Die All, Die Merrily

Carolus Deene #9

by Leo Bruce

Richard Hoysden's body is discovered in his country flat, apparently a suicide. Missing from the room is a tape of Hoysden's last moments in which he confesses to the murder of a young woman. Lady Drombone, a Member of Parliament and the young man's aunt, hires Carolus to find the tape and help suppress it. He himself insists on reconstructing the confusing circumstances in order to solve the baffling crime.

Genres: Mystery

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Pseudonym for Rupert Croft-Cooke.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In Die All, Die Merrily the accent is on the great ingenuity of the culprit who committed the crime. Richard Hoysden's body is discovered in his country flat, a revolver beside him and a bullet through the head, apparently a suicide. Missing from the room is a tape of Hoysden's last moments on which he confesses to the murder of a young woman. Lady Drombone, a member of Parliament and the dead man's aunt, hires Carolus to help suppress the evidence. He must reconstruct the confusing circumstances in order to solve this baffling crime.

"Readers of any of Leo Bruce's Carolus Deene mysteries will understand what Noel Coward meant when he said, 'What a witty writer Leo Bruce is!' "
~~back cover

Another great mystery full of elegant writing, subtle clues and great characters. This is the first (and so far the only) Carolus Deene mystery that I've figured out who the murderer is before Deene announces it in the closing pages. Makes me feel quite clever, that does.

[Chazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Drombone, a member of Parliament, with a bit of a rabble rouser’s style, is known for taking up unusual and unpopular causes and publicizing them to the max. She is concerned with the death and wants to prevent it from getting in the papers. There are people who would use the matter against her. Something she wants to avoid at all costs.

Deene takes on the case with no promise of keeping it from the police. It is a death…

Rupert Priggley, a student spending the vacation break, proclaims himself to be Deene’s assistant. Deene isn’t thrilled, but has found Priggley helpful in the past. With seven people, who have ties to Lady Drombone, to deal with Priggley will earn his keep.

The tape recording is a confession to another murder, supposedly committed by the dead man. Is it real or isn’t it. Where is this other dead person? There are many tangled threads to be unraveled in this interwoven case.

I’ve read a number of books from this series and look forward to more, as I enjoy the characters and the complications of the plot.

[Calum Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a much better story. Deene is asked to investigate an apparent suicide. The dead man is the nephew of a rising populist politician. But the way Deene (and in fact the writer) treats the suspects as all being somewhat dim was really annoying. The identity of the killer was never much of a mystery either. I guess he thought the reader was dim too.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made a goal, a few years back, to own as much of the Carolus Deene series that I could find. I love it that much. They are superb--crisp, funny, and surprisingly suspenseful. The repeating characters are worth their weight in gold and I don't care how many times I read them, I find something new to love.

If the classic "whodunnit" mystery is your thing and you are a fan of dry, British humor then for gosh sakes go get one of these titles and enjoy yourself!

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1961. Cleverly plotted with a comic overtone-the continuing characters in this series are just that-characters.