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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My least favorite Sayers. Too much depends on train time-tables and who saw whom where and when. I just can’t stay interested enough.
I realized I hadn’t read a Dorothy L. Sayers novel in over 10 years and thought it high time I revisited this author and her gentleman sleuth creation, Lord Peter Wimsey. I’ve only read one previously and have been working on establishing a good baseline of golden age mysteries so of course I can’t get by with a single Lord Peter novel.
This one, first published in 1931, is the sixth in the series (although I have seen references to it being #7), and Lord Peter has been firmly established by this point. Here, while on a fishing holiday in Scotland, Wimsey takes part in the investigation of the murder of an artist. As the title suggests, there are six solid suspects, only one of which is the actual murderer, leaving five red herrings. By far, most of the book is devoted to Wimsey, and several members of the local constabulary questioning the suspects and constructing possible scenarios for how the murder was accomplished.
Interestingly, the end of the book details a number of the official inspectors and police personnel offering very plausible scenarios for whodunnit but, of course, Lord Peter Wimsey points out the flaws in their logic and offers the correct solution.
I found the novel to be a little tedious in places; just so many detailed clues and potentially misleading information offered by the suspects that I lost track of it all early on. Had I been a proper literary sleuth myself, I would have prepared a complex spreadsheet to record all the clues offered, who was where when, and who saw them there, and who was providing alibies for whom. Everything right down to the timetables of the trains which would prove valuable evidence indeed. But I am too lazy to do that, of course, so I let Wimsey handle that for me.
But the conclusion was most satisfactory. I will not let another ten years pass before picking up my next Lord Peter novel.
This one, first published in 1931, is the sixth in the series (although I have seen references to it being #7), and Lord Peter has been firmly established by this point. Here, while on a fishing holiday in Scotland, Wimsey takes part in the investigation of the murder of an artist. As the title suggests, there are six solid suspects, only one of which is the actual murderer, leaving five red herrings. By far, most of the book is devoted to Wimsey, and several members of the local constabulary questioning the suspects and constructing possible scenarios for how the murder was accomplished.
Interestingly, the end of the book details a number of the official inspectors and police personnel offering very plausible scenarios for whodunnit but, of course, Lord Peter Wimsey points out the flaws in their logic and offers the correct solution.
I found the novel to be a little tedious in places; just so many detailed clues and potentially misleading information offered by the suspects that I lost track of it all early on. Had I been a proper literary sleuth myself, I would have prepared a complex spreadsheet to record all the clues offered, who was where when, and who saw them there, and who was providing alibies for whom. Everything right down to the timetables of the trains which would prove valuable evidence indeed. But I am too lazy to do that, of course, so I let Wimsey handle that for me.
But the conclusion was most satisfactory. I will not let another ten years pass before picking up my next Lord Peter novel.
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
The ideal audience for this book is clearly Mina Harker from Dracula. I fear I may simply be Too American for a book this dependent on train timetables.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
I loved the fact that this mystery centered around a painting and was so much dependent on the artist as they attempted to solve the crime. I will say that every time I read a Sayer novel, I know within the first twenty pages whodunit. But nonetheless, I love watching the characters run around. My only complaint besides the inordinately long and painful time spent obsessing over the rail timetables was the written scottish accent. After a few days I could read it no problem, but in the midst, it was giving me headaches.
mysterious
relaxing
slow-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
Less about train timetables would have made this one better (and shorter). Location is great and evocative, but large parts feel unnecessary and are sometimes just boring.
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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:
Complicated
I always enjoy Dorothy Sayers golden age crime fiction, it's particularly soothing during this time of uncertainty. As this one is set up so that the reader can solve it if they want to I found it slightly less enthralling than some of the other Wimsey mysteries, with a lot of factual information and less flamboyance. It was very enjoyable none the less.