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Why Shoot a Butler? Georgette Heyer 9780434328499 Books

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Why Shoot a Butler? Georgette Heyer 9780434328499 Books

In the classic English "Country House mystery, the victim is ALWAYS the wealthy owner and the reader must decide which of his grasping relatives or crooked business associates did him in. The British strongly disapprove of murder unless the murderer stands to benefit financially. Crimes of passion are low class and who wants to read about THAT?

This book opens with amateur detective Frank Amberley (a barrister and "the rudest man in London") discovering the body of a man employed for many years at the local manor house of the late Jasper Fountain. As man-about-town Anthony Corkran (well-bred, well-educated and predictably dim) observes, shooting a butler makes no sense at all. But there's the body, so SOMEBODY killed him.

Heyer is famous for her regency romances but she also wrote twelve mysteries and they are all witty, well-written, and well plotted. I miss the presence of her two recurring Scotland Yard detectives, but Amberley is a nice substitute. He's come to the country to visit his uncle (a bluff but shrewd Justice of the Peace) and his aunt (a scatty but shrewd grande dame) and his cousin (a headstrong but good-natured society girl.) And then there's old Jasper's nephew (ans heir) and HIS step-sister (who's engaged to Corkran) and a diamond-in-the-rough police sergeant and an arrogant-and-totally-incompetent police inspector.

Then there's the mysterious, beautiful Shirley who has recently rented a local cottage with her drunken brother. AND their last name is BROWN, so they are clearly living under an assumed name. For some reason, British writers are convinced that no one is really named "Brown." One branch of my family were English and named Brown and I'm convinced they immigrated to the U.S. because they got tired being asked what their real name was.

There's many a twist and turn and some of the characters are stock British mystery types, but none the worse for it. The sparring between Frank and Shirley is delightful. I wish Heyer had written fewer period romances and more mysteries. She turned out some real corkers.


Tags : Why Shoot a Butler? [Georgette Heyer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It is a complete mystery why anyone would choose to murder the trusted old butler of Norton Manor. Barrister turned amateur detective,Georgette Heyer,Why Shoot a Butler?,Heinemann,0434328499

Why Shoot a Butler? Georgette Heyer 9780434328499 Books Reviews

This is a review of the unabridged Audio CDs. I found the actual mystery quite interesting, and unlike some other reviewers, I didn't think the solution was evident from the beginning. In fact, I didn't see any of it coming! A few of the plot devices were so far fetched as to be ridiculous, but those are easily forgiven and overall I really liked the story. What I didn't like was how insufferable the main character (Frank Amberley) was. He wasn't an interesting person at all -- noteworthy only for being smart and smug. The reader was just excellent. For one thing, I think her style actually made Amberley come across as even MORE obnoxious than he would have seemed on the written page. And she did a great job with lots of the other characters, as well. Not just a variety of voices, but she really captured the essential style of the characters. The laid back, cultivated, super sharp Lady Matthews; the doltish simpleminded Sir Humphrey; the extremely reticent Shirley Brown; the affable Sergeant; the tormented Basil Fountain. All those and more were just excellent.
This book was recommended to me for being similar to Agatha Christie, my favorite mystery writer. However, aside from the location and time, I found it to be very different, though still entertaining. There were some good twists, and I was surprised by the ending. There are some romantic elements, which is not really my thing, but the romance was not distracting. The one thing I did find distracting was the characterizations. The main character in this book is a pompous jerk, and the police are a lot of muttering fools. Those character elements were over the top and a bit annoying, in my opinion. However, I still give 4 stars because the mystery is solid, with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing to the very end.
One of my least favorite Georgette Heyer books. I read it years ago and wouldn't have bothered with it again but I thought I would give the Audiobook a try. I enjoyed the Ulli Birve reading but the book was still mediocre. There are some amusing moments but the book is marred by several long "action/suspense" scenes which fall flat. The actions of the villain in the last third of the book seem contrived and over the top. What works are the two lead characters who are each surly and difficult and that does play to Heyer's strength as a writer. Most of Heyer's other mysteries are far better than this one.
1930s murder mystery. The butler is the one who gets shot, as indicated by the title. It's up to Frank Amberly to discover the murderer & the even deeper mystery.

Frank is actually compared to Sherlock Holmes in this story & he bears a remarkable resemblance. He even has a sort of Watson in Corkran, an old school friend. He discovers Shirley Brown at the scene of the crime on a deserted lane. He's a lawyer & a pretty smart one too. He decides to help her, even though it doesn't look very good for her.

Shirley is stubborn & closed mouthed about the death & just about every thing else.

This is a good story & I was engaged throughout the whole thing. Unfortunately, you don't really get a sense of who dunnit. I had to guess, but I was off. You know that Frank knows what's going on from the get go. There are the usual GH secondary characters who try to steal the show. Aunt Marion is great as the befuddled older lady who's actually sharper than most everyone else (except Frank of course!).

A nice read for a snowy Sunday afternoon
In the classic English "Country House mystery, the victim is ALWAYS the wealthy owner and the reader must decide which of his grasping relatives or crooked business associates did him in. The British strongly disapprove of murder unless the murderer stands to benefit financially. Crimes of passion are low class and who wants to read about THAT?

This book opens with amateur detective Frank Amberley (a barrister and "the rudest man in London") discovering the body of a man employed for many years at the local manor house of the late Jasper Fountain. As man-about-town Anthony Corkran (well-bred, well-educated and predictably dim) observes, shooting a butler makes no sense at all. But there's the body, so SOMEBODY killed him.

Heyer is famous for her regency romances but she also wrote twelve mysteries and they are all witty, well-written, and well plotted. I miss the presence of her two recurring Scotland Yard detectives, but Amberley is a nice substitute. He's come to the country to visit his uncle (a bluff but shrewd Justice of the Peace) and his aunt (a scatty but shrewd grande dame) and his cousin (a headstrong but good-natured society girl.) And then there's old Jasper's nephew (ans heir) and HIS step-sister (who's engaged to Corkran) and a diamond-in-the-rough police sergeant and an arrogant-and-totally-incompetent police inspector.

Then there's the mysterious, beautiful Shirley who has recently rented a local cottage with her drunken brother. AND their last name is BROWN, so they are clearly living under an assumed name. For some reason, British writers are convinced that no one is really named "Brown." One branch of my family were English and named Brown and I'm convinced they immigrated to the U.S. because they got tired being asked what their real name was.

There's many a twist and turn and some of the characters are stock British mystery types, but none the worse for it. The sparring between Frank and Shirley is delightful. I wish Heyer had written fewer period romances and more mysteries. She turned out some real corkers.