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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Probably my favorite mystery of all time. The Nine Tailors never fails to amuse me, thrill me, and suck my into the bleak winter on the fens in Eastern England. Lord Peter and Bunter are at their very best in this perplexing case. Who killed the man found buried in the churchyard's new grave who "ought not have been there." The answer is shocking and a complete surprise and I love it every time I read it.
mysterious
slow-paced
It's an old book. Lots of the language is dated, but it isn't hard to read. There are lots of funny dialogue. The story itself is slow and detailed. Good mystery. However I was unsatisfied with the ending even though I expected it.
Mystery doesn't seem all that unexpected by the end (I definitely guessed ahead on this one) but that may be because this is the ninth Wimsey book I've read in a row.
Not a traditional mystery, in most ways. I loved it partly because I'm fascinated with change ringing.
Lord Peter Wimsey is the series’ amateur detective, an English gentleman, second son of a duke, who is wealthy and solves mysteries for his amusement. On New Year’s Eve, his car goes off the road near the village of Fenchurch St. Paul. It just so happens that the church has a fabulous set of bells and Wimsey is recruited to help ring a nine-hour peal, as one of the regular ringers is down with the flu. The following day, after the death of the local squire’s wife, he hears the story of how an emerald necklace had been stolen from the house 20 years ago and never recovered. Two men were sent to jail for the crime, one of whom was killed after escaping. Wimsey finds it interesting but heads off on his merry way. The following Easter, the squire himself dies. They re-open his wife’s grave to bury him there too and find a corpse that’s not supposed to be there. The rector writes to Wimsey, inviting him to come back and help with the investigation. And of course, he does.
Of course, the dead man is connected to the original crime and even though it dates back 20 years, small towns don’t change that much. The same people live there, the same suspicions exist, people remember. Evidence, though, is harder to come by. The clues are well-done, especially a cipher that involves the church. Wimsey and the local police interview the townspeople, but also have to send off to France for information. Wimsey and the police work well together. He gives them the information he has and they allow him to tag along or take the lead when it fits. It also doesn’t hurt than when he drives them places in his Daimler; it’s quicker and cheaper for the government than if they had provided their own transportation. There are definite benefits to being rich, as he tells the teenage daughter who is left an orphan by the two deaths.
There are a limited number of suspects, both in the murder of the unidentified corpse and the original theft, but who did what and why is tough to figure out. It’s complicated but by the end, all the threads pulled together and it all makes sense. It intertwines so well with the bell talk too, which I found fascinating. The bells are used for praise, warning, mourning, celebrating. Sayers does such a fabulous job of teaching us about bell ringing and how much it means to the ringers themselves, at least her fictional ringers.
Of course, the dead man is connected to the original crime and even though it dates back 20 years, small towns don’t change that much. The same people live there, the same suspicions exist, people remember. Evidence, though, is harder to come by. The clues are well-done, especially a cipher that involves the church. Wimsey and the local police interview the townspeople, but also have to send off to France for information. Wimsey and the police work well together. He gives them the information he has and they allow him to tag along or take the lead when it fits. It also doesn’t hurt than when he drives them places in his Daimler; it’s quicker and cheaper for the government than if they had provided their own transportation. There are definite benefits to being rich, as he tells the teenage daughter who is left an orphan by the two deaths.
There are a limited number of suspects, both in the murder of the unidentified corpse and the original theft, but who did what and why is tough to figure out. It’s complicated but by the end, all the threads pulled together and it all makes sense. It intertwines so well with the bell talk too, which I found fascinating. The bells are used for praise, warning, mourning, celebrating. Sayers does such a fabulous job of teaching us about bell ringing and how much it means to the ringers themselves, at least her fictional ringers.
I guessed a few of the major pieces of the solution to this mystery, and I didn't mind one bit. Parker's sense of humor and ability to weave a tale make this a really fun read.
Probably my favorite of the traditional Wimsey stories (traditional meaning without Harriet Vane). This is a story that doesn't get so hung up in the details of tides and the uniquely English past time of ecclesiastical bell ringing. Very well fleshed-out and with both beautiful character development and a unique solution, I really do enjoy this book each time I re-visit it. Don't be intimidated by the page count, it's easily accessible and consumed, even as an American with no personal experience of this countryside and its culture. Sayers hits it out of the park here.
Fascinating plot, particularly interesting to me for its Lincolnshire setting. It's on my every-Christmas reading list along with A Christmas Carol and The Bird's Christmas Carol.
I simply am too confused by bell-ringing mathematics lol.
Investigator Peter Wimsey stumbles into the sleepy village of Fenchurch St. Paul three months before an unidentified body is discovered in someone else's grave. Nine Tailors is charming and engaging. It's not the sort of mystery which, Holmes-style, the reader can solve, but twists are smart and easy to follow. The characters are proactively engaged with the mystery, yet given comical voices--it's unexpectedly wry, consistently humorous, and dialog is a delight. Over this, Sayers lays deft metaphors (the intricate bell-ringing, the rising river waters) and a strong sense of place. Nine Tailors is the epitome of a cozy mystery, self-aware and smartly written. I just wish I liked this genre! I dislike humor and I prefer my mysteries in short form or visual media, so while I admire this book it failed to click for me. Nonetheless, it's a great way to try out the series.