Lord Peter Wimsey – Derelict Space Sheep

Bodies from the Library 2

by Derelict Space Sheep on March 24, 2023 in 42 Word Retrospectives • 0 Comments

Bodies from the Library 2: Forgotten Stories of Mystery and Suspense by the Queens of Crime and other Masters of Golden Age Detection

ed. Tony Medawar (Collins Crime Club, 2019)

audiobook read by Philip Bretherton (HarperCollins, 2019)

A collection of unpublished or obscurely published and never before reprinted detective stories from some famous names in the genre. While these include pieces featuring, respectively, Gervase Fen and Lord Peter Wimsey, most of these tales have gathered dust for good reason.

Murder Must Advertise

by Derelict Space Sheep on October 29, 2022 in 42 Word Retrospectives • 0 Comments

Murder Must Advertise

by Dorothy Sayers (Victor Gollancz, 1933); audiobook read by Ric Jerrom (Chivers, 2012)

Sayers throws herself into the advertising world, exhibiting the same whimsical, satirical bent as her protagonist. Yet, the entire caper is laborious in the extreme. Characterisation and context are all very well, but a good 50% of this novel is utterly extraneous.

The Nine Tailors

by Derelict Space Sheep on September 12, 2019 in 42 Word Retrospectives • 0 Comments

The Nine Tailors

by Dorothy L. Sayers (Gollancz, 1934); audiobook read by Ian Carmichael (Playaway, 2011)

As a period piece this is passably interesting. As a mystery it is nothing but a disappointment (and could easily have been edited down to half the length). Lord Peter Wimsey is a minimal presence at best, listening to other characters’ ramblings.

Clouds of Witness

by Derelict Space Sheep on April 29, 2018 in 42 Word Retrospectives • 0 Comments

Clouds of Witness

by Dorothy L. Sayers (T. Fisher Unwin, 1926); audiobook read by Ian Carmichael (BBC, 1992/2009)

An unhurried mystery from which the protagonist seems oddly removed. Lord Peter Wimsey is a character cut from the Wodehouse mould, yet the writing—despite its occasionally witty turn of phrase—leaves him untethered, a whimsy (as it were) without true purpose.