You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
At the onset, I thought of writing a review in my usual way. A sinuous and rather elongated way of saying whether I liked the book. After writing a few lines I hit the backspace button continuously until all of it disappeared. Being totally honest to the narrative which was straight as an arrow, it is way better to cut through the archaic descriptions and call this a damn fine set of stories ! It was my first by Dorothy Sayers and she is a fine writer by all means.
The stories (except two of them) feature amateur sleuths : Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg. Unlike their much famous literary brethren, these are rather unlikely detectives especially Mr.Egg who is a travelling salesman of all people ! The mysteries themselves are rather well etched as puzzles even when the content is that of a murder and such is the beauty of writing. The subtle wit of the stories and the very British way of story telling rubbed off on me very well. You have found a taker in me Senorita ! I shall read more.
The stories (except two of them) feature amateur sleuths : Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg. Unlike their much famous literary brethren, these are rather unlikely detectives especially Mr.Egg who is a travelling salesman of all people ! The mysteries themselves are rather well etched as puzzles even when the content is that of a murder and such is the beauty of writing. The subtle wit of the stories and the very British way of story telling rubbed off on me very well. You have found a taker in me Senorita ! I shall read more.
Back to Dorothy L Sayers for a quick and comfortable read. I'm still working my way through her Lord Peter Wimsey stories for the As My Whimsy Takes Me Reading Challenge. Hangman's Holiday is a mixed bag collection of Sayers' short stories. We are offered four LPW shorts, six stories featuring Montague Egg (traveling salesman for Plummet & Rose, Wine & Spirts), and two stand-alone stories. My second (or third or whatever) go round on the stories wasn't quite as exciting as I recall my initial reading having been.
This collection features "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" (a story I read earlier this year in Great British Detectives). In it, we find my favorite aristocratic sleuth in one of his rare adventures outside England. Lord Peter becomes interested in a rather grotesque revenge--plotted and carried out in the Basque region of northern Spain. It is up to Lord Peter to rescue a damsel in distress from the evil machinations of her jealous husband.
The other Wimsey stories are:
"The Image in the Mirror": where Wimsey meets a young man on a train journey who believes he has been turned into a mirror image of himself--possibly an evil, murderous version.
"The Queen's Square": in which the White Queen is murdered at a costume ball and it seems as though no one could have done it.
"The Necklace of Pearls": in which a valuable string of perfectly matched pearls goes missing at a classic country Christmas party. It is up to Wimsey to "see" where they've gone before the culprit can make off with them permanently.
Montague Egg stories:
"The Poisoned Dow '08": in which Monty proves how it was possible to poison Lord Borrodale with a never before opened bottle of wine.
"Sleuths on the Scent": in which Monty helps the police get their man with a bottle of Parma Violets.
"Murder in the Morning": where a murdered is found ought through Monty's observations of the gas station and a clock.
"One Too Many": in which Monty explains how two men can travel on one train ticket.
"Murder at Pentecost": listen as Monty tells the old story of the boy who cried "Wolf!"
"Maher-Shalal-Hashbz": in which Monty is suspicious of the crazy cat man. Who needs that many cats, anyway?
Stand-alones (both stories of men driven to murder, rather than about the capture of a criminal):
"The Man Who Knew How": What would you do if a stranger told you about a fool-proof method to commit murder?
"The Fountain Plays": Once a blackmailee, always a blackmailee. OR How a little bit of murder won't solve your problems.
These stories are Sayers at play. They're whimsical and fantastic. Sometimes downright unreal. some are better than others. But they're great fun and not to be missed if you're a Sayers fan.
This collection features "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" (a story I read earlier this year in Great British Detectives). In it, we find my favorite aristocratic sleuth in one of his rare adventures outside England. Lord Peter becomes interested in a rather grotesque revenge--plotted and carried out in the Basque region of northern Spain. It is up to Lord Peter to rescue a damsel in distress from the evil machinations of her jealous husband.
The other Wimsey stories are:
"The Image in the Mirror": where Wimsey meets a young man on a train journey who believes he has been turned into a mirror image of himself--possibly an evil, murderous version.
"The Queen's Square": in which the White Queen is murdered at a costume ball and it seems as though no one could have done it.
"The Necklace of Pearls": in which a valuable string of perfectly matched pearls goes missing at a classic country Christmas party. It is up to Wimsey to "see" where they've gone before the culprit can make off with them permanently.
Montague Egg stories:
"The Poisoned Dow '08": in which Monty proves how it was possible to poison Lord Borrodale with a never before opened bottle of wine.
"Sleuths on the Scent": in which Monty helps the police get their man with a bottle of Parma Violets.
"Murder in the Morning": where a murdered is found ought through Monty's observations of the gas station and a clock.
"One Too Many": in which Monty explains how two men can travel on one train ticket.
"Murder at Pentecost": listen as Monty tells the old story of the boy who cried "Wolf!"
"Maher-Shalal-Hashbz": in which Monty is suspicious of the crazy cat man. Who needs that many cats, anyway?
Stand-alones (both stories of men driven to murder, rather than about the capture of a criminal):
"The Man Who Knew How": What would you do if a stranger told you about a fool-proof method to commit murder?
"The Fountain Plays": Once a blackmailee, always a blackmailee. OR How a little bit of murder won't solve your problems.
These stories are Sayers at play. They're whimsical and fantastic. Sometimes downright unreal. some are better than others. But they're great fun and not to be missed if you're a Sayers fan.
adventurous
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:
No
Hovering somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. I'd already read the Wimsey short stories (and not been a particular fan) in "Lord Peter: A Collection of All the Lord Peter Wimsey Stories", so I focused on the Montague Egg stories and the two random ones. I liked Montague Egg and all his little salesman's maxims, and particularly how his skills as a detective emerge naturally from his skills as a good salesman. There is one story in here that's a bit harrowing for animal-lovers, so fair warning on that. The two other stories were all right. A bit different as far as crime stories go. Still not a huge fan of mystery short stories, so I'll set this to 3* after all.
The Image in the Mirror 3 stars
The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey 2 stars
The Queen’s Square 2 stars
The Necklace of Pearls 3.5 stars
The Poisoned Dow ’08 3 stars
Sleuths on the Scent 3 stars
Murder in the Morning 2.5 stars
One Too Many 2 stars
Murder at Pentecost 2 stars
Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz 2.5 stars
The Man Who Knew How 3 stars
The Fountain Plays 4 stars
The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey 2 stars
The Queen’s Square 2 stars
The Necklace of Pearls 3.5 stars
The Poisoned Dow ’08 3 stars
Sleuths on the Scent 3 stars
Murder in the Morning 2.5 stars
One Too Many 2 stars
Murder at Pentecost 2 stars
Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz 2.5 stars
The Man Who Knew How 3 stars
The Fountain Plays 4 stars
I love Sayers but short fiction doesn't really let her characters shine. She was never as good as the big A.C. with tight plotting and twists, and mystery short stories are all about the twist.
Some of these short stories are quite brilliant - Sayers has a gift of telling concise, interesting mysteries almost better as short stories than novel-length. I didn't expect the non-Lord Peter stories, but (although rather improbable) I enjoyed them nevertheless.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No