3.9 AVERAGE


I believe I've read this before and really not liked it, and I'm guessing that was an appropriate response from my younger self to a mystery that - even though we have faces bashed in and hands cut off - often feels more cosy than threatening. My older self, however, really liked this read. It's very much classic Wimsey; we have the slowly obfuscating plot that eventually becomes clear (with interview after interview), we have Wimsey doing his best man-of-the-people-but-still-a-noble act, and we have Sayers heavily emphasizing a set of interests (in this case, English bell ringing and networks of rivers and dams).

As the series has continued, there's been a growing sentimentality on the part of Sayers; we have moved away from the criminal mastermind of [b:Whose Body?|192893|Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey, #1)|Dorothy L. Sayers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387573241l/192893._SY75_.jpg|1090544] to more understandable (though no less lethal) acts. There's an effort to make almost everyone sympathetic, which for me raises up the cosy level. And yet, it's hard to apply that label in that Sayers focuses on a degree of depth and atmosphere that makes the book more than a quick read. Moreover, there's just enough darkness here (with callbacks to the Great War and a sobering ending) that I felt a great deal of emotional resonance.

Quite enjoyable, and a nice discovery to realize my opinion on the book had changed.
challenging mysterious slow-paced
mysterious

This isn't my favorite Wimsey novel, but it IS my favorite Wimsey mystery so far. Knowing Sayers' rule for detective fiction that the reader must always have as much information as the detective in the novel, I did my best to solve the crime as I read. I was able to guess a few things, but the ending still surprised me. The things I missed in this book were Lord Peter's interactions with the usual characters like Parker, Miss Climpson, and of course Harriet Vane, although Bunter is present. But as a mystery, I thought it was a lot tighter  and more interesting than the other books, if you can get past all of the details about bell ringing!

I can see this working well in a TV adaptation. Peter Wimsey is a nice, eccentric character to follow, and several of the other characters are amusing and engaging. For all that, I didn't got really into the book. I never felt very invested in the mystery. That might be more a 'me' problem, than anything innately wrong with the book; the detective genre isn't my favourite, and it's rare for me to get really into those kind of stories.

A very enjoyable read, that I took my time with over the course of several days and felt as if I got a richer experience as a result. Taking a break gives you time to ponder the mystery and come up with your own theories and which is rewarding if they turn out to be true, and impressive if they don't. It also allowed me to appreciate how precisely everything was set up. The things that were brought to your attention at the start were the things that were important at the end (aka Chekhov's gun done well) and that is very satisfying for any novel, but especially for a detective story.
The mystery was well done for the most part. The only character that felt out of place had been subsumed into the rest by the end, and the only part that didn't quite ring true was the method of murder.
I loved the setting, especially since I have just visited the fens, and enjoyed the bells as something completely outside of my knowledge base. I also enjoyed the many moments of wit, and some genuinely funny scenes (the one where he notices an elaborate tribute to the dead and turns over the card wondering who had sent such an ostentatious bunch only to find out it was himself made me laugh out loud). In general, I am getting very fond of Wimsey & Bunter and enjoy this book as much for the characters as the mystery.

A quote from my review of [b:Gaudy Night|93575|Gaudy Night|Dorothy L. Sayers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388197565l/93575._SY75_.jpg|341789]

This is a book for a patient reader - which is normally the sort of book I hate!


That goes double for this title!

[a:Elizabeth George|17560|Elizabeth George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1390504219p2/17560.jpg] wrote a really great introduction for this edition. Amongst other points she writes;

While many detective novelists from the Golden Age of mystery kept their plots pared down to the requisite crime, suspects, clues and red herrings, Sayers did not limit herself to so limited a canvas in her work. She saw the crime and its ensuing investigation as merely the framework for a much larger story, the skeleton - if you will- upon which she could hang the muscles organs, blood vessels, and physical features of a much larger tale.


So true!

& I suspect I would have rated this tale much higher if I hadn't been trying to read it during a relatively busy time for me.

Lesson learned.

The beginning was really captivating. I could follow some of the information about the bell ringing, as there has been some publicity about a young Kiwi who was a bell ringer for King Charles III's coronation.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018886885/nz-bell-ringer-taking-part-in-king-charles-coronation#:~:text=As%20King%20Charles%20coronation%20draws,England%20as%20a%20bell%2Dringer.

I would doubt that the clip would be listenable outside Aotearoa (NZ) but the picture where Dylan is standing is interesting.

I very much enjoyed the start, the detailed characters (all of whom were easy to tell apart & remember) but the story started to drag for me when Lord Peter
Spoilerwent to France.
I became a little impatient. But Sayers is such a literary writer! The way she chose to abridge some speech
Spoiler in a courtroom - brilliant!
A satisfactory if somewhat tragic resolution & I feel a bit foolish that I didn't guess
Spoilerhow the death occurred


Other than [a:Georgette Heyer|18067|Georgette Heyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336748892p2/18067.jpg]'s works, I'm not currently doing much rereading, but I think I will make an exception for this one, as I have the uneasy feeling I'm being a bit unfair.



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The character portrayals in this are Sayers gold.
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

the beginning is almost impenetrable, a lot of text about ringing church bells with absolutely no exposition or explanation to help an ignorant reader like me understand. the story is very sad and the ending was a lot to take in. the characters are reflecting on the changing of the times, and reading it now, the things that are so new and difficult to acclimate to are things we've long since moved on from. an interesting exercise in giving the bells character, and they haunt the story.
adventurous challenging funny mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No