Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I will forever adore this book because one clue was an extraordinary ham sandwich, and soon after is this line: "The examination was not a very pleasant matter, for the weather had been damp and warm and there had certainly been weasels."
There was also a happy, successful lesbian-coded duo. And a v curious fictional biographical note that Sayers filled with deliberate spoilers. But fair warning of 1920s racism and the N word, and some curious sexist commentary coming from the otherwise amiable Lord Peter and his friend Parker.
There was also a happy, successful lesbian-coded duo. And a v curious fictional biographical note that Sayers filled with deliberate spoilers. But fair warning of 1920s racism and the N word, and some curious sexist commentary coming from the otherwise amiable Lord Peter and his friend Parker.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Classism
A beautifully constructed and unveiled mystery, and a massive improvement in inclusivity from previous books. You have women as agents with autonomy! Non-white characters who aren’t dead! Queer ladies! A really remarkable jump from book two in this series.
This is not a five star book for me, despite the fact that I enjoyed it a great deal, unfortunately because of the treatment of the diverse characters mentioned above.
There are women with agency and autonomy, but all the vital work is still done by or duplicated by men. (And lets be honest, just the fact that women get to do things is a big improvement, but it would be nice if their work isn’t gently pointed out to be useless or duplicated or finished by men.)
And queer women. There are two elderly ladies who were pretty clearly together, competent, well-respected, and accepted by the community. That’s awesome! And then there’s the current generation, where our villain is shown to be either gay or asexual, and thus her inability to connect with other people is her fatal flaw and selfishness that leads to Murder. And one of our victims is put in a position to be killed because she was a woman who loved women, which is depicted as overly passionate, immature, stifling, etc. It’s not the most positive representation, all told.
So yeah. Enjoyed it, especially enjoyed the improvement from previous books, really looking forward to even more improvement.
This is not a five star book for me, despite the fact that I enjoyed it a great deal, unfortunately because of the treatment of the diverse characters mentioned above.
Spoiler
There is a black character, and not only is he described in some seriously dated ways, the people around him are horribly racist. Like, called him the n-word, frame him for a kidnapping specifically because of the racist perception of black men as hypersexual and violent levels of racism. The narrative itself, I think, is not set up to specifically condone this hatred, but still YIIKES.There are women with agency and autonomy, but all the vital work is still done by or duplicated by men. (And lets be honest, just the fact that women get to do things is a big improvement, but it would be nice if their work isn’t gently pointed out to be useless or duplicated or finished by men.)
And queer women. There are two elderly ladies who were pretty clearly together, competent, well-respected, and accepted by the community. That’s awesome! And then there’s the current generation, where our villain is shown to be either gay or asexual, and thus her inability to connect with other people is her fatal flaw and selfishness that leads to Murder. And one of our victims is put in a position to be killed because she was a woman who loved women, which is depicted as overly passionate, immature, stifling, etc. It’s not the most positive representation, all told.
So yeah. Enjoyed it, especially enjoyed the improvement from previous books, really looking forward to even more improvement.
dark
mysterious
tense
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
As always, I love Sayers and Wimsey but this is not quite as much fun as some of the other ones. Mostly because it hits my fancy unevenly. I adore Miss Climpson and this is her first introduction; she is a gem and adorable and so capable and clever (even if people don't think she is). I also love the clearly well-balanced and mutual and loving relationship between Miss Dawson and Miss Whitaker (the elder) and am a bit sad that we only get to see it second hand. I am also a fan of poor Wimsey when he realizes that his nimble brain and these mental problems have real world consequences and how he tries to navigate things. I am NOT a fan of the casual racism (more specific to some character's attitudes than others and, yes, I know... the times but STILL) The pacing is also slightly strange and the ending not quite satisfying. Almost like Sayers got to end, sighed, threw up her hands, and said "I'm done, blot it out, quick NOW."
I'm not sure whether I was just too tired for this but the plot was difficult to keep up with. Maybe one to read again once I've had some sleep!
This book was a vast improvement compared to her two previous novels. I would say she learned a thing or two in storytelling. Her writing matured significantly. I would not readily recommend the first two novels, but I will gladly recommend this third novel. A great murder mystery read with lots of opportunity for guessing as the story twists and turns down the lane of perplexity.
Quite the vicious killer portrayed in this gold age mystery. This is the third book in the Wimsey series and while not my favorite, it kept me guessing.
But the Bibliographal Nptes in my copy? Those were just confusing. Why referencw things that haven't occurred in the main characyer's life yet?
But the Bibliographal Nptes in my copy? Those were just confusing. Why referencw things that haven't occurred in the main characyer's life yet?
THe combination of English upper class eccentricities, a really good twisty detective story, and a wonderful addition to the main characters of the 'spinster' known as Miss Climpton. I really liked Miss CLimpton, and I enjoyed the inflections that are italicized. I read it aloud in my head... I 'hear' this whole book in my head, and it's like a marvelous black and white movie. I would totally make this booka movie. (maybe it already has been years and years ago and I just don't know about it) I think that's why I get into reading it as big chunks, and then once I get into the twists of the mystery, I usually can't put it down once I get to around two-thirds done. (stayed up waaaaaay too late last night to finish this one. When I started reading I was around halfway done.... and didn't stop until I was finished.)
Decent enough read, but probably my least favorite in the series so far. I don't quite know how to describe it -- the book both strikes me as feminist and anti-feminist, and everything I liked about the female characters went hand-in-hand with all the many things that made me uncomfortable with them. Also, I missed Bunter. And there were one or two coincidences near the end that grated. AND there was a lot of that casual, very old time racism that was pretty impossible to ignore. I feel like I have a lot more negatives than positives to talk about, but I didn't dislike it, really. I just kind of hope the next one in the series is better.
Contains a delightful number of women who "don't care a thing for men" and are determined to set up house with their"best friends". Also contains some really awful racist language that is strictly incidental to the story but does not make the author particularly endearing, even by 1920s standards.
I realized part way through that I must have read this book years ago, because the name of cousin Hallelujah Dawson rang a bell. But most of the rest of it I had forgotten. It was a decent mystery, although I can see why I didn't become attached to it on the first read -- others in the series make Lord Peter more lovable/relatable. The one not so nice aspect of the book was the racism, including the use of the "n" word and the concept that a decent English person would not let one of "them" in their home. I admit that the sentiment was common and realistic in the UK in the 20s (and has not been completely eradicated in that country or this one yet, just prettied up quite a bit).