Whose Body?Dorothy L. Sayers |
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 8/9/2010 |
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Mr. Thipps knows it's going to be a bad day. There's a dead naked man in his bathtub. He calls the police; he also is able to get a message that reaches the Duchess Dowager, Lord Peter Wimsey's mother. She calls her son and Lord Peter is gets to the scene of the crime before the police. He is able to examine the body before it is moved. It is 1923 and this is an introduction to Lord Peter Wimsey, Dorothy Sayer's dilettante nobleman who enjoys investigating crimes. It's one of his hobbies, like collecting rare books. He is casual, treating a murder investigation with a light, whimsical (sorry, but the word fits) hand. Yet when it comes to solving a crime, he is all seriousness. At the same time the unidentified man is found in the tub, a rich businessman disappears. At first it appears that the body could be Mr. Levy, but it's definitely not. How did an older, well fed man die and get left in a bathtub in the third floor flat? Lord Peter starts working with Mr. Parker from Scotland Yard. Parker is responsible for finding Mr. Levy. The two cases shouldn't be connected. Yet there are little coincidences that keep Wimsey interested and digging. The reader knows who the murderer is by the last third of Whose Body? From there, Wimsey, his man Bunter, Parker, and a cast of characters have to figure out how and why. Without proof, a man will get away with murder. Most of the proof has been destroyed or buried. Fortunately, they follow their instincts the right direction. This is the first book in the series and Lord Peter is still a lighter character. He still has problems occasionally with shell shock (now called post traumatic stress syndrome) from the Great War. It's hard to take him seriously until more is revealed about him. As the series continues, the characters develop and become deeper. Lord Peter never becomes a serious, ponderous fellow, and keeps his tone of gaiety and mischief throughout despite his character development. I was especially intrigued with the method of the murder. It was ingenious and well executed. As the murderer says at the end, it was only due to some unforeseen chances that he was discovered. Every contingency may be covered but fate can still throw a twist. While listening to the characters speak I had to remind myself that this book was published almost 90 years ago. As I've said in other reviews, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Dorothy Sayers had her pulse on human nature. Whose Body? is an entertaining way to discover her style, leading up to some top notch mysteries later in the series. Notice: Non-graphic violence |
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Lord Peter Wimsey :
Whose Body? |
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