radella_hardwick's review against another edition
3.75
Much more like a collection of short stories on a theme than a consistent novel.
Paton Walsh seems to have a taste for throwing big personal upheavals at Peter and Harriet.
Paton Walsh seems to have a taste for throwing big personal upheavals at Peter and Harriet.
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
While Jill Paton Walsh's revival of the Lord Peter Wimsey books don't rise to the standards of Dorothy L. Sayers' originals, it is a treat to have Lord Peter and his wife, Harriet Vane, back. Sayers wrote her last Peter Wimsey story in 1936 and during the 1990s an unfinished manuscript was discovered in her agent's safe. Jill Paton Walsh was commissioned to finish the book, Thrones, Dominations, which became a best-seller. Then Walsh was given permission to continue to use Sayers' characters in her own books. Her first effort, A Presumption of Death, was set during World War II and this novel takes place after the war is over when England is trying to recover. Society has been disrupted, rationing is still in place, shortages abound, and cracks are beginning to appear in the English class structure. On a rainy morning, Lord Peter begins to recount the story of his first case in 1921 when he was still trying to recover from the psychological shattering that he endured during World War I. The case was his successful recovery of the Attenbury Emerald. Suddenly, thirty years later, the new Lord Attenbury, who is the grandson of the Lord Attenbury that Lord Peter assisted, arrives again seeking Lord Peter's help.
rlse's review against another edition
2.0
The mystery was ok, but the surrounding story was clumsy and preachy. I think I'll stick to the originals.
kirstenfindlay's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
indywonder05's review against another edition
4.0
I just won this book from Goodreads! Can't wait to read it!!!
EDIT: Just got it and even though I am in the middle of NaNo I started it and have thus far been pleasantly surprised.
EDIT (again): I enjoyed this book. It was no Sayers but I enjoyed it very much. I liked the beginning better as Lord Peter is recounting his previous caper. The second half is good, it just lost some of the sparkle. I would definately recommend for anyone who likes a good whodoneit.
EDIT: Just got it and even though I am in the middle of NaNo I started it and have thus far been pleasantly surprised.
EDIT (again): I enjoyed this book. It was no Sayers but I enjoyed it very much. I liked the beginning better as Lord Peter is recounting his previous caper. The second half is good, it just lost some of the sparkle. I would definately recommend for anyone who likes a good whodoneit.
jessicaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
Lord Peter and Harriet Vane are ok in this book (written, not by Dorothy Sayers, but by another author tasked with the job of furthering the series), but they're not as sparkling as they could be, and I got a little tired of the long episode of storytelling about a mystery from Lord Peter's early days.
kjboldon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This is the first of the Wimsey/Vane books that Paton Walsh did on her own. I started it and found that for me it was not quite the DLS sparkle it was close enough for comfort and entertainment. Then a plot twist happened and my eyes were filled with tears and I was reaching for my book darts to mark pages. I've read 3 of the 4 Paton Walsh books and find they each have more than enough to recommend them.
jmtinsd_58's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Loved this book so much. Especially the development of Peter from shell shocked and lost to confident detective, husband and father. The sweet relationship between Peter and Harriet was charmingly portrayed.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
2.0
Currently (at least on Facebook) there is a major debate raging over Sophie Hannah's forthcoming Hercule Poirot novel. A large number of diehard Christie fans are up in arms and who can blame them? All of the promotional material I've seen shows the cover with "Agatha Christie" emblazoned in huge letters at the top of the book.* Many commenters have initially been confused--asking if this has recently been found among Christie's papers. I have to say that it gives every appearance of the Christie estate trying to hoodwink readers into thinking that this is an Agatha Christie story. It's not. And this sense of being tricked is what really puts me off. Of course, I also am not terribly keen on authors trying to take up the mantle of a much beloved novelist. It rarely goes well. (The sequel to Gone With the Wind, anyone?) There are a fair number of good Sherlock Holmes pastiches--but there are also a multitude of poor ones. But to my knowledge none of them try to pass themselves off as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [*Please note how tiny the "Based on the characters of Dorothy L. Sayers" is on the cover to the right.]
