Duplicate Death (Country House Mysteries) Paperback – April 1, 2010

4 stars. Copyright 1951. Although there are some really long soliloquys from a couple of the characters. The Detective assigned to Chief Inspector Hemingway has a tendency to spout Gaelic in every sentence.Kind of annoying. The murders (there are 2) are interesting & although I deduced the identity of the first murderer, I did not figure out the second one. We get to see "Terrible Timothy" from "They Found Him Dead" & get to see how his half brother Jim & his wife Pat (the H/h from that story) are getting on. Timothy finds a prickly girl of his own to love & of course, she's a suspect. Nice book to curl up with on a snowy Sunday afternoon!

I usually love anything by Georgette Heyer, but this mystery just seemed too long and wordy without being witty. Her usual witty repartee seemed to be missing, And with the exception of the inspector and his sergeant, most of the characters were not likable, and the mystery was not that interesting. I don't think I even finished it.

Georgette Heyer is most well known for her historical romances, but to be frank I much prefer her mysteries. Yes, they all take place in the 1930s and are "cozy" mysteries - no graphic sex or violence. But they are well-written with generous helpings of humor, and we are taken back into "dated death" as I like to call it - the milieu of the 1930s and what life was like back then for the upper class men and women who populate Heyer's story (and the ones who depopulate those stories through murder!)If you're a bridge lover you'll get a kick out of this (although in that regard it doesn't rival Christie's Cards on the Table) and if you just like British mysteries you'll love this.

I just recently started reading Georgette Heyer's mysteries and have found I enjoy them even more than her romances. "Duplicate Death" is a superbly entertaining mystery, with a cast of well-portrayed, interesting characters, some likable, some not, that involves a murder at a bridge party.Before you start this book, it's a good idea to first read the author's 1937 mystery "They Found Him Dead," in which you'll meet some of the characters 14 years earlier, including Chief Inspector (then Sergeant) Hemingway, my favorite of Heyer's detectives. Another character who shows up in both books is the very likable Timothy Harte, who is 14 in the earlier book; now he has served as a commando in WWII and has become a barrister, but fortunately he doesn't seem to have changed much!

Another excellent Heyer "whodunit" in the Inspector Hemingway Series. Puts one in mind of all the great PBS/Mystery/Masterpiece Theatre British detectives. I believe that there are only four (4) novels in which Hemingway is at Chief Inspector grade; I wish there were more.For my taste there are a bit too many exclamation marks in this dialogue and the Gaelic is certainly hard to understand, but the reader can thoroughly and highly enjoy this novel as written and edited.

I've read 4 of Georgette Heyer's books and this one is the best. Her "heroes" in the previous books were rude and unlikable and one had an ending so contrived it was a real let-down. This one --- the best.

Timothy Harte from "They Found Him Dead" is all grown up and a very eligible man about town, but he has an eye on a secretary who has a shady past, much to his family's displeasure. Post war London is finely portrayed as characters struggle to hold on to the past and acclimate to the present. Timothy must turn to his old friend Sargent Hemingway to clear his fiance of being charged with murder and restore her good name.The inner workings of Scotland Yard are shown in greater detail as the Yard adopts new methods of detection.False leads abound until the final pages of little known mystery by Georgette Heyer, which is an early exploration of the use of drugs among the upper crust.Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D8V7HQ/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_imgUntil I came across Duplicate Death, I had thought that Georgette Heyer wrote only regency novels. But I found this an extremely fast-paced and believable mystery. I did spot the clues, but didn't guess who did it because I'm a CSI and so all my crime-solving (except the fictional ones I write) involve scientific examination of crime scenes. There were, alas, some howlers involving looking for fingerprints, which was routinely practiced in the English police by the time that World War II was over, and we know we are in that period because reference is made to at least one person's severe injury during WWII.I'm looking forward to reading more of Heyer's mysteries, and I fully expect to enjoy them. What I like best about her is that she plays fair: she shows the reader what the inspectors find as soon as they find it. There's none of the closed-door secrets kept from the reader, which afflict Ngaio Marsh's mysteries written at fairly nearly the same time, nor is there any sneering at people who have different accents. It annoys the chief inspector when his subordinate keeps talking Gaelic to him, and it annoys me that Heyer doesn't provide an explanation, but I can see why she doesn't.This is a very good read.

