marycatelli (marycatelli) wrote in bookish,
marycatelli
marycatelli
bookish

Unnatural Death

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

The third Lord Peter Wimsey novel.  With rather few connections to the others -- you could not tell its place among the early ones on internal evidence alone -- though my edition opens with a biographical note purportedly by his uncle to recount his backstory, and it alludes to later novels.

But this one opens with Lord Peter and Charles Parker talking in the restaurant about doctors, and what they may suspect, and what they can prove, about odd deaths.

Which happens to be overheard by a young doctor, who can give them a similar account, and what happened when he made too much of a stink.  Without the details, of course.  Nevertheless, Lord Peter, after holding forth on how easily murder could be committed if only murderers carefully selected victims and means and situations, decides to investigate.  Even though the most likely murderer, the woman's niece, has no apparent motive, since she would inherit regardless.

He takes Parker around to meet Miss Climpson, a middle-aged spinster he retained to act as an investigating agent -- the most natural person in the world to gossip.  Things accelerate from them.  It involves discussions of the long-lost heir from overseas, an uncle who became (shush) a monk, a black cousin stemming from a black sheep of the family taking out overseas, poultry farms and alibis, talking with lawyers about newly passed Acts, and much more.
Tags: author: s, genre: mystery
Subscribe

  • Fyre

    Fyre by Angie Sage Book 7, and the conclusion, of the Septimus Heap series. A lot of threads are tied together here, so spoilers ahead for the…

  • Book Review: Oedipus Rex

    As an introduction of sorts, why not start with a name known throughout Western culture: Oedipus. Just remembering who Oedipus killed and who he…

  • From the Edge of Darkness by Kevin Saito

    (From Amazon): You are cordially invited to take a trip to the Edge of Darkness. In his first collection of short stories, Kevin Saito presents…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
  • 14 comments

  • Fyre

    Fyre by Angie Sage Book 7, and the conclusion, of the Septimus Heap series. A lot of threads are tied together here, so spoilers ahead for the…

  • Book Review: Oedipus Rex

    As an introduction of sorts, why not start with a name known throughout Western culture: Oedipus. Just remembering who Oedipus killed and who he…

  • From the Edge of Darkness by Kevin Saito

    (From Amazon): You are cordially invited to take a trip to the Edge of Darkness. In his first collection of short stories, Kevin Saito presents…