Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This is a great audiobook version of a terrific mystery. I originally read 25+ years ago but I enjoyed the reading by Ian Carmichael much more. Fortunately, I had forgotten the twist ending so it made finishing all the more satisfying. Ian Carmichael is a terrific reader and portrayed all the characters very well. I hope to find more of his audiobooks.
In spite of this book going horribly off the rails towards the end, I'm still inclined to give it four stars.
This was more of a procedural than a whodunnit, and the protagonist detective seemed more mannered and precious than in his other mysteries. It's still pretty good, just not my flavour of tea.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As a mystery, this is stronger than the earlier books in the series. Fewer exposition dumps, better construction and there is the introduction of Miss Climpson who is a great little character.
But this explicitly homophobic and racist with a side of anti-Semitism.
But this explicitly homophobic and racist with a side of anti-Semitism.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism
Minor: Antisemitism
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia
Read this because of a thread about historical acknowledgement of lesbians. Yes in one (happy) example, and very nearly so in (negative) others. Others have said more and better on these portrayals. Note also gender variety, etc.
REPEATED USE OF THE N-WORD. Cannot give star rating therefore.
Obvious twist #2 re Who. Obvious twist #1 re How (had I read this before? Certainly in the hundred years since, it's been known as a possibility by afficianados of the genre).
I know for a fact I've read (in my early teens) the Harriet Vane portions of the Wimsey saga. How, HOW, and why do they. He's so effete. In the post-novel short stories, he's has a femme/gay/girly conversation with an old women. "I have rather an unwholesome weakness for policemen."
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not my favorite
Some period typical racist language and views made this book quite unpalatable to me, including multiple instances of the n word. That alone decreased my environment of the mystery and the characters but the story really did seem to drag on interminably. The game of cat and mouse Whimsy platter with the killer, attention to solve a crime where there was no obvious means, motive, or opportunity prodded me on to finish the story but I’m not sure it was with it
Some period typical racist language and views made this book quite unpalatable to me, including multiple instances of the n word. That alone decreased my environment of the mystery and the characters but the story really did seem to drag on interminably. The game of cat and mouse Whimsy platter with the killer, attention to solve a crime where there was no obvious means, motive, or opportunity prodded me on to finish the story but I’m not sure it was with it
Unnatural Death is the 3rd in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I enjoy novels set during the 1920s and 30s because they are a good measure of social restrictions held in that time. The characters are a mixed bag, the plot is surprising in that it discusses same sex relationships during a time they were swept under the rug. I enjoyed this classic mystery on audiobook.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence