Murder by Death

by H.R.F. Keating, Neil Simon (Screenplay)

Novelization of the screen play by Neil Simon.

Various "famous sleuths" (or their somewhat thinly disguised copies) are invited by a mysterious millionaire to stay at his house and solve a who-dun-it, with the winner getting millions.

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Plays

196 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating was an English writer of crime fiction most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.

H. R. F. KEATING was well versed in the worlds of crime, fiction and nonfiction. He was the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years, as well as serving as the chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Society of Authors. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award twice, and in 1996 was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding service to crime fiction.

Series:
. Inspector Ghote
. Harriet Martens

Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven’t seen the movie this is based on (one of those high concept, star studded 70s comedies) and suspect if I had I might have enjoyed this more. The premise is fun - a reclusive millionaire who hates detectives invites a bunch of them to his mansion to solve a murder - and there were some individually funny lines, but it largely failed to entertain me. I suspect it worked better on screen, with the various stars hamming it up, but as a book it was probably always doomed to failure.

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have seen the film, you'll know exactly what to expect from this book! But that being said, I really enjoyed reading it.

This was a witty spin on the dark house trope where a group of the Worlds most famous detectives gather to solve a crime that has yet to happen!

🕵‍♂️🕵‍♀️

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite movies does not translate to a great book. Unfortunately. There are a lot of added parts that are not in the film. This can be a good thing. This time, though, it's not. We have Lionel Twain and a non-blind butler watching on cameras all the actions of the guests. This just takes away, for me, from the story.

[mer · Rating 5 out of 5]

En realidad no me he leído este libro... Pero es lo más cercano que puedo poner por ahora 🤭

[Lorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the late 70s. It was part of my moms large book collection and the cover fascinated me. At the time, age 13, I would look at my mothers book collection and think how smart she was and believe to myself I could never be that smart. At 13, there’s a lot of wild and grandiose concepts and surge through the mind.
I loved this book and when finished, believed I had accomplished more than just reading one of my mothers cherished books, I believed I was a grown up. Lol

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have never seen the movie you really must. It, like the book, are hilarious! A great spoof of the classic murder mystery with plenty of silliness thrown in!

The movie ends very differently from the book. In the movie, the killer scolds each of the great detectives and accuses them of cheating their readers by making it impossible to solve the crimes. They do this by with holding clues or introducing characters in the last two pages that were never in the book before. The killer releases them and the movie ends with the best line.

Willie Wang asks,”so was there a murder Pop?”
“Yes, killed good weekend.”

[Alborz Taheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کتاب با ترجمۀ مقتول قاتل چاپ شده است و ترجمۀ خیلی خوبی هم نیست. بخشی از متن تغییر کرده بخشی هم حذف شده است. متن دقیقاً نه نمایشنامه است و نه فیلمنامه. یک داستان است که با دیالوگ جلو می‌رود. یک پارودی از داستان‌های معمایی و کاراگاهی. یک اقتباس سینمایی در سال 1976 نیز از این متن وجود دارد که به نظرم دیدن آن به خواندن متن ارجحیّت دارد. (نمره‌ای که دادم هم بیش از اینکه به متن کتاب باشد به فیلم است!)

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bonkers parody of all the famous detectives. Some of it was quite enjoyable and some was bad. It gave me a little more insight into the movie which as really what I was hoping for. The Asian detective was really the worst bit. 

[Jonathan Westbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this movie and loved this book.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun Romo full of famous detectives

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful mystery!

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

I confess the only reason I finished this book was to see just how terrible a terrible book could be.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder by Death, written by Henry (H. R. F.) Keating, is based on the original screenplay by Neil Simon. For those who have seen this mystery comedy film which stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood, there are a few surprises in store.


I'm not sure if Keating was working with an earlier draft of the screenplay or if there were changes made on the spot when filming was done, but there is a definite difference in the ending as filmed and as it appears in the book And when checking a few things on Wikipedia, I was reminded that the televised version (but apparently not the theatrical release) used to have an added scene with Holmes and Watson arriving as the other Great Detectives are leaving. I had forgotten all about that...but do remember that ending from the very first time I saw it. There are also some added exchanges between Twain and his butler to enhance the fun.


