Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers

When I recently read a blog piece about the British Queens of Crime (Christie, Allingham, Sayers, and Marsh), I remembered that I had not read Dorothy L. Sayers in a long time. Even then, I had only read two or three of the books, which I had liked immensely. Feeling it was time for another, I downloaded the audiobook read by Roe Kendall of Whose Body?, first of Sayer's published mysteries.

Upon listening, I was immediately struck by how much of the story is told through conversations between the investigators, witnesses, and suspects. I suspect I would have noticed this in print, but in performance with the reader lending so many voices, it was theater. The quick pace made putting down my iPod difficult. I kept wanting to hear just a little more before stopping.

Of course, the main sleuth is the gentleman Lord Peter Wimsey, who loves nothing better than a puzzle to solve. He has survived World War I, but he needs diversion to keep from thinking about the horror. With the clever help of his valet Mervyn Bunter, who was his sergeant on the Western Front, Wimsey assists Inspector Parker of Scotland Yard who has been charged with discovering why financier Reuben Levy has disappeared. The odd body that has appeared in architect Alfred Thipps's bathtub in a nearby flat is most certainly not Levy - but is there a connection?

I am happy to have reacquainted myself with Wimsey and will start working my way through the series. Thanks to whoever wrote the blog piece that I have now misplaced.

By the way, the cover image used for the audiobook has absolutely no relevance to the story.

Sayers, Dorothy L. Whose Body? Harper, 1923.

Audiobook from Tantor Media, 2005. 6 compact discs.