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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
A good mystery, but the budding romance between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane is what really makes it cook. It's the 2nd of 4 of Sayers novels featuring Vane.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This plot was very elaborate and I'm not sure it paid off, but I do love Wimsey and Harriet and their chemistry.
3.5-ish…good character interactions but more n word drops and other 1930s behavior
Very standard Sayers fare, in which we get to observe Wimsey "courting" Harriet Vane. It's been said that Sayers fell in love with Wimsey, and I often found myself wondering how much of herself was written into Harriet's character. They play well together, and their chemistry is dynamic and charming.
After the deep detail of my last DLS read Five Red Herrings, I felt this book had a much better flow and was more engaging.
After the deep detail of my last DLS read Five Red Herrings, I felt this book had a much better flow and was more engaging.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ms Sayers dropped the ball on this one. I wonder if Harriet in this story is supposed to be her - an author in no mood to finish a book well.
Here are the problems:
- It is unbearably long.
- It is ridiculously convoluted. Instead of using anything else, the murderer has to procure a weapon that can absolutely be traced. The murder itself is done right out in the open where anyone can see it. No body commits a murder like this.
- A good detective novels keeps hinting at THE thing several times throughout the novel. Instead, the thing itself and a particular characteristic of the murder are mentioned at the very beginning and never come up again till Ms Sayers looks at the page count and thinks 'My God, it has gone on long enough. Let me wrap it up!'
- Also, if Lord Peter wastes time on a particular object, it HAS to play an IMP part.
You can only ask the reader to accept one ridiculous thing not a bunch of them in sequence.
2 stars solely for Peter and Harriet scenes. It could have gotten intolerable real quick but just when Harriet wants Peter to compliment her, he gets distracted by the murder at hand while still remaining fully aware of why she is miffed. If Peter wasn't written aware and clever like that, he would have come across as pathetic and Harriet plain unlikeable. I also sympathized with Harriet's insecurities after her past.
ps: A certain other character had in fact a bigger reason for doing away with Paul (What a tragic end!)
Here are the problems:
- It is unbearably long.
- It is ridiculously convoluted. Instead of using anything else, the murderer has to procure a weapon that can absolutely be traced. The murder itself is done right out in the open where anyone can see it. No body commits a murder like this.
- A good detective novels keeps hinting at THE thing several times throughout the novel. Instead, the thing itself and a particular characteristic of the murder are mentioned at the very beginning and never come up again till Ms Sayers looks at the page count and thinks 'My God, it has gone on long enough. Let me wrap it up!'
- Also, if Lord Peter wastes time on a particular object, it HAS to play an IMP part.
You can only ask the reader to accept one ridiculous thing not a bunch of them in sequence.
2 stars solely for Peter and Harriet scenes. It could have gotten intolerable real quick but just when Harriet wants Peter to compliment her, he gets distracted by the murder at hand while still remaining fully aware of why she is miffed. If Peter wasn't written aware and clever like that, he would have come across as pathetic and Harriet plain unlikeable. I also sympathized with Harriet's insecurities after her past.
ps: A certain other character had in fact a bigger reason for doing away with Paul (What a tragic end!)
Love me some Sayers. This wasn't my favorite of hers, but was still enjoyable.