Which brings me to The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh. The Lord Peter Wimsey novels which have sprung forth from Paton Walsh's hand would be a prime reason why I am very reluctant to pick up The Monogram Murders by Hannah. I dearly love Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and was, quite honestly, thrilled to hear that she was going to use DLS's notes and partially finished work to give us Thrones, Dominations. What LPW fan wouldn't want more adventures with our lordly sleuth? That book was okay--not even close to the brilliant gem it could have been if Sayers had completed it, but okay. And when the next one came out I read that too in the hopes that Paton Walsh would be more comfortable with the characters and begin to come into her own with them. It didn't happen and, in fact, the second novel was much weaker than the first--probably because there was even less Sayers material to work with. So, why, you may ask, have I continued with the series when I have been disappointed with the results so far? Because I cannot resist the Wimsey charm even when it hasn't been properly represented. The same reason that I've already started the most recent LPW/Harriet Vane adventure, The Late Scholar. Resistance is futile...I don't want that to happen with Poirot. So....unless an overwhelming majority of reviewers I know and trust give rave reviews to The Monogram Murders, I won't be touching it.
And now....on with the review.
The titular Attenbury Emeralds have been the focus of mystery for quite some time. In 1921 Wimsey, just making his entrance back into society in his recovery effort after the war, is involved with the hue and cry that goes up when the famous large stone of the set goes missing. It is his maiden venture into the realm of amateur detecting and his handling of it and the publicity around the recovery of the gem launches him into the career that serves as the most efficacious cure for his shell-shocked nerves. Years later, after the Second World War, another crisis arises with emerald and the newest Lord Attenbury asks Wimsey to investigate. With all the changes after the war, most immediately the heavy death duties he faces on the passing of his father, the new lord would like to sell the emerald and save his estate. But a claimant has popped up--asserting that the emerald held in the bank vault is not Attenbury's at all, that somehow it has been switched. The bank will not allow Attenbury to remove the stone for sale until proof can be supplied that it is, indeed, the family's property. Wimsey with the assistance of Harriet and Bunter must track down the crucial moment when the stones may have been switched....but the case takes a more diabolical turn when they discover that each time the emerald was removed from the vault a death followed.
****************
This novel, as with the first two, contains flashes of Wimsey and his lady that are true to form but they are too few and far between. The entire first quarter of the book reads like a bad drawing room comedy between two people who are doing their best to appear that they know and love each other but don't really. Peter and Harriet's literary quote filled banter always had a thread of joy and sexiness running through it that is sadly lacking. Bunter's relationship to the two is also slightly askew. Granted, the times they are a-changing and the relationships between the gentry and servants may not be the same--but Bunter is too old-school to ever change and Paton Walsh's efforts to indicate this make Bunter into a wooden version of himself throughout a large portion of the book. The person who comes off best is the Dowager Duchess--she still isn't quite as Sayers wrote her, but she is the closest rendition we have.
The story has a very self-aware feel especially in the first third with coy references to "if this were one of my detective novels" and "not nearly as good as Christie or Sayers." Let's just announce in a loud voice that "Hey look, we're amateur detectives in a mystery novel" shall we? I should also make reference to the quite awful method of delivery for the previous emerald incident. Sitting round the fire for "story hour" was bad enough, but then we follow Peter and Harriet around from tea shop to kitchen table and back to the fireside for installments (like this is a radio serial story or something). There must have been a better way to tell the back history. Peter could have started out in story-teller mode...fade to black and whoosh we're in 1921 and following events...fade back to present with wrap-up comments/questions and Bob's your uncle. Tally-ho and let's play hunt the emerald in modern times. I don't know. All I do know is the first half of the book does not work well for the reader or the characters involved. [Speaking of Bob and his uncle, since when does Peter say "old chap" except perhaps in deliberate and obvious irony?]
The mystery itself is convoluted and full of coincidence. The investigation itself is fairly well done but the plot leaves a lot to be desired. Paton Walsh does a much better job with her own Imogen Quy series--most likely because the characters are hers and she doesn't have to worry about writing in the shadow of such a fabulous author. She can just tell her story and concentrate on the plot construction.
