Lord Peter Wimsey Investigates by Dorothy L Sayers ****

Reading date: 1 January – 21 May 2025

I read this book in shorts burst in the Turkish room at the Arlington, usually on Fridays or Sunday afternoons. The enjoyable little puzzles kept me entertained and when I did not finish them in one sitting, I spent the week thinking about the solution. I have Never before read Wimsey and Dorothy L. Sayers is one of the four queens of crime so it was about time. I enjoyed the character, which has traces of Sherlock Holmes and Arsène Lupin, but none of the annoyance of Hercules Poirot. The compilation shows a good range: from the text book stolen pearls to the last one ‘Talboys’,  a charming story involving Wimsey’s first born. Some are dark and some just cute problems to entertain the mind. The solutions, although perhaps delivered in a bit of a formulaic way, feel very satisfactory. Or perhaps it was my good mood in the wonderful and warm surroundings of the Turkish room. We’ll see what happens when I swap Wimsey for Rashkolnikov …