Georgette Heyer, famous for her Regencies, should not have her crime series overlooked. The mysteries are charming, with fully developed characters and a Country House background. They are tightly woven and entertaining and I had more than one chuckle out of a character named,"Terrible Timothy."

This is a time frame when the language was full of words like "corkers." I have always liked the Golden Era of writing mysteries for their colorful language and descriptions of evenings spent with cocktails and playing games after everyone dressed for dinner. The sophisticated atmosphere included mists and walks after dinner... filled with ways to bump off a character. The English Manor house style is just a narrative I really like. When you read these books you are getting a bit of history too on the side. I had a good laugh at the fast cars of 40 miles per hour.

Silas Kane is celebrating his sixtieth birthday among family and business partners. The celebration is rife with atmosphere between Rosemary Kane and her Husband, Clement, as well as the Mansell's... Partners to the Kanes and very much interested in a business proposition, which Kane would need to put up twenty thousand pounds in - if he agreed. A business proposal that he meant to turn down ...when he is found dead one morning.

A very delightful mystery and one that was extremely entertaining I quite admit I love these British 1930's and 1940's set mysteries and if you do -read this one. Five stars...

A really good golden age mystery one of my favorites in the series great for mystery fans or anyone looking for a quick good read

I generally like Georgette Heyer's character descriptions and this book does a pretty decent job getting you into the character's lives and time. The mystery strung out a bit but leaves you guessing quite a bit and the whodunit is well wrought. A nice little mystery read for Heyer fans.

The morning after Silas Kane’s sixtieth birthday, he is found dead at the foot of a cliff. Everyone believed he got lost in the fog and fell to his death. But, when his nephew is killed and threats are made on the life of the next heir, Superintendent Hannasyde is called in to find out whodunit.
This was a good classic mystery. The characters were quirky and self-involved and I loved reading about them. The plot was intriguing, although I knew who the culprit was from almost the beginning. At times, I felt that the story needed a quicker pace. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

I love a good who done it and this one is certainly that. Not only did I find that the storyline drew me in, but I also loved all of the characters. They were beautifully portrayed and I found them so engaging from the very beginning.
Much of the start of this book is spent building up the background story, with the mystery coming in later in the book. Sometimes books like this can drag a little bit, but the story itself drew you along so that it didn't matter that there wasn't much of a mystery to get your teeth in straight away.
Once the murder actually takes place, there was the usual cast of potential suspects and plenty of clues and red herrings to confuse and enlighten. As well as the two professional detectives, Hannasyde and Hemingway, (who apparently appear in some of Heyer's other mystery novels). A young member of the family, fourteen-year-old Timothy, spends much of his time trying to work out who the murderer is. I loved how excited he was, diving around, without really taking anything very seriously. He reminded me very much of my own son, who is a little bit younger, he was fantastic though and really added to my enjoyment of this book.
The mystery itself worked well. I had pretty much solved it by the end of the book and before the detectives in the book had got there. It wasn't too obvious though and worked well (my two usual tests for a good murder mystery).
This was a great read and an excellent classic style mystery. I really enjoyed it and I love Georgette Heyer's writing. I'll certainly be giving some more of her mystery novels a go.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Poor Silas Kane. He falls to his death on his sixtieth birthday!
After his party, he decides to go for a walk and never returns home. The following morning, Silas is discovered dead. It was ruled accidental. However, when the heir, Clement is murdered, Inspector Hannasyde certainly has his work cut out for him. An accidental death??? And a murder!
This was a good mystery. I enjoyed it. There were interesting characters. They were all likable. There really wasn't anyone in the story I could say I didn't like. Timothy was especially fun, energetic and eager to help Scotland Yard. He could certainly get into well-meaning mischief. Jim Kane's mother was great! I would enjoy sitting down with her and hearing about her adventures! The mystery was written at a good pace and held my attention. I was thoroughly baffled until close to the end of the book, then I solved it. I recommend it. 4 **** stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from SourceBooks Landmark through NetGalley. Opinions express in this review are completely my own.

