Unnatural Death

by Chris Miller (Adapter), Dorothy L. Sayers, Ian Carmichael (Narrator)

This full-cast dramatization is adapted by Chris Miller and produced by Simon Brett. The wealthy Agatha Dawson is dead and there are no apparent signs of foul play. Lord Peter Wimsey, however, senses that something is amiss and he refuses to let the case rest—even without any clues or leads. Suddenly, he is faced with another murder—of Agatha's maid. Can super-sleuth Wimsey find the murderer and solve the case before he becomes the killer's next victim?

01/07 No Sign Of Foul Play
The start of a new mystery for Lord Peter Wimsey, beginning with a nurse and an old lady.

02/07 Death In Epping Forest
With another senseless murder, Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation leads to an evasive would-be divorcee.

03/07 The Will
There's more for Lord Peter to investigate - especially when one of his suspects takes a shine to him.

04/07 Hallelujah
Lord Peter's case continues, and clues come in the form of illegitimate heirs and property acts.

05/07 The Property Act
Lord Peter asks more questions, and gets unlikely answers about property law.

06/07 Vera Findlater
Lord Peter and co wind up decamping to the seaside on the trail of the killer - and make a gruesome discovery.

07/07 Miss Climpson Investigates
Evidence against Mary Whitaker is mounting, but none of it proves murder.
Another case solved.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 5th May to 16th June 1975.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

4 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite so far, I think. The plot itself -- the whodunnit aspect, anyway -- isn't too much trouble to me, because I remember that around the same time as I first read it, someone in NCIS was killed in the same way as the murderer uses multiple times here. So that part seemed rather obvious to me. But Lord Peter is so fun -- and I love Parker, possibly even more in this version than in the books. Miss Climpson is rather fun, too.

It's surprising how addictive these radioplays are, too. I wouldn't have read all the books in one go like this.

My main complaint with this one -- not enough Bunter.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This old fashioned murder mystery set (and written) in the 1920's featuring Lord Peter Whimsey was an absolute delight. The period setting and wonderful characters were all well developed and credible, and the many twists and turns in the story keep me engaged throughout. It is an amusing and entertaining story rather than great literature, but well worth the investment of time. The BBC dramatisation with the wonderful voices really added to my enjoyment of the story.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is more of a howdunnit than a whodunnit, I ended up rather enjoying piecing the puzzle together. There are a few characters, but they all fit so well together that it's not difficult to keep track of them. Because of this, there wasn't enough time for them to irritate me, haha. (I just think the doctor who set everything in motion should have had played a larger role.) Unnatural Death doesn't quite develop the characters and their psychologies as well as an Agatha Christie would, but it comes pretty close!

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

In einem Café lernt Dr. Carr Lord Peter Wimsey kennen und erzählt ihm eine interessante Geschichte. Dr. Carr war Landarzt in Leahampton mit dem speziellen Steckenpferd der Krebsbehandlung. Er behandelte die reiche alte Jungfer Miss Agatha Dawson, die an Krebs erkrankt war. Eine erste OP war erfolgreich, dann kehrte der Krebs jedoch zurück. Er gab ihr noch bis März, sie starb jedoch bereits im November. Eine Autopsie ergab nichts, ruinierte aber den Ruf des Arztes, des seine Praxis aufgeben musste, weil er von den Bewohnern von Leahampton boykottiert wurde. Lord Peter Wimsey hegt Verdacht gegen Mary Whittaker, die als einzige vom Ableben ihrer Großtante Nutzen ziehen konnte. Wie jedoch und warum hat sie diese umgebracht, so sie ohnehin geerbt hätte?
Lord Peter Wimsey setzt Alexandra Catherine Climpson, eine ältere, pensionierte Dame auf Mary Whittaker und die Bewohner Leahamptons an und schon bald pflastern weitere Leichen die Ermittlungen dieses Falls.

