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Mike Shayne #34
Die Like A Dog
Mike Shayne goes grave robbing in a pet cemetery to solve the case of a millionaire’s murder
It’s 11:00 am, and Mike Shayne has just poured himself a cognac, when Henrietta Rogell strolls into his office. Normally, Shayne would extend no special favors to a wealthy client, but his checking account is nearly empty, and he’s willing to straighten his tie for the sake of a millionaire—especially when she’s come about something as lucrative as murder. Miss Rogell’s brother, John, died 2 days before. The coroner ruled it a heart attack, but Henrietta is convinced he was poisoned, and she will pay handsomely for Shayne to prove it.
His first lead is a murdered dog. Daffy, the beloved Pekinese of John Rogell’s young wife, Anita, dropped dead after eating a bowl of soup laced with strychnine. Every member of the family had a reason to want Rogell out of the picture. To find the killer, Shayne will have to disturb the departed—and dig up the canine victim.
Die Like a Dog is the 35th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
It’s 11:00 am, and Mike Shayne has just poured himself a cognac, when Henrietta Rogell strolls into his office. Normally, Shayne would extend no special favors to a wealthy client, but his checking account is nearly empty, and he’s willing to straighten his tie for the sake of a millionaire—especially when she’s come about something as lucrative as murder. Miss Rogell’s brother, John, died 2 days before. The coroner ruled it a heart attack, but Henrietta is convinced he was poisoned, and she will pay handsomely for Shayne to prove it.
His first lead is a murdered dog. Daffy, the beloved Pekinese of John Rogell’s young wife, Anita, dropped dead after eating a bowl of soup laced with strychnine. Every member of the family had a reason to want Rogell out of the picture. To find the killer, Shayne will have to disturb the departed—and dig up the canine victim.
Die Like a Dog is the 35th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
2 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
526 books64 followersAKA David Dresser
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 12, 2018
Ooo, I do love hard-boiled crime novels! This one doesn't disappoint. Mike Shayne solves the case, saves the girl, and catches the bad guys. Without angst or apology. So good.
February 20, 2023
A brilliant read from 1959 has a semi-rich sister of a dead man go to Shayne to get him to dig up a dead dog. The woman confronted her family the night before, blaming them for the (supposed) poisoning of her brother. She believes the family wants to kill her next, so she gives her dinner to the dead man's (extremely) young new bride's dog, who wolfs down the food and promptly keels over. The dog has to be exhumed that night, because the dead brother is to be cremated the next morning, ending any possible chance to check his stomach for poisons.
After sending in his secretary Lucy Hamilton to the mansion to see the widow and do some undercover work, Mike tries to sneak onto the property to dig up the doggies and naturally things go horribly wrong.
Spectacular premise, a countdown clock is always being brought up to increase the tension, the characters are fantastic with every suspect having a reason to kill their benefactor, and the dialogue is fantastic.
The reveal of the murderer doesn't occur until the last eight pages, which leaves the reader wondering until the last minute who the guilty party is.
This is the third Halliday Mike Shayne mystery I've read and I will be on the lookout to read many, many more.
After sending in his secretary Lucy Hamilton to the mansion to see the widow and do some undercover work, Mike tries to sneak onto the property to dig up the doggies and naturally things go horribly wrong.
Spectacular premise, a countdown clock is always being brought up to increase the tension, the characters are fantastic with every suspect having a reason to kill their benefactor, and the dialogue is fantastic.
The reveal of the murderer doesn't occur until the last eight pages, which leaves the reader wondering until the last minute who the guilty party is.
This is the third Halliday Mike Shayne mystery I've read and I will be on the lookout to read many, many more.
February 5, 2024
Fast paced pulp, true to the genre troupes which make these books so fun to read.
Story - 3 stars
Plausibility - 0 stars
sex - 4 stats
overall - 2.5
Story - 3 stars
Plausibility - 0 stars
sex - 4 stats
overall - 2.5
April 1, 2024
A quick paced light read. Keen to read more Mike Shayne mysteries.
December 22, 2022
Brett Halliday is a product of his time. Die Like a Dog features a poisoning or three, a family in which everyone is a suspect, and a denouement in a study. It also features jokes about marrying a woman to lock her down and slapping her around once a week to keep her in line, private detectives assaulting people in police custody, and suggestive scenes that never push into full-blown eroticism. It is formulaic, but there are some clever turns early on. Michael Shayne is nearly a stereotype. Halliday calls him "the redhead" through his narrative, describes the detective's fondness for cognac, and has him locking pressing up against several women throughout the book. I have a couple of other Mike Shayne novels I got in a lot with this one. I hope they are a little more dynamic, and of course, that no dogs have to die.
