They Found Him Dead

Silas Kane, the rich bachelor who heads the successful firm of Kane & Mansell, literally walks off a cliff during a walk on the foggy night of his 60th birthday party. Police rule the death a terrible accident — until, not a month later, Kane’s great-nephew and heir is murdered. Who benefits from the deaths? And is the next heir the perpetrator? Or the next victim?

While They Found Him Dead is the third of the four novels Georgette Heyer’s Hannasyde series, readers can enjoy the novel without reading earlier books. In fact, having read the novel immediately before this one, Behold, Here’s Poison, I recommend skipping that stinker altogether. In contrast, They Found Him Dead is a breezy, fun read for fans of Dorothy L. Sayers or show more Patricia Wentworth. Sure, the characters here are somewhat less than believable, and readers will have figured out the culprit halfway through the novel; however, Heyer’s novel still includes enough thrills and clever wordplay to make the ride worth taking. show less

When I was growing up, my mother had a slew of novels by Georgette Heyer, which I read; these were all among her numerous Regency romances, with perky and plucky female characters who brave the heights of English aristocracy to find their man. I had no idea that Heyer wrote other books, including "They Found Him Dead," a contemporaneous (published 1937) murder mystery set in a Grand House in the country and involving numerous lively characters, including an aging matriarch, a plucky companion, several generations of sons and nephews, a fierce maid, and assorted visitors of varying degrees of relationship. And, to my delight, a redoubtable Scotland Yard detective, Superintendent Hannasyde, who speaks little but sees much. It turns out show more that there are a number of books featuring this detective, and I shall start hunting them out now that I know about him; in the meantime, this book was quite a lot of fun - recommended! show less

This book begins, as so many classic British mysteries do, with an ill-fated party at an English country house. Silas Kane is celebrating his 60th birthday, but many of his guests aren't in a particularly happy mood. His heir, Clement, is desperate to get his hands on a piece of the older man's fortune -- especially because his beautiful but materialistic wife, Rosemary, is threatening to leave him. Meanwhile, Silas' neighbor and business partner is eager to interest him in an investment opportunity, but so far he has stubbornly refused to consider the deal. So when Silas is discovered dead the day after the party -- having apparently fallen over the cliff where he habitually took a walk every evening -- there is no shortage of suspects show more to consider. And when Clement is shot in the study shortly afterwards, it seems clear that a murderer is at work. Once again, Inspector Hannasyde of Scotland Yard must untangle the various motives in play and discover the identity of a ruthless killer.

I've been steadily working my way through Heyer's mysteries, and this book is a typical example. I always enjoy Heyer's witty dialogue and hints of romance, although in this book the love story is very peripheral to the main plot. The mystery itself is fine, though there's nothing particularly surprising for those who read a lot of detective novels. As always, the strength of Heyer's books is her characters, and there several great ones here, from the self-absorbed Rosemary Kane to the exuberant young Timothy Harte, who is overly eager to assist the police in solving the murder. I should note, however, that while Inspector Hannasyde is a recurring character in Heyer's mysteries, he is definitely not the protagonist; each individual book tends to revolve around the victim and the suspects much more than around the detective. Anyway, I definitely liked this book overall, but there's nothing that makes it particularly stand out to me. show less

Third of the Superintendent Hannasyde mysteries. Silas Kane is the senior male member of the Kane family, childless owner of the Kane family fortune. When he's found dead at the foot of a cliff one morning' his family are distressed, but most of them suspect nothing more than the obvious -- he insisted on having his usual evening walk along the clifftop path in spite of it being a foggy night, and must have missed his way. But when his heir is found shot dead not long after moving into the family residence, Silas's death takes on a more sinister aspect. And it's not as if there's a shortage of motives. A nice obvious one is that the other partners in Silas's business wanted to go into a risky but potentially profitable deal, one that show more could only go ahead with a capital injection from Silas, which Silas wasn't willing to give. And of course, Silas's nephew and heir Clement needed the money he inherited, and Clement in turn has the next oldest cousin as his heir. Then there's pure personal animosity as a motive for an eighty-year-old lady, of all people, to have committed one of the murders.

Hannaysde's problem is that there are several good candidates for each murder, but anyone with good motive and means for one is a poor candidate for the other. If, of course, the death of Silas really was a murder and not just an unfortunate coincidence of an accident. And that's before it becomes clear that someone is now targeting Clement's heir.

