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They Found Him Dead (Inspectors Hannasyde & Hemingway, #3)

Georgette Heyer

Start date: July 15, 2022

Finish date: August 6, 2022

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in this popular series.
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What Members Thought

Jul 09, 2017 Teri-K rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, mystery-golden-age, z-own-audio, amusing-to-funny, audio-recommended, historical-mystery, great-to-re-read, z-permanent-bookshelf, 25-august, 2025-bought

This book would be a good choice for those who want to make the transition from Heyer's romances to her mysteries, as it focuses on mostly likable people and has a fair amount of clever dialogue. Terrible Timothy and his parents provide nice comic relief, which some of her other mysteries lack. Plus there's a romance, charming though low key.

As a mystery goes there are quite a few suspects. The reader may hit on the culprit early, but plenty of red herrings keep you guessing. I don't care, perso ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2010 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, tbr-with-gr-groups, currently-re-reading

7/2022 reread w/ Detectives group: still 4 stars, listened to audiobook.

2/2021 reread with Heyer group: listening to the audiobook this time, very enjoyable. I like Heyer’s golden age mysteries because they have satisfying puzzles, but also have her sparkling humor! Very entertaining tagging along with the patient Hannasyde and his wise-cracking Sgt. Hemingway as they investigate two suspicious deaths among the querulous Kane family. Silas fell from a cliff in the fog after his birthday party - ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 Gardener0126 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a mystery by an author who is much better known for her regency romances. It turns out that she is also an accomplished writer of mysteries. I really enjoyed this easy to read, old fashioned, country house mystery. This book actually introduces a few characters (members of the Kane and Harte families) who reappear in a later novel, Duplicate Death, which I read before I read this one. It was interesting to meet them when they were younger. The detective duo of Inspector Hannasyde and Ser ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 Becky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019goodrule-old, reviewcopy, 2019reviews, shareatea2019, 2019familytreechallenge, rereads_2019

First sentence: Miss Allison thought that Silas Kane’s sixtieth-birthday party was going off rather better than anyone had imagined it would.

Premise/plot: If you're looking for a mystery novel with QUIRKY characters and multiple murders to solve, then They Found Him Dead should be your next read.

This mystery novel is vibrant and busy! Silas Kane died on his sixtieth birthday party--a tragic accident, so everyone believes except for the exuberant Timothy! He sees MYSTERY and CRIME everywhere he l First sentence: Miss Allison thought that Silas Kane’s sixtieth-birthday party was going off rather better than anyone had imagined it would.

Premise/plot: If you're looking for a mystery novel with QUIRKY characters and multiple murders to solve, then They Found Him Dead should be your next read.

This mystery novel is vibrant and busy! Silas Kane died on his sixtieth birthday party--a tragic accident, so everyone believes except for the exuberant Timothy! He sees MYSTERY and CRIME everywhere he looks. But when Silas Kane's heir, Clement, is murdered just a short time later, others join Timothy in thinking that there is a killer in their midst! Jim Kane is the next heir, and Timothy and Miss Allison are worried that he'll be the next victim. And it appears the danger is very real as several attempts are made on his life...

Can Inspector Hannasyde and Inspector Hemingway solve the case in time? Will Timothy be a big help or a hindrance?

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED this one. It may just be my favorite mystery novel by Georgette Heyer. And while it won't be replacing Daughter in Time by Josephine Tey as my all-time favorite-and-best mystery novel, it is certainly making the list of my favorite mystery novels. I think I can say that I love this one more than most Agatha Christie novels--though I'd have to reread them to see if any can top it.

What did I love about They Found Him Dead? The characterization!!! If you want to win my heart--authors pay attention--it's through characterization. I am all about the characters. This one offers characters to love and characters to love to hate. (For the record, I love, love, love Patricia Allison, Jim Kane, and Timothy Harte. I do not love the attention-seeking Rosemary--Clement Kane's cheating wife.)

It's been just enough time since I first read They Found Him Dead (2013) that I could not remember exactly WHO did it--which was an ideal way to reread it. It was an intense read for me. I kept muttering please don't let it be...please don't let it be... This is something I usually never do since I don't get super-attached to characters most of the time. ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Annarella rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I'm a fan of Georgette Heyer but I think I missed some of her mysteries this one included.
I like the Golden Age feeling in this book, the likable cast of characters and the plot.
The mystery was very good and it kept me guessing till the end.
It was en engaging and entertaining read and I'm happy I still have Heyer mysteries to read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and Netgalley for this book, all opinions are mine. ...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, vintage-mystery, mystery, country-house, bought-2010

Even at sixty, Silas Kane is not going to let a little fog keep him from his regular nightly walk before bedtime. A family celebration of his sixtieth birthday may have tired him a bit, but he still needs his constitutional to help him sleep. When morning comes and there is no Silas and his bed has not been slept in, a search is made and he is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs near his home. A verdict of death by misadventure is brought in....with the blame falling on the foggy night.

But th Even at sixty, Silas Kane is not going to let a little fog keep him from his regular nightly walk before bedtime. A family celebration of his sixtieth birthday may have tired him a bit, but he still needs his constitutional to help him sleep. When morning comes and there is no Silas and his bed has not been slept in, a search is made and he is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs near his home. A verdict of death by misadventure is brought in....with the blame falling on the foggy night.

But then Clement Kane, the heir who has barely had time to settle into the family home, is shot to death and people begin to wonder if there may have been more to Silas's death than met the eye. The local police call on Scotland Yard to investigate and Superintendent Hannasyde comes to sort things out with the help of Sergeant Hemingway. There is no shortage of motives--from the wife and her lover to the business partners desperate to settle a deal to the next heir apparent. But then Jim Kane, next in line for the family fortune, falls victim to several "accidents." Is someone intent on knocking out the entire Kane family? It's up to Hannasyde and Hemingway to find out before it's too late.

This one was even better than its "sequel" Duplicate Death. Here we have the much younger "Terrible Timothy" Harte--half-brother to Jim Kane and a keen amateur detective. Timothy is sure from the beginning that there are foul deeds afoot and declares early on that Uncle Silas has been murdered. It isn't until late in the game that anyone takes him seriously. Of course, one can hardly blame them....it is hard to take a fourteen-year-old, gangster film enthusiast seriously when he seems to be seeing bad guys behind every bush.

The dialogue sparkles. It is witty and the characters are great. They are, as is quite usual with Heyer, somewhat stereotypical, but when handled well (and they are here) they make for some very fun Golden Age shenanigans. And it is very enjoyable to watch the early interactions of Hemingway and Timothy--particularly knowing how they get on in the later book. Plenty of red herrings to go 'round and a slight twist at the end makes for good reading. Four stars. ...more

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