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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
For a mystery it is definitely too long and convoluted but Harriet and Wimsey are delightful.
Worth the read for the Harriet-Peter interactions and DSL's perennially delightful prose style and characters. Otherwise I do feel the mystery got away from her a little bit and could probably have been wrapped up 100 pages sooner. Not her best, but still better than any other whodunnit by any other author.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I always marvel at Dorothy Sayers’s ability to juggle so much material—so many clues, alibis, double identities—and create out of them one coherent storyline. I have to admit that she loses me on the ciphers, and I certainly cannot fault the logic of Lord Peter Wimsey or Harriet Vane, even when they are initially on the wrong track. This famous novel turns on Vane’s discovery of a dead man who had bled out on a coastal rock feature; she does use her little Brownie to document the body, but by the time she returns with help, the tide has carried the body away, hence the title ‘Have His Carcase,’ or ‘habeas corpus.’ The deceased, Paul Alexis, is identified through her photos, and Wimsey and Vane begin to piece together his life. The plot involves a must unlikely cast of characters, which makes it all the more fun: some former actresses, some gigolo-ballroom dancers, an itinerant barber, and so on. Sayers’s references to the popular and high literature of the day—Ruritanian romances, Russian literature, Shakespeare, and penny novels, as well as some of her real-life fellow crime writers—make this an even more interesting read. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable way for me to spend my spare moments during the Christmas season.
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5
I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions, but the mystery was dragged out way too long.
I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions, but the mystery was dragged out way too long.
Definitely one of my top 3 of the series, so far. I love the interactions between Wimsey and Harriet.
Long and quite the convoluted plot. I loved Harriet in this one. The usual -isms of the time and also plenty of French/Latin to translate.
ugh the twist was SO GOOD. delightful British mystery.
I really enjoy reading Dorothy Sayers' Wimsey novels, but this particular one was very convoluted. It doubled back on itself and added so many "but wait!" moments that I spent the last 150 pages (out of 440) thinking 'just tell me who did it already!'
Dorothy Sayers is a must read author, but I would recommend Murder Must Advertise or Gaudy Night before this one.
Dorothy Sayers is a must read author, but I would recommend Murder Must Advertise or Gaudy Night before this one.