Reviews

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

loudrianvs's review against another edition

4.0

Had to switch to the BBC radio adaptation in order to finish this novel on time. But what a great and true-to-the-novel adaptation!

booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5/5 - It was fun to read this piece of 'golden era' detective fiction. Even though the protagonist and key sleuth is an aristocratic male (Lord Peter Wimsey), he is helped greatly in his efforts not only by his highly-skilled valet and by the police, but also (and more importantly) by many women from the middle and working classes. Lord Peter claims that women make excellent sleuths because no one suspects them, but this is clearly Dorothy L. Sayers at work, including keenly intelligent and resourceful women amongst her characters. I know this book was published in 1930, but it's always an unhappy shock when confronted with antisemitic passages while reading.

mborer23's review against another edition

4.0

Lord Peter becomes entranced with a beautiful and clever murder suspect. Did mystery writer Harriet Vane kill her onetime lover, a fellow writer, using the method used in one of her stories? Lord Peter takes on two tasks: finding the real killer, and convincing Miss Vane that his intentions are honorable. Great story, with a tricky resolution.

meghaha's review against another edition

2.0

I was disappointed by this book because the reputation of Sayers is such that I was expecting something special, when this book (the first I've read by her) was merely ordinary. I have to admit Sayers writes some very witty dialogue, but that's not enough for me to love a book, and she compares unfavorably with Wodehouse. On the whole, this novel felt like it was a very thin surface, with nothing underneath. That last sentence probably sounds I'm dismissing this book out of highbrow pretensions about 'literature', but what I mean is that there was a lack of any heart, or dimensionality. The reason it felt quite so thin, I think, is because the book consisted almost entirely of dialogue/conversations. It reads quickly for this reason, but the end effect was as if I was at listening to some witty, clever person telling me an amusing yet empty story that I'd smile and nod at during the moment, but which would glancingly fly out of my brain the moment she stopped talking. Which is not exactly what I want to feel about a murder mystery. I suppose I can't complain that I guessed early on who did it, since probably time has been unkind to the originality of the plot. Another thing is, I didn't like how the supporting characters ingratiated themselves with witnesses, pretending to offer friendship to some rather lonely-seeming figures in order to milk them for information, rather then just being upfront about their role as detectives. Using people, even for a 'noble' cause, is still using them.

ETA: On further thought, I'd like to add that Wimsey, supposedly a very 'likable' character, irritated me. The whole premise: rich lord goes to a trial, falls in love with the accused, and then pompously decides he'll investigate on his own based on romantic feelings (except mostly he just gets his employees or persuades people in lower social classes to do his work for him) is not a very appealing one. It may be because I started with Strong Poison, but I was unimpressed by how unprofessional and casual the Wimsey is as detective, and how he gets to flounce about and do as he likes just because he is a rich noble and not because of (at least in this book) any demonstrated merit of his own. Like I said, kind of irritating. Whoops.

nickimags's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

pawswithprose's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

ladyinpnw's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

about_wind_and_willows's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

heyheyhell's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

4.75

my favourite of the series so far! i've heard good things about harriet vane's introduction, and it seems to be true - in that she seems to prove a lovely foil for peter w., and seeing him loose his hat a bit

(and contrive to help his policeman friend propose to his lady sister by way of softening the blow that he wants to marry the formerly accused-for-murder, living in sin for a year, detective novelist woman - a scheme his sister easily ferrets out and has no problems with "clearing the way" - hilarious.)

the mystery is tricky and fairly realistic for these novels, and the side characters are generally a load of fun :) more again of the recurring theme of a kind of proto-feminisim that comes across very much congruous to the setting

zoer03's review against another edition

5.0

Another classic from the quintessential crime author from the Golden Age of crime writing. This time with some classic sleuthing not just from the main character but from an unlikely source.... a spinsterish middle age woman, who at the time of this novel and the time it is set in would have been called one of "the Superfluous Woman" these were woman who after the deaths of many men in fields across france after WW1 found it hard to 1. marry and 2. there was simply a dearth of men. This then lead to a lot of women working or trying to find work and not sure what to do with their essentially unique freedom, and thus the term superfluous was coined ( in disparaging remarks might I add). Anyway this little character is a gem and is what makes the whole novel come alive with excitement and pace. This is a must read.