It is hard to imagine a Dorothy Sayers novel without Lord Peter Wimsey. The novel consists of a large number of letters between the characters in the story. The first half of the book uses these letters to set the scene and provide insight into the characters long before anything criminal happens. Once the crime occurs, well into the second half of the book, it becomes an interesting detective story following up the many clues. Although this is not a great detective novel, it does show Sayers' skill in painting characters. ( )

An "epistolary" novel, except that not every document is a letter. The front cover of the copy I checked out deceives with an image of Lord Peter.

No heroes to be found in this one. The narrators are all unreliable. Nobody really comes off well. The son is devoted and determined and despises the author. The author was fond of the dead man and dislikes everybody else, except his wife. etc. The adulterous letters are inexpressibly tedious.

Fun as a period piece; the mystery is resolved with the help of modern physics, which at the time was a very contemporary topic. Discussions of religion vs. science as is to be expected in a Dorothy Sayers novel. ( )

Although this isn't a Peter Wimsey story it's set in the same world (where Sir James Lubbock is the Home Office analyst). The story is told, firstly through letters, then through written statements, and finally in the first person. Its a story of suburban melodrama and eventually murder, and it's quite fascinating to see the story emerge from the multiple narrators, all of whom are unreliable, although eventually the focus coalesces to one sympathetic voice. The science is also fascinating, and is from the contribution by Robert Eustace, pen name for Dr Eustace Barton. Evidently Sayers was not satisfied with this work but I find it a worthy addition to her oevure. ( )

An excellent example of the epistolary novel format where the story is gradually unveiled through letters and supporting documents rather than a prose narrative. Sayers presents distinctive voices and perspectives for each of the four main correspondents that establishes each as an unreliable narrator so you’re never quite sure where your sympathies should lie. The central mystery and solving of the crime itself takes a definite back seat to the human drama on offer here. ( )

Letters reveal the uneasy relationship between a painter, a novelist and the middle class couple with whom they lodge. Mr. Harrison is a fan of traditional foods such as mushrooms and hedgehogs. An expert in the topic he nonetheless dies of mushroom poisoning. Is is an accident or is his son correct in harboring suspicions? ( )