emilymcmc 's review for:

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
5.0

I'd heard the phrase "ringing the changes" my whole life but never knew what it meant. The descriptions of the English style of bell ringing in this book are detailed and obsessive; long story short, the tuneless cacophony you hear after weddings in English movies is a deliberate effect that people are working very hard to achieve. So, worth the admission for unlocking a new genre of YouTube videos to watch when you don't have or feel prone to a headache. The mystery is convoluted, and if you sometimes have a hard time remembering who is who in a multi-character mystery, take notes. But the characters are delightful and the language is thrilling, with beautiful descriptions of land and people; no doubt there is also an underlying structure to the book related to bell-ringing. You can sense this is a bit of a time-killer before Harriet Vane comes back on the scene, but it's not wasted time.