I don't think the Georgette Heyer mysteries would be for everyone. To me, they have a pretty timeless feel (despite the setting in probably the 1930s-1940s?), as well as having a very similar feel (again, to me) of an Agatha Christie-style mystery. However, they do have a somewhat frenzied feel to them, where one thing is constantly leading into the next with not a lot of breaks for stopping points. The action seems continuous and can at times be hard to follow the flow of things. I did have to re-read quite a few things several times to make sure I had them clear in my mind because of that. Also, the author interchangeably refers to her characters by so many different names that I did struggle at time to keep who's who straight.

That said, I really enjoy the writing, the humor, and the red herrings that Heyer weaved into this story. I was also pleased that Hannasyde and Hemingway, the Scotland Yard men, played a bigger role in the solution of the mystery in this book (they were a little scarce in book 1 and I haven't read book 2), although, and this seems to be unique to Heyer's style, the main focus of the story is on the main characters/suspects/victims, told more from their points of view, than the approach of the detectives' solving the case. It's interesting and lends a unique quality to the story-telling, as well as the solution of the crime(s).

This story again focuses on one family and a few of their peripheral acquaintances. They are quite a cast of characters, double-meaning on the definition of characters!! James and his fiancee Patricia, as well as his younger brother Timothy (and his obsession with American gangster/detective movies -- the setting is in England), along with his stepfather and the later appearance of his mother, were very entertaining. There are so many facets and perspectives in this story that it kept me guessing throughout the entire book. I had so many guesses of who the killer could be, but the twist at the end that reveals the killer was unexpected but not unrealistic, just a well-hidden and well-crafted surprise.

An entertaining mystery! I look forward to reading the rest of this series!!

The Kane family has a lot of controversies and family squabbles going on. Even in Silas Kane's professional life there are differences with his partners over a new investment. Silas Kane has steered the firm in a middle path, not given to extravagances and he intends to continue in the same way. Everyone is not very happy with that. Most people want quick riches and are not willing to wait ages to get their hands on the money.

The morning after Silas Kane's sixtieth birthday, his body was found dashed on the rocks. He had set out for his usual walk after dinner (a fact known to everyone) and it seemed like an accident. Not to the youngest member of the family who said it looked like murder. Clement Kane takes over as the heir, much to the joy of his wife Rosemary who only wants the money the position will bring. She was on the verge of throwing her husband over for her lover, but now all is forgotton with the newfound wealth brought by her husband! Clement's death by shooting in his study a few days later brings forth an unexpected heir - young Jim who was unaware of being the heir. He thought it was the female cousin living in Australia but apparently it was only if there was no male around that it went to her.

When a series of accidents coincidentally happen to young Jim, the police begin to suspect that even Silas's death may not have been an accident and enquiries commence. There are many suspects including the present heir and it has to be slowly whittled down one by one, till a most unsuspected one emerges.

Nice old fashioned setting of a comfortable family, and all kinds of different characters to add to the interest, this is a very good comfort read.

I have been in an Agatha Christie reading/viewing mood lately so I decided to try a different mystery author from around the same time period. I figured out pretty early who was responsible for the crime.. Also, I did not find the investigators as entertaining as Poirot or Miss Marple. They did not seem to have as much impact on the story.

Originally reviewed on OCT 10, 2015

There is a death following a family celebration of Silas' 60th birthday. In fact, it appears that Silas accidentally fell off a cliff and died on the rocks below.

His heir is Clement. Clement and his greedy wife move into the family mansion and shortly after that, Clement is found dead in his study.

What in the world is happening here? When Scotland Yard's Inspector Hannasyde and Sgt Hemingway arrive, they find too many suspects and nothing makes sense.

This is a wonderful example of a British manor house mystery. Some few things are dated, but most of this story is as timely as any mystery of today.

There is Lady Emily, an elderly woman who rules the entire sprawling family by intimidation. Clement's wife, Rosemary is one of the most greedy and disgusting woman ever created in fiction. Patricia is Lady Emily's companion/secretary and she becomes the fiancee of Jack, one of the family members. Timothy is a 15 year old who loves American gangster movies and wants to hear every detail of the investigation.

Joe and Paul are non-family partners in the family business. Trevor is Rosemary's not so secret lover. Oscar wants to make a big money deal with the family firm. We also meet family retainers who are excessively devoted to their charges.

This is a fun read. The clues are all there and I figured out the villain, and the reason for the villainy relatively early. But, the book is so well done and the characters are so much fun, I did not care a thing about that, I wanted to finish the book.

Ms Heyer was a talented author. She wrote mystery plots which were near the quality of Dame Agathy Christie. Heyer's characters are fun and interesting and generally charming. In short, if you love classic mysteries from a time of wonderful classic mysteries, you will love this book.

The only period mystery actually written in the past, a reissue of a novel by the romance author originally published in 1937. An English country house murder after a gala birthday party, with suspects abounding, young love, an irrepressible boy who complicates the romance, complicates the mystery, and helps bring the murderer to justice, quirky characters, sympathetic characters, and an escape to the genteel past where murderers were polite if diabolical. I love reading the Heyer Hannasyde mysteries, and am happy to have all them in reissued versions, both paper and digital. Perfect escapism.

Georgette Heyer is a master of suspense and characterization. Money grubbing murder - or did he jump? A vacuous, the richer the better wife. And those former colonial meddling Americans of such poor taste. Plus a charming, clever youngster who likes gangster speak. As always great fun with the author.

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 Sergeant Hemingway are featured in this novel.
I found this novel to be well plotted, and sprinkled with red herrings, causing me to suspect first one character, then another. Although the motive seemed to be fairly obvious, I had a hard time ffiguring out who was actually behind the murders.
Generally speaking, the writing is a bit slower than that which we have come to expect from more recently published mysteries. Heyer doesn’t rely on overt violence or non stop action for effect. And being Georgette Heyer, she has included just a bit of romance in this novel as well.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a gentle, easy to read novel.

This was...fine. It wasn't a great mystery, but it wasn't terrible either. The resolution was moderately clever, but it wasn't exciting enough to make the book really thrilling, and I didn't think there was much of a sense of danger despite the fact that the killer was trying to get James throughout the story.

Georgette Heyer is always enjoyable, light but never stupid. A good author for introducing people to period novels because the humour is ever present and the writing not too dense.

We all know the story: patriarch of an old, rich family is found dead; one heir after another ends up the same way, and the most likely suspect is a distant relative who hasn't been seen in years. Throw in a family that starts turning on each other, a little boy meddling and enthusiastically trying to help the police, and you get a solid, old-fashioned, amusing, and comfy mystery. Add in the fact that this was written by the wonderful Georgette Heyer, and you can't go wrong. The pages turned easily, and I enjoyed the crazy goings-on of this family gathering!

One of Georgette Heyers mystery books which leaves you guessing till the end. Without giving away the story this is the perfect book for all generations and adults to enjoy and indulge in without being kept awake by gruesome writing! The plot is superbly written and the characters are believable and immediately you feel familiarity with them, even if some you cant quite bring yourself to like!

It is fabulous to have these Georgette Heyer mystery books re introduced to the mystery genre. Georgette has a wonderful grasp of the times, more well known for her romance novels, she does a brilliant job with the mysteries. This one is probably not my favourite, as it goes around in circles a bit and the ending was not as good as it could have been. But having said that, this book was very enjoyable very much of the golden age type, with a little bit of romance and fun thrown in for good measure.
I did enjoy it very much and o would those who enjoy a bit of escapism mystery of the older type.

Enjoyable and easy to read mystery, originally published in 1937, and featuring the amiable Superintendent Hannasyde and Sergeant Hemingway.

There is not as much witty dialogue here, but nor are there any of the irritating “Bright Young Things” found in the earlier detective novels. A couple of the women are fairly awful, but one of them serves the purpose of casting a wide net of suspicion round the other characters.

In the early stages I would have found a family tree useful, as much of the plot revolves around inheritance and an old will. The cast is well-drawn, and there is some romance in addition to two deaths and a couple of attempted murders. The young amateur detective,Tim Harte, is particularly endearing and realistic.

However, the murderer is fairly well-signalled before the halfway mark and the motive is clear, so for me the interest was in how the police reached their conclusion.

Recommended.