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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
My favorite Wimsey stories so far. I think Sayer's writing and plots work best in short stories. We get to see many different sides of Wimsey most of which show a gradually maturing Wimsey who rather than being unattached to things and rather flippant only uses that as a smokescreen and at times is annoyed by people's assumption based on his passive looks. The cases aren't just murder either so there are more lighthearted fare and capers. There are several missing wills, criminal gangs, international espionage. A little bit of everything.
Good fun mysteries, but I prefer her longer form, one story books.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
Whimsical. Best taken in small doses.
Like all short story collections I have read, some are better than others. My favorites were the one with Wimsey's nephew & the one about the gruesome murder on the beach.
My main issue with the book - and with all short stories - is that the format doesn't give the reader enough time to really delve into the story. It's so wham bam thank you mam. Then there is the added problem that it's hard to have an actual mystery written in short story form. They become more like quick puzzles to solve than a complicated mystery.
Doubtful if I'd even have read this book if it weren't for the literary life reading challenge I am doing. I'm also attempting this year to only read books I already own. I had bought this a few years ago at Goodwill, pleased as scoring a Sayers for a quarter. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the book once I got home & discovered that is was a collection of short stories! (cue sad trombone notes womp womp) Reading this book I have killed two birds with one stone! Can check off the short story prompt and can now put the book in my bag of books to resell.
My main issue with the book - and with all short stories - is that the format doesn't give the reader enough time to really delve into the story. It's so wham bam thank you mam. Then there is the added problem that it's hard to have an actual mystery written in short story form. They become more like quick puzzles to solve than a complicated mystery.
Doubtful if I'd even have read this book if it weren't for the literary life reading challenge I am doing. I'm also attempting this year to only read books I already own. I had bought this a few years ago at Goodwill, pleased as scoring a Sayers for a quarter. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the book once I got home & discovered that is was a collection of short stories! (cue sad trombone notes womp womp) Reading this book I have killed two birds with one stone! Can check off the short story prompt and can now put the book in my bag of books to resell.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Enjoyable collection of short stories!
I do find it quite amusing, however, how these classic mystery authors will borrow (steal?) each other’s framing devices. And by borrow, I mean to the point where a person who has read a lot of classic English mysteries will get a profound sense of déjà vu. Agatha Christie did a copy of one of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story in a story in Poirot Investigates (1924). Dorothy L. Sayers does it here in Lord Peter Views A Body (1928). The framing device for Lord Peter Wimsey’s Uncle Meleager’s Will is almost exact to Poirot’s The Case of the Missing Will… to the point where I could almost hear Hastings’ and Poirot’s ending conversation. The finding of the will is tackled in a different way in each short story, but I find it hilarious that these authors make these nods in each other’s direction. Although it initially distracted me as I tried to remember whether the story Sayers was imitating was a Holmes or a Poirot one, ultimately this homage only enhanced my enjoyment of the collection. I will have to keep an eye out for similar homages as I continue to read Christie and Sayers.
Most of these are silly and not worth it, although I did enjoy the one with the crossword will featuring Lord Peter's sister (#3), the one with a deep-rooted sibling rivalry and nice village atmosphere (#5), the weird one with the stomach and diamonds (#10) and the one with the portraitist and guy with no face (#11). Apparently The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba (#12) is essential for getting the overall Lord Peter Wimsey plot, but it's one of the absurdest things I've ever read and I found the vaguely Bolshevik vibes to be really odd.
But I'm hoping all this mediocre reading is going to pay off when I finally meet Harriet Vane. Truly, there is nothing better than a satisfied confirmed bachelor falling desperately in love. That isn't shocking, though, is it? Surely no one's actually in this for the mysteries, which are on the whole not really thrilling. It's all about that focus on character... and the romance... and the emotional development to get there.
But I'm hoping all this mediocre reading is going to pay off when I finally meet Harriet Vane. Truly, there is nothing better than a satisfied confirmed bachelor falling desperately in love. That isn't shocking, though, is it? Surely no one's actually in this for the mysteries, which are on the whole not really thrilling. It's all about that focus on character... and the romance... and the emotional development to get there.
Too much melodrama, but some really good stories thrown in with the icky ones.