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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Classic characters, an intricate plot, and beautifully written. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I hear Romanov I think of hemophilia so I was just waiting for one of the characters to think of it too, and getting a little frustrated that no one did.
Harriet Vane, a writer of murder mysteries lately acquitted of murder herself, decides to go for a walking holiday along the coast. Naturally, she stumbles over a dead body, which is then promptly washed out to sea. Determined to investigate, she summons her suitor Lord Peter Wimsey and they look into the case together, along with the police and Wimsey's faithful man Bunter.
Personally, I felt that the solution to the case, while exceedingly clever, was rather too baroque and involved for my taste, and the ending fell a little flat for me. However, it has a marvellous illustration of how to solve a Playfair cipher. It also provided a neat bit of character development for Lord Peter as we see how he handles things when they're not all going his way, especially with regards to the recalcitrant Harriet Vane.
Personally, I felt that the solution to the case, while exceedingly clever, was rather too baroque and involved for my taste, and the ending fell a little flat for me. However, it has a marvellous illustration of how to solve a Playfair cipher. It also provided a neat bit of character development for Lord Peter as we see how he handles things when they're not all going his way, especially with regards to the recalcitrant Harriet Vane.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
for me this is the weakest of the Harriet books in a way that has been apparent to me every time I’ve reread it. Dorothy still clearly had to work out some of her dreadful fascination with timetables that spawned the ill-advised odyssey into them that was Five Red Herrings. It’s as if just as she finished writing that book she realized, “Wouldn’t it be fun to do this again, except this time with a colossal error in judgment made at the very beginning that frustrates all subsequent investigation until the error is finally noticed ?” I do like it on the face of it but my god the timetables are wearing. There is also RATHER NOT ENOUGH HARRIET in this book that is OSTENSIBLY ABOUT HARRIET VANE, although I’ll admit my opinion there is much influenced by having already read the books in which Harriet takes more of a starring role many times over. Also, Dorothy has a perverse tendency in this book to render what could be written as dialogue instead as unbelievably long and dull paragraphs of descriptions of conversations that really slow the pace intolerably at times. Overall though…it’s still a Lord Peter Wimsey book with Harriet Vane so you know I’m there, baby! Woohoo!
funny
mysterious
sad
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
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Possibly my favorite Lord Peter this far. Loved the interplay between Peter and Harriet and how well they go together. I really liked the delivery of this book: each chapter titled "the evidence of..." and brings something new to light.
The second Lord Peter book with Harriet is a lot darker than the first; the two snipe bitterly at each other while longing not to, and the mystery is a little more gruesome than Sayers usual fare. Still worth reading, but Strong Poison and Gaudy Night far outshine it.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced