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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Oh, the classics which never get old no matter how many times you read them! I love Dorothy Sayers and this was among the first books in her series that were ever given to me.
This book has the reluctant heroine, Harriet Vane, trying to get some writing done at a sea-side resort, but her vacation is rudely interrupted when she finds a corpse, an apparent suicide. But Harriet isn't so sure. And when Lord Peter Wimsey, alerted by the press to Harriet's predicament, shows up, he isn't so certain either. The two will have to work together in order to solve this puzzling case of a Russian dancer who was about to marry a wealthy woman but instead had his throat cut.
This book has the reluctant heroine, Harriet Vane, trying to get some writing done at a sea-side resort, but her vacation is rudely interrupted when she finds a corpse, an apparent suicide. But Harriet isn't so sure. And when Lord Peter Wimsey, alerted by the press to Harriet's predicament, shows up, he isn't so certain either. The two will have to work together in order to solve this puzzling case of a Russian dancer who was about to marry a wealthy woman but instead had his throat cut.
Re-reading Sayers' Harriet Vane novels is such a pleasant indulgence. I'm particularly enjoying the time-suck that are Peter Wimsey's ramblings.
There was a lot I enjoyed about this, in particular Harriet Vane's character and the mystery itself. Unfortunately my experience was rather spoiled by the repeated use of ethnic slurs (d*go) and general antipathy towards "immigrants" as not being really English. I realize these views were probably true to the time but that doesn't make them less offensive, especially when they appear unquestioned in the text. I did by a copy of GAUDY NIGHTS at the same time and am still planning to try that as I've heard many folks like it more than this one, but right now my expectations are low...
The second Lord Peter Wimsey mystery to feature his love interest, mystery writer Harriet Vane. In some ways I enjoyed this one more than the previous, Strong Poison, because Harriet has a more direct role in solving the mystery and she's a great character. She and Lord Peter really do make a great team. At the same time, the mystery itself gets more than a little complicated and contrived. If you like mystery novels because you enjoy trying to solve the mystery before the end...well, I find it hard to believe anyone could solve this one before the end. Not that it isn't fun, and all in all, I had a great time with this. (Warning: there are some racial slurs casually thrown around in the book because it was the 1930s and people were casually racist.)
The case is absolutely bonkers I could not have told you any of the solutions at any point in the book. This is my favorite type of mystery novel, I am a dumb baby I cannot guess anything so if you make the case unsolvable by the audience I feel so much better about myself. More importantly, Harriet and Lord Peter are disasters who deserve each other. The whole courtship works so much better when neither of them is aware of it. The novel rightly ends with them getting the hell out of dodge and going to lunch.
Dear Dorothy L. — you have been one of my comfort reads for years. You're never a speedy read, but I love revisiting your world.
The second Lord Peter Wimsey novel in which Harriet Vane appears, this is the first one in which she has an active hand in the investigation. While on a walking tour along the coast, Harriet discovers a dead body. A fresh dead body. She reports the crime to the local police and ultimately finds herself caught up in the investigation. Naturally, Lord Peter appears once he hears — and the story is as much about their relationship as the mystery.
The mystery of who killed Paul Alexis has always entertained, especially as it grows more and more tangled and more and more ridiculous. That Lord Peter and Harriet keep shaking their heads that what they see unfolding could not possibly be what happened only adds to the fun.
These are wonderfully classic books, and while they are quite a bit more densely written than many contemporary mysteries, they are definitely worth reading — and re-reading — because each time you go through, they are new depths to be discovered.
The second Lord Peter Wimsey novel in which Harriet Vane appears, this is the first one in which she has an active hand in the investigation. While on a walking tour along the coast, Harriet discovers a dead body. A fresh dead body. She reports the crime to the local police and ultimately finds herself caught up in the investigation. Naturally, Lord Peter appears once he hears — and the story is as much about their relationship as the mystery.
The mystery of who killed Paul Alexis has always entertained, especially as it grows more and more tangled and more and more ridiculous. That Lord Peter and Harriet keep shaking their heads that what they see unfolding could not possibly be what happened only adds to the fun.
These are wonderfully classic books, and while they are quite a bit more densely written than many contemporary mysteries, they are definitely worth reading — and re-reading — because each time you go through, they are new depths to be discovered.
First read in the mid-1990s ; 5/16/2002 ; 3/11/2003 ; 3/21/2009 reread on Kindle 11/28/2012 ; 5/10/2014 ; 10/29/17
many more rereads than this but don't have records of those rereadings
many more rereads than this but don't have records of those rereadings
Dorothy Sayers continues to be such a fantastic author. The failing of authors who spend their careers writing the comedy of manners is that it's a lot easier to make fun of the ridiculous people in our lives than it is to write complex, non-cheesy/tired problems for the main characters. For instance, think of the movie Friends With Benefits--the first half is great because it's a satire of rom coms, and the second half sinks to mediocrity because the main characters follow a normal cheesy rom com plot. Dorothy Sayers joins the ranks of greats like Jane Austen who is able to write a hilarious, clever comedy of manners but also the even more rare skill of writing real problems in believable ways that are not cliched but rather incredibly thoughtful.
The last time we saw Harriet Vane, she was being tried for murder and the hero, Lord Peter Wimsey, swooped in to save her because he fell in love when hearing her talk at her trial. Sounds like a setup for capital P Problematic, but not to worry, because Dorothy Sayers is a queen and actually writes a real story of how two people who are quite suited to each other would navigate a situation like this: how do feelings of gratitude and obligation mess things up, how does the power imbalance in the relationship work (romance plots always just have a rich titled man as the love interest, but like actually that is a crazy power imbalance to have everybody treat you differently just because you're the friend of somebody rich and titled and how would it impact your attempts to build a healthy relationship), how funny people with walls use humour as a defense mechanism for actually being real and vulnerable. And she slips this all in ways that are subtle, short, and sweet. The actual plot of the novel could have been compressed quite a bit, but it was a pretty good, twisty, meaty plot.
The last time we saw Harriet Vane, she was being tried for murder and the hero, Lord Peter Wimsey, swooped in to save her because he fell in love when hearing her talk at her trial. Sounds like a setup for capital P Problematic, but not to worry, because Dorothy Sayers is a queen and actually writes a real story of how two people who are quite suited to each other would navigate a situation like this: how do feelings of gratitude and obligation mess things up, how does the power imbalance in the relationship work (romance plots always just have a rich titled man as the love interest, but like actually that is a crazy power imbalance to have everybody treat you differently just because you're the friend of somebody rich and titled and how would it impact your attempts to build a healthy relationship), how funny people with walls use humour as a defense mechanism for actually being real and vulnerable. And she slips this all in ways that are subtle, short, and sweet. The actual plot of the novel could have been compressed quite a bit, but it was a pretty good, twisty, meaty plot.
THIS is what I missed about these characters in the last one, so I think I enjoyed them all even more. Also, this may mark one of the first times in reading a mystery that I picked up on a clue that didn't come into play until the last chapter--score one for me (and for Lord Peter Wimsey, Harriet Vane, and Bunter!)
While I totally love Sir Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, this book got tedious. It's too long. I skimmed through the code breaking portion because it made my head swim (it was also late at night, not the wisest time to solve a mystery)
A great mystery, though, fun to read and track. I look forward to more!
A great mystery, though, fun to read and track. I look forward to more!