean reading.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.

Reviewed by Debbie from Genre Reviews

(genrereviews. blogspot. com)

They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer is a delightful little read with an equally delightful cover. I can't say that I judge a book by its cover but I really like these cute little mysteries and their covers. The cast of characters in this mystery are a great mix. You have the two deaths at the beginning of the story Silas Kane and his cousin Clement Kane. Everyone is suspicious of everyone else and everyone comes under suspicion. Clement Kane's wife Rosemary is spending her husbands money like it is going out of style. Emma Kane is the crotchety old matriarch of the Kane family and really not liked by anyone so she is numero uno suspect. Stepbrothers Jim Kane, who is the next heir and "young Mr. Harte" Timmy are suspects also. Sir Adrian Harte who is the father to Timmy and stepfather to Jim is another quaint character. Lady Harte (the mother) is somewhere in the Congo but does show up eventually. Timmy insinuates himself into the investigation with his own theories and has his own mishap with a sinking boat that also makes him suspicious.So Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway(characters in other Heyer mysteries) have their work cut out for them in investigating the deaths.. Miss Patricia Allison, assistant to Emma, is engaged to Jim Kane and they also have a mishap with a car so it almost looks like Jim could be next on the murderers list. Mixed in with the suspects are Silas and Clement Kane's business partners, Joe and his son Paul Mansell along with Oscar Roberts who have a scheme to what they call "the Australian deal". The Kanes, deceased, did not really like the deal that Oscar had and did not want to participate. So with this colorful cast of characters this story is a who dunnit that keeps you hooked to the end to find out who the killer is. There are other minor characters, the maid, butler and some nosy neighbors. All this comes together nicely so that I was surprised at the end as to who the murderer actually was. No the butler didn't do it..

It is refreshing to read books that are entertaining and suspenseful and witty. I liked this book so much I have three more mysteries to read. If you want a light fun read, this is it. I highly recommend it...

I did not get paid for this review