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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I can't decide if I disliked this book because the audiobook reader was AWFUL (and those production values eek!) or if the plot wasn't great. I also found the mystery novel a little hard to follow in audiobook form (possibly because I listen to them when I'm driving).
I would recommend this series generally, but this wasn't a particularly good installment.
I would recommend this series generally, but this wasn't a particularly good installment.
A charming old mystery story about an English nobleman in the 1920's who investigates interesting crimes as a hobby. At first he seems shallow and vain, and is only recommended to the reader by the loyalty of his more down-to-earth hyper-competent servant. However, a core decency and a surprising tragic element provide extra depth to his character over the course of the novel.
The murder mystery moves along at a steady pace without any real surprises or disappointments, and is brought together in a satisfying way.
The murder mystery moves along at a steady pace without any real surprises or disappointments, and is brought together in a satisfying way.
I was encouraged to revisit the Dorothy Sayers novels after a recent discussion on Facebook made me realise it is more than ten years since I have read the series. This, the first, introduces us to many of the major characters - Lord Peter Wimsey, his manservant Bunter, his detective friend Parker. The mystery, of a naked corpse mysteriously found in a bathtub, is cleverly done and the resolution well told - so much so that the book (like the rest of the stories in the series) are well worth revisiting many times over, to enjoy and savour the excellent story telling.
Well, I didn't give this much of a chance, but I was not drawn into this series for all the reasons other dissatisfied reviewers give.
Rare for this type of Golden Age detective story (fuck Josephine Tey): what I initially rolled my eyes at, assuming More Old Timey British anti-Semitism, turned out to be carefully expressed as the anti-semitism of specific characters, and a key plot point. This is still a book of its time (ugh), but by the extremely low standards of Josephine Tey, Georgette Heyer, and Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers is practically an anti-racist. And what I thought was going to be light frothy detective fiction ended up being a bit deeper and fun than I expected. Tbh I've never come across fiction with the rich hobbyist detective trope where they stop halfway through the book and talk about his privilege and wealth, and its impact on how he approaches crime solving.
In addition - Dorothy Sayers is pretty great with dialogue and descriptors. Peter "[brings] his monocle into play with the air of the late Joseph Chamberlain approving a rare orchid." He is introduced as a man with a face that "generated spontaneously from his top hat, as white maggots breed from gorgonzola."
She also has a neat trick of introducing Peter by his dandyisms, which are broken down step by step for us to be surprised and impressed over the course of the book.
There are hints that not all is right with Peter, or the hyperprivileged world around him, and it's obvious once we find out what year he lives in. Being in 2020 myself, I appreciated the upset coroner yelling at a packed courtroom to open the windows because with influenza "an unventilated room was a death trap."
Currently intoxicated will revise later TBD
In addition - Dorothy Sayers is pretty great with dialogue and descriptors. Peter "[brings] his monocle into play with the air of the late Joseph Chamberlain approving a rare orchid." He is introduced as a man with a face that "generated spontaneously from his top hat, as white maggots breed from gorgonzola."
She also has a neat trick of introducing Peter by his dandyisms, which are broken down step by step for us to be surprised and impressed over the course of the book.
There are hints that not all is right with Peter, or the hyperprivileged world around him, and it's obvious once we find out what year he lives in. Being in 2020 myself, I appreciated the upset coroner yelling at a packed courtroom to open the windows because with influenza "an unventilated room was a death trap."
Currently intoxicated will revise later TBD
I've reached the sad conclusion that I just cannot abide audiobooks narrated by David Case. There's something about his voice that gets under my skin so much that I can't even focus on what he's saying. Ian Carmichael's narration in this novel is a great improvement over Case's narration in Unnatural Death and made me like Lord Peter Wimsey so, so much more in this book. Seeing the cultural impact of the Great War on the characters in stories written during this time period (helped, no doubt, by my binge-watching so many episodes of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries while sewing lately) was a fascinating sociological study in its own right, apart from the plot.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
More Jeeves and Wooster than I expected but I really enjoyed it! Audiobook narrator was great. cw for a lot of semitic stereotyping.