1975 produzierte die BBC dieses Hörspiel mit Ian Carmichael als Lord Peter und Peter Jones als Bunter. Ein wenig hört man dem Hörspiel sein Alter schon an. Der Kontrast der Interpretation des Lord Peter zwischen diesem BBC Hörspiel und einigen deutschen Hörspielen ist überraschend. In den deutschen Hörspielen ist Lord Peter meist ein distinguierter, adeliger, englischer Detektiv, beim BBC erinnert er stark an Bertie Wooster von PG Woodhouse, nur nicht so trottelig, aber genauso affektiert mit dem Slang der 1920er Jahre und einem Buttler namens Bunter. Die Sprecher sind durchweg ausgezeichnet, die Soundkulisse passend und unterstützend, Musik wird nur sehr sparsam bis nie eingesetzt.
Der Fall an sich ist sehr gut aufgebaut und sauber, von verschiedenen Blickwinkeln ermittelt. Man kann miträtseln, nichts wird verschwiegen. Lustig ist vor allem, dass ein Teil der Ermittlung durch eine ältere Dame übernommen wird, die sich in Leahampton als Rentier einmietet und auf der Ebene des Klatsch und Tratsch ermittelt und so Dinge in Erfahrung bringt, die ein normaler Ermittler nie erfahren würde. Dieser Fall hat durch seine Mordmethode Geschichte geschrieben und wird seitdem immer wieder (indirekt) zitiert.

Fazit: Schon seltsam, dass diese englischen Krimis in Deutschland so unbekannt sind. Ich finde sie fast besser als jene von Agatha Christie, zumindest was die saubere Ermittlung angeht. Lord Peter ist ein original und seine Methoden wirksam, wenn auch teilweise unorthodox.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sayers' novel, adapted to a full-cast radio play, is a delightful mystery in the Columbo model, where our detective knows, from the get-out, who committed the murder, and the mystery lies in discovering how to prove it.

I've read quite a few of the Lord Peter Whimsey stories and feel like I know the character pretty well, but this audio drama did a lot to help me understand him even better, especially because the actor playing Whimsey knows how to deploy the Britishism "what?" to maximum effect.
The mystery itself is a fine example of the classical golden age detective story mystery. It's twisty, relies on arcane legal mumbo jumbo and British tradition, but follows all the rules one would expect of this kind of story.
At the same time, because the suspect makes almost no appearance in the story at all, it has an abstracted quality that reduces some of the impact of the mystery. In that way, Whimsey really embodies the armchair detective. There's even one point where he teases the policeman that he, Whimsey, comes up with elaborate theories of the crime and the policeman gets the tedious job of doing the legwork to prove them.

I've come to really enjoy the BBC radio drama versions of these stories--the life given the characters by the actors really works well for me, and they're light enough that I can listen while I work out.

[Agnesxnitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable relisten to Ian Carmichael as the archetypal Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey as the Gentleman Sleuth of the West End.
A chance exchange of conversation with an unknown young doctor leds Wimsey to start a spirited investigation into the death of an elderly lady in Hampshire. Initially put down to cancer and heart failure, Wimsey sniffs out all is not well with this death, and sends in his detecting wolf in sheep's clothing, the inimitable Miss Catherine Climpson. Whilst Miss C embeds herself in the village where the death took place, Wimsey starts to make enquires concerns former maids of the late lady, the state of her testamentary dispositions, and, at practically every turn, the plot sickens.
Sadly his best friend, Inspector Charles Parker doesn't initially agree with Wimsey's enthusiastic theories, but when the next body with links to the original death turns up, and then another person linked to the case is found bludgeoned to death, even Parker can't refuse to realise something criminal is going on!

[The Book Loving Monkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Ian Carmichael and Peter Jones are on top form as Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

'No sign of foul play,' says Dr Carr after the post-mortem on Agatha Dawson. The case is closed.

Another lovely book by Dorothy Sayers.