I continue to work my way through the Lord Peter novels. (The first five were read in 2021 and reviewed
here.) The fun begins in earnest with
Strong Poison when Harriet Vane is introduced.
6.
Strong Poison -
Darling Miss Climpson (from book 3) makes a reappearance. Lord Peter falls in love. The banter is delightful throughout. Although I've read this twice before, I only vaguely remembered how the murder was committed and my enjoyment of the novel was not diminished in the least.
7. Five Red Herrings - An artist is murdered and six other artists have good motives (and lousy alibis) for doing it. Painstaking detail is given to train routes and timetables, which made it very hard to follow at times. This was my least favorite in the series so far. Too many red herrings and not enough Lord Peter.
8.
Have His Carcase - I love books that make me chortle and Wimsey's continued proposals of marriage to Harriet Vane delighted me every time. You sense Harriet weakening a little near the end of the book when Lord Peter forgets to ask her the all-important question and she feels let-down. The mystery was complicated. Still, I'd gladly re-read this for the lovely repartee.
10. (I accidently skipped #9 and will review it in my next Wimsey post.) Murder Must Advertise - Lord Peter goes undercover in an advertising agency to investigate the suspicious death of a former employee. A very unique crime, but not a very satisfying ending to my thinking.
11. The Nine Tailors - This was a little hard to enjoy at first because it deals with the complicated art of change-ringing. But once the mysterious dead body was found, it was fun to see Lord Peter figure out who it was and why/how he was killed. No Harriet Vane in this one.
(The next in the series is Gaudy Night, which is almost everyone's favorite, so I'm looking forward to digging in!)
Anyone else partial to the Vane/Wimsey romance?
Blessings,