★★ purely for my beloved characters and the chance to visit with them despite their imperfect renderings.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Which brings me to The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh. The Lord Peter Wimsey novels which have sprung forth from Paton Walsh's hand would be a prime reason why I am very reluctant to pick up The Monogram Murders by Hannah. I dearly love Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and was, quite honestly, thrilled to hear that she was going to use DLS's notes and partially finished work to give us Thrones, Dominations. What LPW fan wouldn't want more adventures with our lordly sleuth? That book was okay--not even close to the brilliant gem it could have been if Sayers had completed it, but okay. And when the next one came out I read that too in the hopes that Paton Walsh would be more comfortable with the characters and begin to come into her own with them. It didn't happen and, in fact, the second novel was much weaker than the first--probably because there was even less Sayers material to work with. So, why, you may ask, have I continued with the series when I have been disappointed with the results so far? Because I cannot resist the Wimsey charm even when it hasn't been properly represented. The same reason that I've already started the most recent LPW/Harriet Vane adventure, The Late Scholar. Resistance is futile...I don't want that to happen with Poirot. So....unless an overwhelming majority of reviewers I know and trust give rave reviews to The Monogram Murders, I won't be touching it.
And now....on with the review.
The titular Attenbury Emeralds have been the focus of mystery for quite some time. In 1921 Wimsey, just making his entrance back into society in his recovery effort after the war, is involved with the hue and cry that goes up when the famous large stone of the set goes missing. It is his maiden venture into the realm of amateur detecting and his handling of it and the publicity around the recovery of the gem launches him into the career that serves as the most efficacious cure for his shell-shocked nerves. Years later, after the Second World War, another crisis arises with emerald and the newest Lord Attenbury asks Wimsey to investigate. With all the changes after the war, most immediately the heavy death duties he faces on the passing of his father, the new lord would like to sell the emerald and save his estate. But a claimant has popped up--asserting that the emerald held in the bank vault is not Attenbury's at all, that somehow it has been switched. The bank will not allow Attenbury to remove the stone for sale until proof can be supplied that it is, indeed, the family's property. Wimsey with the assistance of Harriet and Bunter must track down the crucial moment when the stones may have been switched....but the case takes a more diabolical turn when they discover that each time the emerald was removed from the vault a death followed.
****************
This novel, as with the first two, contains flashes of Wimsey and his lady that are true to form but they are too few and far between. The entire first quarter of the book reads like a bad drawing room comedy between two people who are doing their best to appear that they know and love each other but don't really. Peter and Harriet's literary quote filled banter always had a thread of joy and sexiness running through it that is sadly lacking. Bunter's relationship to the two is also slightly askew. Granted, the times they are a-changing and the relationships between the gentry and servants may not be the same--but Bunter is too old-school to ever change and Paton Walsh's efforts to indicate this make Bunter into a wooden version of himself throughout a large portion of the book. The person who comes off best is the Dowager Duchess--she still isn't quite as Sayers wrote her, but she is the closest rendition we have.
The story has a very self-aware feel especially in the first third with coy references to "if this were one of my detective novels" and "not nearly as good as Christie or Sayers." Let's just announce in a loud voice that "Hey look, we're amateur detectives in a mystery novel" shall we? I should also make reference to the quite awful method of delivery for the previous emerald incident. Sitting round the fire for "story hour" was bad enough, but then we follow Peter and Harriet around from tea shop to kitchen table and back to the fireside for installments (like this is a radio serial story or something). There must have been a better way to tell the back history. Peter could have started out in story-teller mode...fade to black and whoosh we're in 1921 and following events...fade back to present with wrap-up comments/questions and Bob's your uncle. Tally-ho and let's play hunt the emerald in modern times. I don't know. All I do know is the first half of the book does not work well for the reader or the characters involved. [Speaking of Bob and his uncle, since when does Peter say "old chap" except perhaps in deliberate and obvious irony?]
The mystery itself is convoluted and full of coincidence. The investigation itself is fairly well done but the plot leaves a lot to be desired. Paton Walsh does a much better job with her own Imogen Quy series--most likely because the characters are hers and she doesn't have to worry about writing in the shadow of such a fabulous author. She can just tell her story and concentrate on the plot construction.
★★ purely for my beloved characters and the chance to visit with them despite their imperfect renderings.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.