I found this an oddly gripping later crime novel from this prolific author. Yes there was a lot about upper class people and their almost ridiculous pretensions; the servant " classes " sometimes seemed like caricatures. But then wasn't that the case with Christie/Marsh/etc etc. Heyer had the skill to look upon this with a slightly caustic eye and this gave the whole story a very good edge.The police investigation moved on well oiled lines and some of the cameos were most effective. Not a great plot by Gadetection standards but very well written and no shortage of plump red herrings . Definitely one to try for a crime novel with a difference;;the ending of an era for Debs but not Death.

I am a Heyer fan, and I prefer her post war murder mysteries to her Regency romances. We meet old friends in this one, about 15 or more years on, which is nice. We gain a little insight into social and economic changes over these years in Britain, and wonder how many people in those times suffered because of crushing taxes. In this mystery I learn why my own ancestor was not eligible to inherit an earldom, and something about the attitude of the working classes and the misconceptions about communism are touched on. The mystery itself turns out to be two separate mysteries...enjoyable light read.

There is something about a book by Georgette Heyer that can't be beaten. They encase one in a bubble of enjoyment. I must have read her historical novels over and over again during the last forty five years. I hadn't come across this book before. At first I feared it was going to be based around the bridge game and my heart sank, but it breaks away from that. Although good by any other author's standards it doesn't enter the list of her best books by a long way, hence the missing star. Characters good as always but the plot doesn't glow. Interesting to detect a slightly grittier side of a later book. Would homosexuality been discussed in Powder and Patch?

A bridge party results in the death of Dan Seaton-Carew who turns out to have been an extremely unpleasant character. It will be fairly obvious to the modern reader that the victim was involved in the drugs trade though it would not have been as obvious to a reader in the 1950s. Mrs Haddington - in whose house the murder is committed - is nasty to her staff and her friends alike. Her daughter Cynthia is a silly empty headed socialite who her mother is trying to marry off to the highest bidder to secure her own place in society.Chief Inspector Hemingway is soon on the case though the more he digs the more suspects he finds and the more unpleasant the main characters appear to be. This is a well plotted story with some interesting - though not terribly likeable - characters. There are plenty of red herrings scattered about and plenty of clues though I have to admit I didn't work out who the first murderer was until very close to the end of the story.I think the book needs to be read in the context in which it was written rather than immediately being condemned as dated and irrelevant. Life was different in the mid 1950s. I enjoyed it and found it worth reading. If you liked the characters of Stephen and Timothy Hart who appeared in 'They Found Him Dead' then you may be interested to know that they reappear in this novel.

This novel is classified as a mystery novel, but for me it is the dialogue and the scathing and funny character descriptions which attract me most and hold my attention through the book, like always with Heyer's mysteries. I haven't read her regency novels yet, but maybe I must try those as well..The plot is very briefly: young female secretary (Beulah Birtley) with surly manner is involved in and suspected of two murders, one of the corpses being her hard and slightly vulgar employer. BB's suitor Timothy Harte and his brother James Kane I affectionately recall from an earlier novel of Heyer's, celled " They found him dead", also recommended.The book has a good pareback binding and agreably big print, which might be interesting to know for readers with weak eyesight.

This is my favourite Heyer "whodunnit", the unpleasant characters are so enjoyably nasty that it is a treat to see them get their comeuppance, especially the appalling daughter. A good, lighthearted read, with an unexpected twist at the end.

I have always loved Georgette Heyer; my love of books started with her historical novels and went on from there. Her murder mysteries are wonderful, in the main because of the humour Ms Heyer injects into her stories. There is always a nice twist at the end and depicts the period between the wars extremely well. It's my favourate light reading and in my opinion she is up there with the other Queens of Crime, Christie, Marsh, Allingham, etc. I am working my way through all her murder mysteries (not enough of them written) for the second time.

I do not remember reading a detective novel by Georgette Heyer before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would heartily recommend it to others.

Well written, as one would expect from this author, though some of the heavy-handed police humour was a bit overdone; a decent whodunnit but not a classic.

Easy listening, good story line, delivered in good time & well packed

Enjoyable and intriguing story.

I love this author. This book is brilliant and I can't ever guess who "did it" before the end.5 stars isn't really enough.Anyone who wants to read, get this

Arrived in good condition. A jolly good read.

Great Stories as always

I really loved it