Why Shoot A Butler? By Georgette Heyer

I’ve always been a fan of mystery novels and stories. Even as a little girl my favorite books were “Encyclopedia Brown” about a mystery solving 10 year old boy. My favorite tv shows, then and now, were always crime dramas. So is it any wonder that I loved this book by Georgette Heyer.

From the Back of the Book:

Every family has secrets, but the Fountains’ are turning deadly…

On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel. The girl protests her innocence, and Amberley believes her—at least until he gets drawn into the mystery and the clues incriminating Shirley Brown begin to add up…

In an English country-house murder mystery with a twist, it’s the butler who’s the victim, every clue complicates the puzzle, and the bumbling police are well-meaning but completely baffled. Fortunately, in ferreting out a desperate killer, amateur sleuth Amberley is as brilliant as he is arrogant, but this time he’s not sure he wants to know the truth…

My Opinion:

Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, this novel takes place in the English manor where mysteries must be born. A barrister on vacation seems to be a magnet for murder mysteries. Although some may think that the slightly easy to figure out clues make this book a little too simplistic, I love being able to figure out the mystery before the hero does. Generally you get to see more during his investigations, if you’ve already got an idea of what’s going on.

Although not necessarily one of my favorite books, it’s definitely been a good read. If you like mysteries, then this is a good one to take to bed with you. However, if you’d rather not know what’s going to happen before the main character does, you might not like this book. I recommend it, despite the simplicity of the actual mystery.

My rating: 3.5 stars