Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication Date: April 26th 2006
(originally published 1936)
Publisher: Arrow
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5
Blurb: The sixtieth birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog is confirmed when the coroner returns a verdict of death by misadventure.
But then Kane's nephew and heir is murdered and threats are made on the next in line to the fortune, throwing a new and sinister light on Silas Kane's death. All clues point to an elderly lady of eighty as the killer. But as the redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde delves further into the case he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems...
Blurb: The sixtieth birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog is confirmed when the coroner returns a verdict of death by misadventure.
But then Kane's nephew and heir is murdered and threats are made on the next in line to the fortune, throwing a new and sinister light on Silas Kane's death. All clues point to an elderly lady of eighty as the killer. But as the redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde delves further into the case he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems...
Review: I feel like Georgette Heyer is one
of those authors that really isn’t as popular as she should be. Most of her
books (of which there are about fifty five or so) are regency romances a la
Jane Austen, twelve of them, however, are crime/mystery novels. I love murder
mystery novels, I honestly do- so it’s no surprise to me that I adored this
book.
Characters
play a massive role in mystery novels, as does the plot- you may think this is
the same for every genre of book, but I believe the emphasis is put on these
two aspects in mystery novels more than any other genre. The characters within ‘They
Found Him Dead’ were all brilliantly constructed- there are of course the
characters you are made to love, the ones you hate and the ones you just can’t
seem to figure out.
The plot
was also brilliant- the actual summary of this book does absolutely no justice
to the actual plot. There are so many twists and turns and little details that
make you wonder who the murderer is and whether other people might be
protecting them. One of my favourite things about mystery novels is trying to
work out who the murderer is going to be, and I especially enjoy it when I pick
the completely wrong person. I admit, the murderer was not who I thought it
was, but that just made the book even more interesting for me.
If you’re
a big fan of Agatha Christie like me or if you just like mystery novels, you
should definitely give Georgette Heyer a go. And if mystery aren’t your thing
but romances are, I would definitely suggest checking out of her regency
novels.
You can buy They Found Him Dead on
The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide): http://www.bookdepository.com/ They-Found-Him-Dead-Georgette-Heyer/9780099493631/a_aid=ABookSoFathomless
Heyer is my favorite author. I own at least one copy of all 55 of her novels/short stories and have read them all -- even the four contemporary novels. I like her detective fiction as much as her Georgian and Regency romances. I Found Him Dead is one of the best of the det. fic., but my favorite is Behold! Here's Poison. It has one of the best characters ever in Randall Green. If you haven't read it, you should find a copy and do so. I think you'll like it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lori! I'll definitely keep a lookout for a copy of it :)
ReplyDeletex Ely