Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
HarperTorch - HarperTorch
Release date: 1995-06-21
Mass Market Paperback
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
Fiction, Fiction - Mystery/ Detective, Mystery/Suspense, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Mystery & Detective - Series, Mystery & Detective - Traditional British, Mystery & Detective - General
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Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
Date undefinedAt any given moment, I generally have at least one Dorothy Sayers book sitting in my to be read pile. Although I've long since read all of her Wimsey books (sadly!), I never really get sick of rereading them. Like many women, I suspect, I'm halfway in love with Lord Peter Wimsey.
This isn't one of the ones that I have read multiple times. I think that this was actually the second time that I read it-- the first time being in college. (I was introduced to Dorothy Sayers by the back smoker libraries in the Bryn Mawr dorm rooms.) It strikes me now that I was quite naive at that age-- particularly since I obviously missed large sections of the plot the first time that I read the book.
Lord Peter Wimsey is dining out with a friend and discussing murder, when they are interrupted by a thin-faced young man at the next table. He has overheard them talk about the duty of a doctor to report his suspicions, and wants to tell them his own story on the subject. He himself had lost his job and reputation for calling into question the apparently natural death of one of his ill and elderly patients. Lord Peter is interested in the story, and the investigation begins. Nobody is sure if he has really found a murder-- at least not until other corpses start to appear.
Unnatural Death is a chance for Sayers to work out the idea that the successful murderers are not the ones who are never caught. Instead, the really successful murders are the ones that everyone else thinks of as a natural death.
This book introduces the most excellent Miss Climpson as Lord Peter's employee and spy-- she acts as a more comical Miss Marple and a foil to the ever-so-elegant detective.
It was interesting to me to see Sayers develop the theme of women alone or together in this book. Lord Peter remarks about Miss Climpson: "Thousands of old maids, simply bursting with useful energy, forced by our stupid social system into hydros and hotels and communities and hostels and posts as companions..." Many of the main characters in the book are either quite directly (for the time) portrayed as lesbians (something that I can't believe that I missed the first time around) or are shown as clinging to the company of other women after rejecting the world of men. These relationships range from the healthy to the unhealthy, and the book directly touches on the problems of inheritance between women and relationships without heirs.
Unnatural Death was published in 1927, and comes bound with a short biographical note about Lord Peter. Certainly a must-read for fans of either Sayers or the series. Even if it isn't one of my favorites in the Wimsey books, still well worth reading.
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
Date undefinedHere we have Lord Peter Wimsey, teamed up with Inspector Parker, sticking his aristocratic nose into yet another heinous murder case. In fact, no one even discovers that this IS a murder until Wimsey ferrets out some key clues, albeit with the aid of a little old lady whom he's hired as one of his investigators. The initial crime: An old woman, on her deathbed, gets bumped off prematurely so that her last will and testament will get probated in a particular way. And before it is over, more murder follows. Within these pages, the mystery fan will find plenty of cool clues, spectacular locations, atmosphere galore, and just enough English cliche to make this one a top read. I recommend it for both newbies to mysteries and to seasoned veterans as well. You'll love the crusty old characters that Wimsey and Parker encounter out in the English countryside locations as they pursue this shrewd and heinous murderer. This is also available in audiobook and is well-read.
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
Date undefinedThis is the first Dorothy Sayers book I have read, but it will most certainly not be the last. It's a wonder to me that she had escaped my serious notice until now, but I have feeling we are going to be great friends. I found this book to be second only to the Father Brown series (G.K. Chesterton) in mystery. I look forward to many further readings of this, and Sayers' other books.
