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A review by hannahstohelit
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
4.0
REREAD
One of these days I'll reread Sayers's other books to show what I think of her at her best- this is definitely not that, which is one of the reasons why I took it out of the library rather than from my own bookshelves. Still, the only two Sayers books that I'd go below 4 stars on are Whose Body? and Five Red Herrings. This one has some serious flaws (starts too slow, ends too fast; I can see why some of the more racist elements may have been, in her mind, well-meaning but it sure doesn't make it more pleasant to read them) but I do enjoy the "howdunnit" nature of it- nice change from the typical "whodunnit" style. Is the plot a bit overly complicated? Maybe. Is Mary Whittaker something of a cipher? Definitely (though maybe that's somewhat the point). Still an interesting and often affecting read as Wimsey is forced to grapple with whether his choice to investigate led to additional deaths, something which would affect him in the following book (Bellona Club) as he debates whether to take that case.
I don't mention homophobia here because I have a kind of an essay about it in my head- I think there is some, but less of it than people often blame this book for. But like, I do think you need to read Clemence Dane's Regiment of Women (mentioned in Unnatural Death itself) in order to get what Sayers was going for.
One of these days I'll reread Sayers's other books to show what I think of her at her best- this is definitely not that, which is one of the reasons why I took it out of the library rather than from my own bookshelves. Still, the only two Sayers books that I'd go below 4 stars on are Whose Body? and Five Red Herrings. This one has some serious flaws (starts too slow, ends too fast; I can see why some of the more racist elements may have been, in her mind, well-meaning but it sure doesn't make it more pleasant to read them) but I do enjoy the "howdunnit" nature of it- nice change from the typical "whodunnit" style. Is the plot a bit overly complicated? Maybe. Is Mary Whittaker something of a cipher? Definitely (though maybe that's somewhat the point). Still an interesting and often affecting read as Wimsey is forced to grapple with whether his choice to investigate led to additional deaths, something which would affect him in the following book (Bellona Club) as he debates whether to take that case.
I don't mention homophobia here because I have a kind of an essay about it in my head- I think there is some, but less of it than people often blame this book for. But like, I do think you need to read Clemence Dane's Regiment of Women (mentioned in Unnatural Death itself) in order to get what Sayers was going for.