Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
The murder puzzle was almost entirely absent from this one. It was much more interested in life during WWII.
Worse yet, the first victim is dismissed for large portions of this book and that murder is solved as a afterthought
Worse yet, the first victim is dismissed for large portions of this book and that murder is solved as a afterthought
At Dorothy Sayers death, she left behind an unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey novel and notes on how the characters were coping with life during World War II. Sixty years later, Jill Paton Walsh finished the book and the result is a success. Set in 1940 at the beginning of the Blitz. Harriet Vane, Lord Peter Wimsey's wife, has moved with her two young sons to a small village to escape the dangers of the cities. During the village's first air-raid drill, no bombs were dropped, but a body was found lying in the street at the all-clear. Since Lord Peter is overseas on a secret government mission, the police persuade Harriet to help with the investigation. Fairly slow as a mystery, but excellent at describing how the war changed lives, uprooted people from their comfortable prewar existence, and how the population of England began to cope with the restrictions and rationing imposed during the crisis. Since the relationships between the characters are already established, it would be helpful to read the early Lord Peter Wimsey books before reading this one.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Grad school makes fun reading hard and I have to many other things to read to spend time rereading this
I didn't enjoy this LPW as well as all the others, perhaps because there was so little Lord Peter in it. Harriet is great, but just not the same. Also, the subplots around spying just weren't as interesting as the usual Sayers mysteries, in my mind.
informative
mysterious
medium-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:
No
2025: Bumped up to 4 stars. I really enjoyed my re-read of this! I think part of it was just letting go of comparing Jill's writing to Dorothy's and obsessing over choices. This book is almost entirely from Harriet's POV, and Peter doesn't show up till very late! Till then we get a murder set in Paggleham and Harriet serving as main detective while Peter is MIA. Again, the wartime details are fascinating, both military and home, and that this book blends them makes it a delight. The plot is satisfyingly complex. I'm looking forward to the next 2 Peter/Harriet books by Jill Paton Walsh.
2022: 3 stars. This continuation of the Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane mysteries frustrated me regularly. Harriet kept acting and thinking in ways that were rather stupid and slow and thus completely out of character. Yet it also sometimes delighted me, in its continuation of the lives of beloved characters but more in its details of life in WWII like the way that a small town handles justice and fairness in its pig club, but also details about the war that I wasn't as aware of as an American, like the significance of Holland. I read this book quickly and stayed up late to finish it but can't bring myself to feel it deserves anything above 3 stars.
I think Walsh is mostly good at writing Harriet, but stumbles even more with Peter. He's offstage for much of the book but when he finally returns, it's anticlimactic. I really enjoyed Thrones, Dominations. This one was a disappointment.
2022: 3 stars. This continuation of the Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane mysteries frustrated me regularly. Harriet kept acting and thinking in ways that were rather stupid and slow and thus completely out of character. Yet it also sometimes delighted me, in its continuation of the lives of beloved characters but more in its details of life in WWII like the way that a small town handles justice and fairness in its pig club, but also details about the war that I wasn't as aware of as an American, like the significance of Holland. I read this book quickly and stayed up late to finish it but can't bring myself to feel it deserves anything above 3 stars.
I think Walsh is mostly good at writing Harriet, but stumbles even more with Peter. He's offstage for much of the book but when he finally returns, it's anticlimactic. I really enjoyed Thrones, Dominations. This one was a disappointment.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Let's call a spade a spade: this is fanfic. It's pretty good fanfic that got properly published, but fanfic just the same. It's not a patch on a real Sayers; all of the character are a bit out of sync, and the mystery is pretty perfunctory. But if you go into it knowing that, it can be a fun read. If you're a fan of the 1987 TV miniseries, listen to the audiobook narrated by Edward Petherbridge.
(A note: Paton Walsh probably did about as good a job as anyone alive could, there's just a cap on how good that is. I don't think anyone could write Peter and Harriet like Sayers; to try is a fool's errand.)
(A note: Paton Walsh probably did about as good a job as anyone alive could, there's just a cap on how good that is. I don't think anyone could write Peter and Harriet like Sayers; to try is a fool's errand.)
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No