They Found Him Dead (Inspector Hannasyde, #3)

by Georgette Heyer

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...

• Publish Date: 1937
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hodder And Stoughton
• Edition: First Edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 312
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

They Found Him Dead is a golden age British murder mystery by Georgette Heyer featuring Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway. Originally published in 1937, this reformat and re-release 5th March 2019 from Sourcebooks Landmark is 384 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. This book includes the first appearance of Timothy Harte who also appears in a later book in this series.

There is something so appealing and urbane about golden age country house mysteries and this is a good example of the genre. There are a number of suspects with an array of motives. There's a romantic subplot which resolves satisfyingly. There are clues and red herrings. The actual culprit wasn't as much of a surprise as in some of Heyer's other books, but it was a good denouement with a good outcome. The dialogue is witty and well written and the book plot moves along at a good clip which doesn't drag or become dull.

There is a surprising amount of humor to be found here and the addition of young Timothy (who also appears grown up in Duplicate Death) provides a number of genuinely funny scenes in the book. The language is relatively clean with just a bit of cursing, and murder.

It's wonderful that these old mysteries are being kept in print to be discovered and enjoyed by new generations of readers.

Four stars

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.