I had never read any Heyer mysteries and picked one up because they were recommended by a friend. She was right, there is something very entertaining about Heyer mysteries.

Barrister Frank Amberley is by his own admission one of the rudest men in England. He is irritated by stupidity and finds the local police to be plodding idiots most of the time. But one evening while driving to his uncle's house on the faulty directions of his cousin, he comes upon a very odd scene. He finds a young woman standing by the road with a dead man in the car beside her. She denies any wrongdoing and Amberley believes her though he is sure she is not telling all she knows. This scene sets in motion a series of interesting events of which Amberley insures that he is involved. For starters he finds out that the dead man in the car was the butler of one of his uncle's neighbors. Also the young woman found by the offending body, Shirley Brown, and her brother seem to be caught up in a something that is way bigger than them with additional troubles approaching.

Though Amberley's initial demeanor is one that I would normally scorn in a character, for some reason, I really liked him. He is brash, rude but also very kind and possessing a delightfully dry sense of humor.

The mystery turned out to be a bit so, so but the trip there was very enjoyable. There were parts of the book where I felt that it dragged but not enough for me to be bored. I also found the romance angle to be a bit far fetched as the two people who end up together had so much adversarial contact and not enough affection to have ended up together. But all in all, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more Heyer mysteries. ( )

I have absolutely no experience with mysteries. None whatsoever. I have had Agatha Christie's books on my shelves for years but have never touched them even though I keep telling myself I should. I figured that if I was going to skip over Agatha I might as well start with Georgette Heyer. She is, after all, the regency author I love the most after Jane Austen.

I was a bit apprehensive when I picked this up that I would miss some of the nuances that other readers more familiar with this type of mystery might pick up on. That was not the case. I found Why Shoot A Butler? to be a witty and funny novel. It seemed to be a satire. I loved the humor and sarcasm. It took me a few pages to catch on to the humor but I finally did. I thought that Frank Amberley and Shirley Brown were awesome characters. Their interplay was amazing and enough to keep me interested in the novel. There were also a bunch of twists and turns and surprises.

There were points in the middle of the novel that I sort of lost interest in the story and the mystery. I found my mind wandering as I was reading. That rarely happens with me. The interest returned in the last bit of the book but I can't help but feel that the middle section of the novel was a bit weak for me. It could also be because I was reading this part of the book on the subway, during rush hour, on a Friday. This is a novel that should be read on a comfy chair, drinking a cup of hot tea and preferably, with as little noise as possible.

The Sourcebooks edition is really great. It is a smaller edition. Almost like a little pocket paperback. The cover image is also really beautiful. Sourcebooks is doing a really great job bringing back this Georgette Heyer books. ( )

Why Shoot a Butler? is the first mystery that I read by Georgette Heyer. Let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised! This was all I could have wanted in a mystery and, for standard Heyer fans, there was even a bit of romance.

Since I posted the jacket blurb yesterday, I'm going to be really brief on the plot summary. Frank Amberley is a successful barrister in London but is known in this country neighborhood (where he has gone to visit his aunt and uncle) as an amateur sleuth due to his help solving an earlier crime in the area. On his way, he takes a wrong turn and finds a dead man in a car and a young woman standing nearby. He decides that he is going to get involved in the solving of the crime and in the protection of the girl.

I will admit that Amberley is not the most likable character. He's rude and smug -- think Mr. Darcy but even less sensitive to people's feelings. In fact, not many characters in this book are wholly likable--most are flawed in some way--and yet it works. The characters certainly seem less one-dimensional than many in Agatha Christie's stories. Amberley's aunt was an especially fantastic character who wasn't to be underestimated. The romance could be seen coming from a book length away but it was still sweet. The mystery was acceptable and this is a good example of a mystery that gives you some of the clues along the way so that you can solve it yourself. I'm very excited to move on and read my next Heyer mystery!

http://webereading.com/2009/05/new-re... ( )

The story opens with our hero, the barrister Frank Amberley, lost in the countryside, attempting to find his uncle's house where he is visiting for the weekend. He happens upon a car, pulled over at the side of the deserted road, and a pretty young woman standing by the car. Gentleman that he is, he stops to see if he can be of assistance..and finds a recently shot and deceased man in the car and a young woman with a very feeble explanation of what she is doing there. Turns out the dead man is the butler of one of his uncle's neighbors and really, why would anyone shoot the butler. Well, you will have to read the book to find out now, won't you! As Frank says, the murder is the least of the mysteries.

Amberley refers to himself as the rudest man in London, and with some cause, and I find him totally wonderful because of it. His banter with the cast of characters, especially the police who take him on as an unofficial detective on the case, is one of the strengths of the book. Honestly, the mystery was a little weak...it must have been because I figured it out and some of the characters are a little undeveloped, but it is still a very enjoyable read. I love a nice mystery, set in the 30's in a country manor house, with servants lurking about, listening behind the doors and chases across the countryside.
If you are up for a clever, witty romp, with even a touch of a romance thrown in you should give Heyer a try. ( )

Recommended to me as a Golden Age mystery, I was trying to find another author which I enjoyed as much as Dorothy Sayers, Rex Stout and Ellis Peters. Also Agatha Christie.
I would rate this book just below Christie. The mystery, writing and story are as well done as any of these authors, but somhow the sleuth doesn't have as much character as theirs. What I know of his character, I don't much like. I felt the romance was poorly written in this story, and the woman not worthy of the sleuth. This is only one book, and I would certainly read another by this author, but it would have to come from the library sale and I won't be keeping them. ( )