Reviews

This is one of my favourites ... there's a scene, perhaps 2/3 of the way through, between our Lord Peter and the mysterious Mrs. Forrest that's particularly riveting for me--in a few short paragraphs the scene is set, and I'm there, and it's so vitally alive, just wonderful writing. The milieu is interesting (everyone's an unstated lesbian, basically--the victim, the victim's partner, the victim's partner's niece, the victim's partner's niece's partner, etc.), and unlike most cosy mysteries, this wasn't really a whodunnit--Peter lets us know right away that's he's quite sure who's dunnit, just not how, and why (or why then, at any rate).

I first read these long ago in my teens/early 20s and are delightedly returning to them. This, her third, is already at least twice as good as the first, and I think it makes a good starting point for the series. There's nothing in particular here that would spoil books 1 and 2 which you could easily return to if you liked this one, but this is of higher quality and is more likely to lure you in. Or, you could start with Strong Poison, but because it introduces Harriet Vane, and she's not in the first few books, you may miss her too much to enjoy them.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). (less)

marioncromb's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Lord Peter Wimsey investigates a death with no apparent means or motive. There are lots of lesbians. The story is pretty gripping but one of the twists is pretty obvious. I found Miss Climpson's style of letter writing incredibly amusing. The language is dated by use of certain slurs.

Content Warnings

siguirimama's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

ohnoflora's review against another edition

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3.0

I really enjoy the Lord Peter Wimsey stories but this one is not my favourite. The plot is rather nasty, which would be ok but the stereotypes are too hard to forgive.

naluju's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

readmore's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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