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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Feels like it's trying to be not-racist, in a 1920s way, and half-failing, but also extremely bizarre plotwise so that I can't help but enjoy the absurdity. (On-page racial slurs because 1920s.)
medium-paced
Warning: contains sexist, racist, and homophobic characterizations, which can be offensive, even though they might have been intended as broadminded and tolerant for their time.
This is one of those Peter Wimsey books that I imagine could have been written by Harriet Vane, since she's portrayed as fussing about with timetables and alibis and all the appurtenances of the mystery writer's craft. Here the key elements are a legal technicality which provides a motive for murder and a medical technique which provides the means. There's also the question of a double identity and a long-lost relative, plus some very 1920's subtlety about lesbian relationships and no subtlety at all about offhand anti-Semitic remarks. In short, it's not as full of character and atmosphere as my favorite Wimseys--except that the scenes with the ingenious Miss Climpson are worth the price of admission.
This is the third Lord Peter Wimsey (you MUST say that with a affected British accent, by the way) Mystery and I enjoyed it very much. Again, I was struck at how funny Sayers is. Much more so than Christie or Marsh, though I do enjoy their work immensely. I found myself reading entire passages to my husband or giggling out loud.
**SPOILER BELOW** (Sort of.)
The mystery itself was well done. I think the "Who" was pretty obvious from the start, and the main mystery surrounded the "How". I am proud to report that I figured out the means of the murder, though some of the other facets of the crime remained unknown to me until the final reveal.
**SPOILER BELOW** (Sort of.)
The mystery itself was well done. I think the "Who" was pretty obvious from the start, and the main mystery surrounded the "How". I am proud to report that I figured out the means of the murder, though some of the other facets of the crime remained unknown to me until the final reveal.
Lord Peter starts out to solve a murder that might have been a natural death. There is no apparent foul play and yet the detective is certain that the elderly woman with cancer was killed. He finds himself up against a very clever and very ruthless murderer. The identity of the murderer is realized early on by Wimsey so the book focuses on finding the motive and means.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was quite good, but it was hard at times to tell who was speaking when Parker and Wimsey were having a conversation.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was quite good, but it was hard at times to tell who was speaking when Parker and Wimsey were having a conversation.
This one was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed the journey. Plenty of the casual racism of the time, however.
The middle of the book dragged a bit, but on the whole, I really enjoyed it. The brilliance of the book is that you know who did it from the very beginning, the entire plot is about proving it.
It was both well-plotted and well-written, and I can't wait to move on to the next Lord Peter!
It was both well-plotted and well-written, and I can't wait to move on to the next Lord Peter!
Not one of the best Wimsey novels to re-read. I don't remember now what it was like upon first acquaintance, as this must be at least the third time I've read it and the plot seems eminently obvious by now (so I no longer remember whether it was trickier the first time around). But while I love the elder lesbian couple (both dead by the time the story begins), and Miss Climpson gets to do a spot of investigating, there isn't much else to mark this mystery out as exceptional, particularly among the high quality of the other Wimsey novels. Plus there's no Harriet (this is before the time of Harriet), which is indeed a lack.
It's still a Wimsey novel, though, and all of the Wimsey novels have at least a certain charm. :)
It's still a Wimsey novel, though, and all of the Wimsey novels have at least a certain charm. :)
Exactly what you expect from the series. Clever, sometimes silly. The only problem with reading these "founding mothers" of the murder mystery genre is the casual racism that bleeds through into the stories. I get the feeling Dorothy Sayers would have been considered liberal for her time, but looking back from my time, it is still pretty cringe inducing.