The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume Two: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club / Strong Poison / The Five Red Herrings / Have His Carcase

Lord Peter Wimsey #5-8

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The British aristocrat and sleuth takes on four more puzzling whodunits in this beloved series from “one of the greatest mystery story writers” (Los Angeles Times).   A gentleman needs hobbies. For Lord Peter Wimsey—a Great War veteran with a touch of shell shock—collecting rare books, sampling fine wines, and catching criminals are all most pleasant diversions. In these Golden Age whodunits, “Lord Peter can hardly be spared from the ranks of the great detectives of the printed page” (The New York Times).  The Unpleasantness at the Bellona On Armistice Day, a wealthy general dies in his club, surrounded by fellow veterans—while across town his sister also dies suspiciously, throwing a half-million-pound inheritance into turmoil. Now club member Lord Peter Wimsey must fight an uphill battle to solve the case.  Strong Lord Peter Wimsey comes to the trial of Harriet Vane for a glimpse at one of the most engaging murder cases London has seen in years. There is little doubt the woman will face the hangman. A mildly popular mystery novelist, she stands accused of poisoning her fiancé, a literary author and well-known advocate of free love. But as Lord Peter watches Harriet in the dock, he begins to doubt her guilt—and to fall in love.  The Five Red In the idyllic village of Kirkcudbright on the Scottish coast, every resident and visitor has two things in They either fish or paint (or both), and they all hate Sandy Campbell. So when the painter’s body is found at the bottom of a steep hill, Wimsey suspects someone’s taken a creative approach to the art of murder.  Have His Harriet Vane has gone on vacation to forget her recent murder trial and, more importantly, to forget the man who cleared her name—the dapper, handsome, and maddening Lord Peter Wimsey. But when she finds a dead body on the beach, only the gentleman sleuth can help her solve a murder after all the evidence has washed out to sea.    

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Historical Fiction, Mystery Thriller

1408 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2018

About the author

The detective stories of well-known British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers mostly feature the amateur investigator Lord Peter Wimsey; she also translated the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri.

This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.

Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...

Reviews

[A.K. Frailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Sayers mystery. I really didn't know how she was ever going to solve this one—Have His Carcase—but the ending was very satisfactory and made a great deal of sense. Something I never would have thought of but fit the situation perfectly. Well done on all levels.

[Elaine]

My trusty public library has almost every Lord Peter Wimsey novel, but they lacked The Five Red Herrings. A review of the first edition called it “disappointing, dry, and dull” (wikipedia), but I figured the worst Dorothy Sayers novel would be better than 99% of the other books available, so I snagged the Kindle edition included in The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume Two, when someone shared that it was on sale in The Literary Life Facebook group. The volume includes The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, and Have His Carcase, so it was a steal at less than $10, but the current price is $50. For a digital edition? Nope!

In The Five Red Herrings, Lord Peter solves a mystery while on holiday in Scotland. The dilemma is that the every suspect has a seemly airtight alibi. The tedious bit involves train time tables which would have been impossible to interpret with the map on the Kindle, but I found one online and took a stab at understanding who was where when. And then I gave up. I can’t solve even the easiest Agatha Christie novel, so I just went along with Lord Peter for the ride. As always, riding along with Wimsey is delightful, even if I would have enjoyed a bit more Bunter.

A more modern review says Five Red Herrings is “A work that grows on rereading and remains in the mind as one of the richest, most colorful of her group studies.” I read the book summer 2019 when I purchased it and enjoyed it, but I really loved rereading it this summer. I remembered enough of the puzzle to see some of the clues and the characters were more distinct. Even a “bad” Sayers novel really is better than just about anything else available, especially for comfort reading.

Every time I reread a Sayers novel, I catch more references to classics thanks to AmblesideOnline and The Literary Life Podcast. I recognized allusions to “The Outlandish Knight”, Wilkie Collins, and G. K. Chesterton. I particularly liked this metaphor: “From now on, every hour of light-heartedness would be, not a prerogative but an achievement—one more axe or case-bottle or fowling-piece, rescued, Crusoe-fashion, from a sinking ship.”

[MELANIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lord Peter Wimsey - his upper-class accent and off-putting manner that becomes kind and compassionate when faced with sorrow and disquiet. As usual, Dorothy L. Sayers manages complex plots, beautiful descriptions, and darkness set against the 1920s in mainly rarefied places. Gentlemen's Clubs are long a thing of the past, and country houses, still fully staffed are a rare species. These books bring us back to a time when PTSD was called shell shock and many men suffered so terribly, without any relief. Some officers returned from the front without a blemish - mental or physical. Britain was rebuilding after World War I, and already there were changes in society that would soon affect those country houses, townhouses with butlers and valets, and would alter forever after World War II. These books offer us a glimpse of the past by someone who lived in that time, rather than the modern writers whose detective fiction relies on research. These are THE authentic, great detective novels that bring pleasure repeatedly. No matter how often I read them, I am still drawn into this era and it becomes alive with Sayers' pen.

[Sharon Herbitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for Have His Carcase:

I liked parts of this novel very much (especially the inclusion of Harriet Vane — MARRY Lord Peter already!) and skimmed parts of it (the code-breaking parts required more concentration than I was willing to give, so I skimmed, assuming they’d figure it out in the end).

I do love Lord Peter. I have read criticisms that he is “too perfect,” but I don’t read these books to find a warts-and-all hero; a little perfection is just what the doctor ordered now and then.

No spoilers here — but you have a sense all along who must’ve done it (because Wimsey and Vane have that same sense), but the satisfaction is found in the journey, not the destination. And the journey, though bloody, is worth the effort.

(Btw — because it bugged me, I did a little research and “carcase” is the British spelling of “carcass.”)

[callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So tedious

I've read Peter Wimsey stories before, some years ago. I enjoyed them. However, the last 2 of this 4 volume set were remarkably tedious as the eponymous sleuth obsesses endlessly, and I do mean endlessly, over the elusive clues positing one false solution after another until at last finding the correct one and then abruptly the story ends --even anticlimactically. No character development. No plot development. I started skimming rather than reading hoping to get to some engaging story line. Disappointing.

[Catherine Parojinog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent and Entertaining

One of my favorite authors, Dorothy Sayers created a new genre of murder mystery fiction. Her characters are well-drawn and enjoyable, and her stories are never formulaic. Her writing is rich with literary references, complex language, and humor. I thoroughly enjoy the fun and a challenge of reading her works.

[Susan Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for mystery lovers

I had watched the television dramatizations of some of the Lord Peter Wimsey books which were well done but there is much more to discover reading the books. Dorothy Sayers really keeps you on your toes.

[Phillip Mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

second set of four novels is addictive

The best of the murder mystery continues with four stories. Peter Wimsey carries detection to new levels of brilliance in spite of Red Herrings.
Superb

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads brings up this collection. I read Have His Carcase as a stand alone book. I am just now discovering Dorothy Sayers works. Old English in language and story. I find this one book ever so long due to the old vocabulary and languge, but I will be reading more of her works.

[Nina]

Have his carcase: too boring to finish. Life is too short to spend reading books that belabor and belabor

[Jim Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

tedious

I thought I’d never get done reviewing all the evidence. Too clever by Hal’s and unsatisfactory conclusion. I don’t recommend

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this years ago and could remember the twist at the end, though not much more, so still couldn't remember who did it or how it all worked out, but still slightly frustrating waiting for them to finally work that bit out. Not my favourite Lord Peter Wimsey book. Not enough of the other characters like Miss Climpson, Bunter and the various interesting friends, but enjoyable enough!

Edited since this seems to have been attached to a box set of several books. This comment is about Have His Carcase.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent mysteries! Excellent performance in audio version.

[Trois Pommes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien ficelées, ces histoires, mais elles ont tellement (mal) vieilli !