Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
Ciphers, Romanovs, gigolos, oh my! A very entertaining mystery! Plus I really enjoyed Harriet’s and Lord Peter’s interactions. They were downright hilarious at times.
If only it wasn't so full of early C20 British-European discriminatory crap!
I missed reading this one in my initial Wimsey read-through, overall I give it a meh.
Things I liked: Harriet as a detective (She spends most of Gaudy Night aware of her lack of detecting experience; teamwork!
Things I didn't like: The pacing; the quick quick quick wrap-up; the ludicrously over-complicated plot (!); the romantic relationship (too much telling, no showing).
Things I liked: Harriet as a detective (She spends most of Gaudy Night aware of her lack of detecting experience; teamwork!
Things I didn't like: The pacing; the quick quick quick wrap-up; the ludicrously over-complicated plot (!); the romantic relationship (too much telling, no showing).
I don't usually do mysteries. I think I've read a whole lot of Agatha Christies and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and that's about it. This was enjoyable, both cute and also ponderous. Lord Peter and Harriet were the cute part. I like their banter a lot, and Lord Peter dramatically shouting quotes I've never heard of for reasons I don't fully understand is very funny.
The mystery was the ponderous part. The passages where they interviewed people were fine and just what you'd expect from such a book, but after that SO much fruitless theorizing. My head swam and I just wanted to get on to the next part where they would actually learn something. It was obvious time of death was the sticking point from the beginning, but I didn't see the twist with the coming at all until Lord Peter specifically said "this descendant of the Romanovs" in like the last chapter. I should have seen it at least from the part where they find Alexis's alleged family tree.
The mystery was the ponderous part. The passages where they interviewed people were fine and just what you'd expect from such a book, but after that SO much fruitless theorizing. My head swam and I just wanted to get on to the next part where they would actually learn something. It was obvious time of death was the sticking point from the beginning, but I didn't see the twist with the
Spoiler
hemophilia
A little too long in places, and sometimes Harriet annoys me, but overall a good mystery.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of spending the whole day reading a mystery in one sitting, but this was a good one for it! Toward the end it had a bit of the cypher-cracking/timetable-riddling that can sometimes get boring in Sayers, but overall it was a well-constricted and well-told story, and I’m greatly enjoying Vane and Wimsey.
I love Lord Peter with Harriet Vane . The wind and the banter is excellent- this is what happens when an academic writes a mystery novel!!!
ok, it's DLS, so it's good of course, but it's not one of her best, despite having Harriet in it. In fact, Harriet gets pushed off to the side about half-way through. There's too much waffle, and it's just a bit too long. I don't think we needed ALL the endless chatter from the various side-characters, especially the country yokels. And I can't believe that the key fact that solves the case escaped BOTH Peter and Harriet until the very last minute.
Library. (and very overdue)
I enjoyed reading this; fall sports extended my reading of it - children's soccer every evening and football on the weekends really cramp my reading style ;) It would have not normally taken such a long time to go through it.
Harriet Vane out on a walking vacation - oh, so conveniently - found a dead body. She's recently been acquitted of committing murder, writes murder mysteries, and is putting off Lord Peter's advances. Of course, the circumstances pull Lord Peter immediately to her - his two loves being murder and Ms. Vane.
The best scenes in the book are the ones where they are both present. Their rapport makes the book.
The unfolding of the facts of the case is systematic and, at times, laborious.
Looking forward to book #9 ...
I enjoyed reading this; fall sports extended my reading of it - children's soccer every evening and football on the weekends really cramp my reading style ;) It would have not normally taken such a long time to go through it.
Harriet Vane out on a walking vacation - oh, so conveniently - found a dead body. She's recently been acquitted of committing murder, writes murder mysteries, and is putting off Lord Peter's advances. Of course, the circumstances pull Lord Peter immediately to her - his two loves being murder and Ms. Vane.
The best scenes in the book are the ones where they are both present. Their rapport makes the book.
The unfolding of the facts of the case is systematic and, at times, laborious.
Looking forward to book #9 ...