Classic detective fiction with the brilliant Peter Wimsey: While this isn't my favourite D.L Sayers, it's a wonderful story, about a young woman suspected of murdering her rich aunt and a servant who signed the aunt's will...but the post mortem doesn't show anything. Only Lord Peter Wimsey can solve the case, with the help of Chief Inspector Parker and Miss Climpson.

Dorothy L Sayers and Lord Peter are both on form in this cracking mystery, which is very well plotted with lots of lovely red herrings. I particularly enjoyed the explanation to the legal background to the original murder - showing that DLS expected her readers to be intelligent - and also the discussion Lord Peter has with the vicar about the morality of killing the terminally ill, something which still has relevance to date. The method of murder is ingenious, and has been copied by several other writers in the years since the book was first published, so does unfairly feel cliched. ( )

Good solid mystery from Miss Sayers. I came back to this one after reading Agatha Christie's "Appointment with Death" which references the murder method used in this book. Interestingly we can complete the circle back to AC as the description of the picnickers flocking to the scene of the disappearance of the two young women late in the book could be taken from Miss Sayers own first hand visit to the scene of AC's disappearance in 1926! An interesting story where, as DLS herself says (via Harriet Vane) in a later book, she invented a method of murder so watertight it was difficult to find a way of catching the murderer - HV forced a confession, DLS gets the murderer to panic and murder more, finally relying on catching them red handed! Good read! ( )

Very much enjoyed the original format of this medico-legal mystery. Even though one suspects the ending, Sayers is aways disconfirming these guesses until the very end. ( )

http://tyranist.blogspot.com/2008/02/... ( )