September 9, 2020
A Dog of a Case
Mike Shayne is hired to get a dead dog's body, and have it autopsies, to prove a murder had occurred a couple of days before. Then Lucy, Shayne"s secretary is kidnapped. Was there a murder? Who did it? Was it the victim's much younger wife? Or his chauffeur? Or his housekeeper? Can Shayne catch a killer, and save Lucy? Read it, and find out. You'll be glad you did!
Mike Shayne is hired to get a dead dog's body, and have it autopsies, to prove a murder had occurred a couple of days before. Then Lucy, Shayne"s secretary is kidnapped. Was there a murder? Who did it? Was it the victim's much younger wife? Or his chauffeur? Or his housekeeper? Can Shayne catch a killer, and save Lucy? Read it, and find out. You'll be glad you did!
April 3, 2024
چه حیف که اسم مایکل شین تو ژانر کاراگاهی تو ایران معروف نیست
فقط همین کتاب و کتاب ساعتی با باربارا از مجموعه تقریبا ۷۰ جلدی داستانهای این کارآگاه به فارسی ترجمه و چاپ شده.
هر دوی این داستانهایی که خوندم به عنوان یک داستان معمایی/جنایی جذاب بودند و تا آخرین صفحات خواننده رو مشغول چیدن پازل و حدس زدن نگه میداشتن و سبک و کوتاه هم بودند.
فقط همین کتاب و کتاب ساعتی با باربارا از مجموعه تقریبا ۷۰ جلدی داستانهای این کارآگاه به فارسی ترجمه و چاپ شده.
هر دوی این داستانهایی که خوندم به عنوان یک داستان معمایی/جنایی جذاب بودند و تا آخرین صفحات خواننده رو مشغول چیدن پازل و حدس زدن نگه میداشتن و سبک و کوتاه هم بودند.
July 21, 2017
Whenever you open up a Michael Shayne mystery, you know it's going to be a well-written, top quality story. There were 77 of these mysteries written and, after a while, even Halliday ( a pen name for Davis Dresser and others writing under the house name Halliday) joked in these novels about how famous Michael Shayne had become.
This is a fast-moving read that's hard to put down. It is, however, pretty standard detective fare about a rich guy with a young sexy wife, a jealous sister, a crazy drunkard brother, and a virile chauffeur, all living on a fancy estate. It's a who-done-it with the question of whether the maid, the chauffeur, the young wife, or the crazy brother poisoned the old rich guy or maybe he just had a heart attack on his own what with the young wife and all. You almost wonder if someone is going to announce it was Mr. Green with the candlestick in the library.
Lucy Hamilton, Shayne's loyal secretary and sometimes girlfriend, actually plays an investigative role in this one, a role where she is so bedazzled by the chauffeur he makes her swoon like a sixteen year old.
While the mystery is not overly unique, it is top quality and well worth reading.
This is a fast-moving read that's hard to put down. It is, however, pretty standard detective fare about a rich guy with a young sexy wife, a jealous sister, a crazy drunkard brother, and a virile chauffeur, all living on a fancy estate. It's a who-done-it with the question of whether the maid, the chauffeur, the young wife, or the crazy brother poisoned the old rich guy or maybe he just had a heart attack on his own what with the young wife and all. You almost wonder if someone is going to announce it was Mr. Green with the candlestick in the library.
Lucy Hamilton, Shayne's loyal secretary and sometimes girlfriend, actually plays an investigative role in this one, a role where she is so bedazzled by the chauffeur he makes her swoon like a sixteen year old.
While the mystery is not overly unique, it is top quality and well worth reading.
July 19, 2008
I actually read the 1959 paperback of this and was so going to add that edition, but GoodReads was all "please just use the edition listed), which is lame all around. That is lame, GoodReads. The cover on mine is so much better than anything the early-nineties produced. Ever.
I really cannot imagine why someone would not like a book where the detective kisses ladies he's just met (some recently widowed), beats the crap out of people who deserve it, and is a loveable jackass who treats his secretary nice.
Three deaths (one a dog) solved in about thirty-six hours and an immeasurable amount of booze.
I really cannot imagine why someone would not like a book where the detective kisses ladies he's just met (some recently widowed), beats the crap out of people who deserve it, and is a loveable jackass who treats his secretary nice.
Three deaths (one a dog) solved in about thirty-six hours and an immeasurable amount of booze.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews