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mirificmoxie 's review for:
Whose Body?
by Dorothy L. Sayers
3 Stars
*A serviceable mystery that is a bit too posh*
I’ve been working my way through classic Mystery novels and had yet to read anything by Sayers. So I started with the first in her Lord Peter Wimsey series. But while the case itself was interesting, I did not care for any of the characters. Whose Body is not a story that has aged well.
The story boils down to this: Lord Peter Wimsey is a privileged, posh aristocrat who inserts himself into an investigation because solving crimes is "his little hobby." He did not have any discernable skills or elevated intelligence. He was literally a bored nobleman who throws around his aristocratic title and money whenever anyone dares question why he is poking around in things that are none of his business.
While the Mystery genre is full of amateur detectives sticking their noses into police investigations, I found it unpalatable when said amateur sleuth was a spoiled rich guy with nothing noticeable to recommend him other than his status. Sherlock Holmes may have run rampant over the police squad, but at least I was never in doubt of his intelligence and effectiveness at solving cases. In contrast, Wimsey was a useless fop whose investigation was frequently interrupted by wardrobe changes. And yes, I mean that literally. This dude was such a dandy and had to spend significant amounts of time conferring with his manservant about the proper waistcoat to wear while interrogating people. It almost crossed over into being farcically funny, but not quite. And while this bourgeois devotion to multiple wardrobe changes per day was accurate to the time period, it did not make for a compelling story. Particularly when paired with Wimsey’s laissez faire attitude towards solving murders.
That section sums up the tone and attitude of the entire story. Wimsey never moved past being the bored, unqualified, rich guy who strong-armed his way into an investigation using his title. It also felt like there was too much filler dialogue especially given how short the story is.
The bottom line is that I liked the mystery, but I dearly wish it had been solved by someone else. I doubt I’ll continue on with the series.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars
*A serviceable mystery that is a bit too posh*
I’ve been working my way through classic Mystery novels and had yet to read anything by Sayers. So I started with the first in her Lord Peter Wimsey series. But while the case itself was interesting, I did not care for any of the characters. Whose Body is not a story that has aged well.
The story boils down to this: Lord Peter Wimsey is a privileged, posh aristocrat who inserts himself into an investigation because solving crimes is "his little hobby." He did not have any discernable skills or elevated intelligence. He was literally a bored nobleman who throws around his aristocratic title and money whenever anyone dares question why he is poking around in things that are none of his business.
While the Mystery genre is full of amateur detectives sticking their noses into police investigations, I found it unpalatable when said amateur sleuth was a spoiled rich guy with nothing noticeable to recommend him other than his status. Sherlock Holmes may have run rampant over the police squad, but at least I was never in doubt of his intelligence and effectiveness at solving cases. In contrast, Wimsey was a useless fop whose investigation was frequently interrupted by wardrobe changes. And yes, I mean that literally. This dude was such a dandy and had to spend significant amounts of time conferring with his manservant about the proper waistcoat to wear while interrogating people. It almost crossed over into being farcically funny, but not quite. And while this bourgeois devotion to multiple wardrobe changes per day was accurate to the time period, it did not make for a compelling story. Particularly when paired with Wimsey’s laissez faire attitude towards solving murders.
“‘If Sir Reuben has been murdered, is it a game? And is it fair to treat it as a game?’
‘That’s what I’m ashamed of, really,’ said Lord Peter. ‘It is a game to me, to begin with, and I go on cheerfully, and then I suddenly see that somebody is going to get hurt, and I want to get out of it.’
‘Yes, yes, I know, said the detective, ‘but that’s because you’re thinking about your attitude. You want to be consistent, you want to swagger debonairly through a comedy of puppets or else to stalk magnificently through a tragedy of human sorrows and things. But that’s childish. If you’ve any duty to society in the way of finding out the truth about murders, you must do it in any attitude that comes handy. You want to be elegant and detached? That’s all right, if you find the truth out that way, but it hasn’t any value in itself, you know.”
That section sums up the tone and attitude of the entire story. Wimsey never moved past being the bored, unqualified, rich guy who strong-armed his way into an investigation using his title. It also felt like there was too much filler dialogue especially given how short the story is.
The bottom line is that I liked the mystery, but I dearly wish it had been solved by someone else. I doubt I’ll continue on with the series.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars