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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I remember how much this story chilled me when I first read it as a teenager. It's a clever mystery and a good showcase for Lord Peter's sensitive nature!
Representation pro: thinly veiled lesbian couple, even less thinly-veiled young lesbian with a crush and possible older lesbian who’s not a nice person
Representation con: Hideous outdated Black stereotypes, especially concerning white women. The main characters don’t subscribe to these stereotypes but they don’t entirely repudiate them either, and even their attitudes are paternal.
Representation pro: thinly veiled lesbian couple, even less thinly-veiled young lesbian with a crush and possible older lesbian who’s not a nice person
Representation con: Hideous outdated Black stereotypes, especially concerning white women. The main characters don’t subscribe to these stereotypes but they don’t entirely repudiate them either, and even their attitudes are paternal.
This is a diverting read with some racist language towards the end. Granted, the racism was tangential to the main plot but it was shocking to modern eyes nonetheless. I will keep Lord Peter stories but I will brace for more upsetting language as a possibility.
Review of the Harper Paperback edition (2014) of the 1927 original
Spoiler
Mary Whitaker led them a merry chase...Was hankering for a cozy mystery that I'v not read before, thought of trying this book. Can't say am much impressed. It was just an okay read with a mildly annoying protagonist.
The mystery wasn't much about who-had-done-it but how-it-was-done. Read this author for the first time, will try a few more of her stories before I pass judgement.
Just about almost-there-2.5-stars from me.
I enjoyed the book well enough, but not enough to seek other narratives in the Peter Whimsey series.
A Kindle read while we were traveling in Italy. Not the best Wimsey book: the whole double-identity device that drives the plot to a dramatic crisis would have been averted had Wimsey simply gotten a look at the prime suspect early on. There are some uncomfortable mentions of race (though probably accurate for 1920’s England) and some coy references to lesbianism. But middling Wimsey is still an entertaining vacation read.
Lord Peter Wimsey can be a lot of fun. I love the way he takes lines from poetry and mangles them for his own purposes. The relationship between Wimsey and the grumbling copper Parker is always amusing. The mystery itself is entertaining, and there are a few twists. The most difficult thing in this book is the racism of all the characters, in this Britain of the 20s.
Always loved Dorothy L. Sayers, and Lord Peter is funny. Have to take some of the wording/characters in their period - this was written in the 1920s. Very much enjoyed the book.
Yes, I am reading through the Lord Peter Wimsey series. The top-rated review of this book says "AAArgh!" This is a good book, but Sayers as author was definitely a product of her time, and yes, she writes of various prejudices in little niggling ways. Lord Peter always comes out smelling like a rose, but the book's overall tones make us sensitive folk uncomfortable. (We cringe at the thought of offending.)
Lord Peter is such a busybody in this one, but what I like about him in general is he's relentlessly proactive. Loads more racist language - consistent with the time of writing - only slightly redeemed by the fact that the main characters themselves aren't openly racist.