Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is part of my attempt to (re)read the Lord Peter Wimsey books. I find Sayers a very talented, observant writer but this really does not read like a murder mystery. It feels disingenious to call it a murder mystery at all.
There is a dead body, there is a mystery around how the dead body came to be a body in the place that the body was. But it's not the focus of the book. The focus of the book is a love letter to a small town Anglican priest and the small village life right on the cusp of the Second World War.
I found the explanations of bell-ringing and the snapshots of deeply traditional people and a very specific moment in time. All of that was beautiful but it made the 'mystery' much less compelling than the story of the church and the bells.
There is a dead body, there is a mystery around how the dead body came to be a body in the place that the body was. But it's not the focus of the book. The focus of the book is a love letter to a small town Anglican priest and the small village life right on the cusp of the Second World War.
I found the explanations of bell-ringing and the snapshots of deeply traditional people and a very specific moment in time. All of that was beautiful but it made the 'mystery' much less compelling than the story of the church and the bells.
challenging
dark
funny
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:
No
I came to this book as a huge Agatha Christie fan and having heard good things about Dorothy L Sayers. While the writing style is a bit more slow-paced and intellectual than Christie’s (with the occasional tangent about sluice gate keeping in the Fenlands), I still enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and never guessing the true murderer until the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Mental illness, Murder
Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, War
Nine tailors
Not my favourite book by Dorothy Sayers. The book is readable but contains too much unnecessary technical detail about bell ringing and the whole story was sad and depressing.
Not my favourite book by Dorothy Sayers. The book is readable but contains too much unnecessary technical detail about bell ringing and the whole story was sad and depressing.
Such a fine, fine book. Dorothy Sayers mostly wrote fabulous books, but in this and Gaudy Night, she really outdid herself. To paraphrase a reviewer of the Nine Tailors when it first came out, this is not just a terrific mystery, it's a terrific novel, which can not always be said of mysteries. And of course, if you've ever wanted to know more about change-ringing and the draining of the English Fen Country, this is a pleasant way to learn something about both.
Egads! Two stars for a Dorothy Sayers book? Well, you see, I should have held my tongue when I said that the cricket chapter in Murder Must Advertise was a snooze. Because then I met this combination of bells and fen drainage, and now I literally have no words. Lord Peter and the unflappable Bunter are stranded in Fenchurch-St-Paul over New Years' Eve. One of the local change ringers is down with the flu, so Peter Wimsey, Renaissance man extraordinaire, takes his place in the Guinness Book of World Records attempt dreamt up by the rector. Approximately ten million pages later, an unidentifiable corpse is discovered in a grave in the churchyard. Change-ringing patterns, sluices, canals, and all manner of water management are enough to drive any reader mad. With that in mind, the final revelation of the murder (manslaughter?) weapon can only make sense.
I read this many years ago and had forgotten how it ended, a good read on a dreary winter evening!
3.5 stars. I was absolutely charmed by the setting of this book--in the East Anglian fens not far from where I've lived for the last four years, and lovingly grounded in that rural, water-threaded landscape. On top of this, I dabbled in change-ringing while living here and Sayers' depiction of that cultish pastime is very accurate (to my limited knowledge), and it was fun to see something so niche--obscure yet culturally significant--woven into the narrative in such creative ways. Generally I found the narrative a bit overly detailed and sometimes difficult to follow; the characters that piled on at the beginning weren't developed enough for me to keep track of them easily and there was a lot of monologuing about the clues so far at any given time. But the writing itself was good--the bells are especially poetic--and the story was quite original.
My second read (the other pre-GoodReads). I'm still baffled by the bell-ringing nerdiness. I more-or-less decided to revisit this because I'm getting ready to sign up for a handbell festival in June. In the book, they do change ringing, they don't play songs. We generally play songs on our handbells. Maybe I can find a change-ringing class at the festival so that I can get a better handle on the process. My spouse, who doesn't ring handbells, was rather fascinated by the ringing in this book. She even tried writing out some of the changes and playing them on the piano to see how the changes "went round".
Anyway, it was a fun Lord Peter Whimsey mystery, well worth the time to read it. Probably a 3*+ rather than a mere 3*.
Anyway, it was a fun Lord Peter Whimsey mystery, well worth the time to read it. Probably a 3*+ rather than a mere 3*.
Written in the 1930's, this book has rich vocabulary, propriety, and a style that you don't find in contemporary mysteries.
A very enjoyable read, that I took my time with over the course of several days and felt as if I got a richer experience as a result. Taking a break gives you time to ponder the mystery and come up with your own theories and which is rewarding if they turn out to be true, and impressive if they don't. It also allowed me to appreciate how precisely everything was set up. The things that were brought to your attention at the start were the things that were important at the end (aka Chekhov's gun done well) and that is very satisfying for any novel, but especially for a detective story.
The mystery was well done for the most part. The only character that felt out of place had been subsumed into the rest by the end, and the only part that didn't quite ring true was the method of murder.
I loved the setting, especially since I have just visited the fens, and enjoyed the bells as something completely outside of my knowledge base. I also enjoyed the many moments of wit, and some genuinely funny scenes (the one where he notices an elaborate tribute to the dead and turns over the card wondering who had sent such an ostentatious bunch only to find out it was himself made me laugh out loud). In general, I am getting very fond of Wimsey & Bunter and enjoy this book as much for the characters as the mystery.
The mystery was well done for the most part. The only character that felt out of place had been subsumed into the rest by the end, and the only part that didn't quite ring true was the method of murder.
I loved the setting, especially since I have just visited the fens, and enjoyed the bells as something completely outside of my knowledge base. I also enjoyed the many moments of wit, and some genuinely funny scenes (the one where he notices an elaborate tribute to the dead and turns over the card wondering who had sent such an ostentatious bunch only to find out it was himself made me laugh out loud). In general, I am getting very fond of Wimsey & Bunter and enjoy this book as much for the characters as the mystery.