Just as a reminder (or a teaser for those who have never seen this campy spoof of the country house murder mystery), Lionel Twain, mystery story aficionado and the 17th richest man in the world, has become disgusted with the tricks and cheats and unbelievable solutions that he has found in the stories based on the "real" cases of the Greatest Detectives on earth. He invites five of them--with their spouses, sidekicks, what-have-yous--to a "dinner and murder" where he challenges them to solve a murder of his own devising. If any of them reach the correct conclusion, he will give that detective a million dollars. If none of them solve the murder, then Twain will, by default, take his (ahem) rightful place as the Greatest Detective. What follows is a fun send-up of a number of familiar sleuths and some of their most famous plots, from Poirot and Miss Marple to Charlie Chan and Sam Spade, as well as Nick and Nora Charles.

The book is a quick read and makes for a nice jaunt down memory lane for those who either saw the movie in the theater or (like me) who grew up watching it on television. Clearly intended as parody, there is no effort on the part of Simon and/or Keating to make this a fair play mystery, but it's pretty obvious who culprit is meant to be. Read it for the humor and to recognize the various standard mystery tropes. Watch the film for some good in-your-face comedy.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Arghavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

ادیشنِ فارسی‌ش رو پیدا نکردم و حوصله هم نداشتم بسازم :-"
«مقتول قاتل» ه اسم‌ش. یه انتشاراتِ ناآشنای عجیب‌وغریبی هم بود.
خیلی معمولی بود! انتظار نداشتم از نیل سایمون.
یه جورهایی هجوِ داستان‌های کارآگاهی دیگه بود. خودِ طرح اصلی داستان من رو یاد «ده بچه زنگی» می‌نداخت. که قاتل و مقتول بین اون جمع ن و معلوم نیست کی ن و اینا. کاراکترها هم پنج تا کارآگاه معروف و هم‌راه‌هاشون، صاحبِ خونه، پیش‌خدمت و آش‌پز بودن که اون کارآگاه‌ها هر کدوم هجوِ یه کارآگاهِ داستان‌های پلیسی بودن. ولی جدا بامزه نبود. :/ هیچ م خوش‌م نیومد. :/ اون ته‌ش که قاتل معلوم می‌شد ولی خوب بود :ی اول پیش‌خدمت بود، بعد معلوم شد وکیلِ صاحب خونه بوده، بعد معلوم شد وکیله رو حساب‌دار صاحب خونه کُشته، بعد معلوم شد دخترِ صاحب خونه بوده که حساب‌داره رو کشته‌بوده، بعد معلوم شد یکی از کارآگاه‌ها بوده که از صاحب خونه متنفر بوده و اون کارآگاهی که توی جمع ه بازی‌گر ه و اجیر شده، بعد معلوم شد خودِ صاحب خونه بوده. تهِ ته‌ش که همه‌ی مهمون‌ها رفته‌ن از خونه، صاحب خونه ماسک‌ش رو برمی‌داره و معلوم می‌شه آش‌پزه س :))
از ترجمه‌ش هم انتظار نداشتم که خوب باشه؛ ولی خوب بود.

[Dawn Prokop · Rating 5 out of 5]

The film version of this book was made in the early seventies, with an amazing all-star cast. The film is one of my favorites. The book is an exact copy, although that's not a criticism. I would highly recommend both. The book is a fun and light read, so either option would be a nice way to pass an evening with.

[Ann aka Iftcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat amusing who-dun-it. If you are a fan of the "classic" sleuths--Charlie Chan, Miss Marple, et. al. you will enjoy this send up, if only because you are going, "Ok, I know who that is--and who that is, and him/her too."

[Carrie LeAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder mystery mildly amusing. The end was a sort of surprise. Not much of a work of literary importance. Mostly drivel.