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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Between an interminable opening act that seems determined to pack in as much information about English bell-ringing as Moby Dick does about whaling, and an ending that wanders in from "Mill on the Floss," there's a pretty good parlor detective novel here -- although the lingering doubt about cause of death puts all of the characters in the preposterous position of failing to notice the single most striking aspect of the situation.
Sayers is probably the strongest stylists of the classic detective writers, and much of her technique here comes from the more accessible reaches of the "Ulysses" arsenal. For many folks, her mashup of the literary novel and series detective fiction makes Sayers the bee's knees. The combination leaves me a bit cold, however; I generally feel that she has failed to be successfully either fish or fowl. I feel like I SHOULD like Lord Peter, but I just haven't warmed to him.
2025: I was looking forward to revisiting The Nine Tailors, which is after all one of the most beloved works from the mystery canon. It's a classic that the "The Greatest Books" list compiler ranks as the 599th best book (of any kind) of all time.
Unfortunately, I still find the long opening act about bell-ringing stultifying, and the crime and detecting setup is still contrived and dumb. The writing is terrific, but seems wasted on the content. Fortunately for me, there are 598 better books in the world.
Sayers is probably the strongest stylists of the classic detective writers, and much of her technique here comes from the more accessible reaches of the "Ulysses" arsenal. For many folks, her mashup of the literary novel and series detective fiction makes Sayers the bee's knees. The combination leaves me a bit cold, however; I generally feel that she has failed to be successfully either fish or fowl. I feel like I SHOULD like Lord Peter, but I just haven't warmed to him.
2025: I was looking forward to revisiting The Nine Tailors, which is after all one of the most beloved works from the mystery canon. It's a classic that the "The Greatest Books" list compiler ranks as the 599th best book (of any kind) of all time.
Unfortunately, I still find the long opening act about bell-ringing stultifying, and the crime and detecting setup is still contrived and dumb. The writing is terrific, but seems wasted on the content. Fortunately for me, there are 598 better books in the world.
One of the best mysteries I've ever read, but the story stumbled when it got into too many details about the Fens, ringing changes, the engineering challenges of scouring the river bottom, etc. etc.
I _loved_ the fictional description of the church, the bells, the village history, and much of the Fens history, but the conversations went too long, just too long. Otherwise, I'd live it a 5-star rating.
I _loved_ the fictional description of the church, the bells, the village history, and much of the Fens history, but the conversations went too long, just too long. Otherwise, I'd live it a 5-star rating.
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
A pretty good mystery, but definitely heavy on the info dumps about British church bells. Lots of Bunter, though! I love me some Bunter. And the ending was very good. Also, a very classic premise - everyone loves a jewel hunt.
Definitely figured out the ending as soon as we got the requisite information, yet our detective was still confused; I shake my head at you, Peter Wimsey.
Definitely figured out the ending as soon as we got the requisite information, yet our detective was still confused; I shake my head at you, Peter Wimsey.
Not my favorite Whimsey, but vastly improved by the audio version on 1.25 speed!
This was a fun book to read. Lots of tangled clues when a corpse turns up in the churchyard cemetery in the small English village of Fenchurch St. Paul. It will make you curious about change-ringing, the art of ringing the church bells. So head to YouTube for examples while you read!
Boring; took too long for the action to start for such a short book, especially when it’s considered the author’s best book.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a classic, so while I don’t regret reading it, I really didn’t love it. I barely even stayed awake to finish it, which considering I listened to the BBC production of this (complete with the damn bells), is saying a lot.
The plot just seemed really cluttered and the middle was entirely unnecessary from my point of view. Still, considering Dorothy L. Sayers was a literary icon, I would still recommend any avid mystery fans to check her out.
The plot just seemed really cluttered and the middle was entirely unnecessary from my point of view. Still, considering Dorothy L. Sayers was a literary icon, I would still recommend any avid mystery fans to check her out.
mysterious
medium-paced
wraps up pretty fast but I didn't find it fully satisfying