I spotted the murderer fairly early on, when the second murder took place, although I didn't work out how he'd done it. It took me a little longer to make the connection on what his true motive was. This is no criticism of the book, because Heyer kept me guessing almost to the end as to whether I was right. That's just as much fun as not spotting the clues until near the end. And there's plenty of entertainment along the way, with ample red herrings, a cast of characters large enough to provide plenty of character interaction without being too large to keep track of, and some sparkling dialogue.

Hannasyde is a recurring character, and there are references to earlier cases, but he's actually something of a cypher in comparison with the one-off characters he encounters. There's no real development of him as a character from book to book. Instead, what shines here are the character studies of the people caught in the backwash of murder. They're often stereotypes or exaggerations, but still are nicely drawn caricatures of certain personality types, and the way they react to stress.

Great fun, and I'm looking forward to the next one. show less

A bit better than the previous ones. Only one utter idiot as a main character (several others, but they're only occasionally evident). The mystery is clever in several ways, and the villain is well-disguised - the one who was never considered. Timothy is another idiot, but a cute one, so I'll give him a pass (and if I recall correctly, he shows up again in a later mystery. That will be fun). I like Jim and Patricia quite a bit, and I even like Emily (not Ogle, though). And Adrian and Lady Harte are fun, if odd. Mostly pleasant, interesting characters, beautiful plot twists, and an interesting setup to start with. Though I must admit that I was completely bewildered about who was who at the opening party - the brother of the show more ex-sister-in-law's son by her first husband...ghahh! The characters established themselves pretty quickly, but I was drawing a complete blank at the party (and didn't feel like going back and re-re-reading to figure them out). Fun, in general. And while there is a romance that's important to the characters, it's not particularly important to the story, nor does it spring up at the end - well-established early on, and thereafter part of the background. I like this book better than the first two in the series. show less

The head of the Kane family business dies on the night of his 60th birthday. It's assumed he fell off a cliff in the thick fog while taking his nightly walk. Then the heir is unquestionably murdered, and suddenly the first death looks like murder, too. Is the next in line also in danger? Or is he the culprit? Recognizing that this kind of murder is beyond their ability, the local police call on Scotland Yard. Inspector Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway have several theories to investigate, and it seems that everyone in the household could be the culprit in at least one of these theories. They are “assisted” by a 14-year-old boy who has seen so many gangster films that he fancies himself a detective.

This is a typical country house show more mystery from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Heyer shows that her skills at characterization and slang aren't limited to the Regency era. Although one of the deaths comes close to being a classic “locked room” puzzle, the resolution of the crime doesn't rest as much on the cleverness of Scotland Yard as it does on their thoroughness. I think Heyer's aim with this book was to entertain readers, and she succeeded. Recommended for Heyer's fans and for classic mystery readers. show less

I find that when I read Georgette Heyer novels, I keep on thinking; "Okay this one was better than the last one I read..." then I read this one and it's like: "Okay nevermind, this one was THE BEST one I've read so far!" I have a feeling that's going to keep happening whenever I read one of her mysteries (I still have yet to try her regency ones). I absolutely loved this one and will put this one up as one of my favorite mysteries from Heyer as of yet.

As usual, there is a rather large list of suspects and everyone seems to have some sort of motive for the murder. However, what's different from this book and the others is, I found there was quite a bit more action and the characters in this book have much more personality and are show more "fleshed" out, and they have their own distinct personalities. The action added a lot more intrigue to the book and kept me interested. I had a hunch who was behind the plot, but because of the frequent twists and the suspicion being thrown all over the place I kept on second guessing myself. However, even though my first guess was right, the way it was solved was interesting and never the way I expected it to be. The plot was engaging and intriguing. It's not a thriller per se, but it's got the feel of a classic whodunit mystery which will keep the reader interested. There's a bit of comedy included, with witty backtalk and remarks that will induce a chuckle or two.

As I have mentioned previously, the characters in this book were one of the most interesting I've ever read from Heyer's works. Rosemary has to be one of the most annoying and most self absorbed I have ever read. Although she was extremely irritating, she also made me laugh the most because of her stupidities, and the fact that although other characters have told her to be quiet, it just doesn't faze her. I liked Lady Harte even though her arrival in the book is a little too late. She was sharp and the way she had spoken to Rosemary was funny and to the point (Eventually, I think Rosemary got the hint).

The only complaint I had with this book is, it got a little dry towards the end of the book. You don't literally find out who was behind the murders until the last few pages. It went in a mini circle for no reason. Otherwise, this is one of Heyer's better mysteries.

Overall, an enjoyable read filled with mystery and intrigue. Greatly recommended for Georgette Heyer mystery fans everywhere. show less