Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers

First Line: Lord Peter Wimsey stretched himself luxuriously between the sheets provided by the Hôtel Meurice.

All is not well at Riddlesdale Lodge, a Wimsey family retreat for country pleasures and the thrill of the hunt. Lord Peter's brother-in-law-to-be is dead, and his accused murderer is Wimsey's own brother. Lord Peter has his hands full with this all-in-the-family murder.

I continue to stumble my way through Golden Age mysteries in an attempt to understand what so many other readers enjoy in them. So far, my only real success has been with Gladys Mitchell's Mrs. Bradley, but I am determined to emerge triumphant with Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. I have to admit that it's been a bit of a hard slog. Perhaps I should just jump ahead to the book in which Harriet Vane makes her appearance?

The largest part of Lord Peter's investigation in Clouds of Witness seemed to be crawling around on the floor staring at the carpet, and I was about ready to admit defeat when Wimsey's sister finally decided to tell the truth. Then the mystery really began to get somewhere. 

I am glad that I soldiered on to the end because I do see glimmers of what this series will be in snippets of conversation between characters, and that "lost in the fog in the bog" scene is marvelous.  I do enjoy historical mysteries, but I am most definitely a 21st-century reader, so I do sometimes doubt the wisdom behind my dabbling into these fabled waters... but it is for the very reason that these mysteries are fabled that I can't leave them alone!
 

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers

ASIN: B00AOBIJCG

Amazon Digital Services © 2013

Originally published in 1926.

eBook, 279 pages

Private Investigator, #2 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 


  

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

First Line: "Oh, damn!" said Lord Peter Wimsey at Picadilly Circus.

I irritate myself sometimes. Although I've tried a few times to read Golden Age mysteries, they just don't seem to be for me. However, time will pass and once again I'll begin to feel that I'm missing out on something. This is why I picked up Dorothy L. Sayers' very first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, Whose Body? I've always had the feeling that-- if I liked any Golden Age mystery writer-- I would like her.

In this book, Lord Peter's mother the Dowager Duchess of Denver has called to tell him that the architect she's hired to do some work on her local church has stumbled across a body in his bath wearing nothing put a pair of pince-nez. London's Inspector Sugg is convinced that Thipps the architect is guilty. 

While Lord Peter begins his investigation for Thipps, he learns that his friend Inspector Parker is looking into the disappearance of Sir Reuben Levy, a famous financier. Lord Peter must find out what's happened to Sir Reuben as well as identify that body in Thipps' bath to get the mild-mannered architect out of hot water.

After reading the first few chapters of this book, I almost gave up in disgust. The pages were filled with dialogue that was supposed to be sparkling and witty but only sounded like dated, superficial piffle. (See? I may not have read Sayers before, but I've evidently been able to mine a nugget or two from various sources.)

Fortunately the book settled down and steered clear of conversational piffle throughout the rest of the story, and I actually enjoyed watching Wimsey figure out identities, timelines, and what actually happened. In fact I enjoyed it enough to start looking for the second book in the series. All you Golden Age mystery lovers-- there may be hope for me yet!
 

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

ASIN: B00BX8U56M

Open Road Media © 2013

eBook, 208 pages

Private Investigator, #1 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon