Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ian Carmichael is one of the best readers I've come across. If you've seen him as Lord Peter Wimsey on TV and been, shall we say, ambivalent about his portrayal, don't let that turn you away from the audiotapes. On tape, Mr. Carmichael catches the essence of Peter Wimsey: the quick, light speech; the self-aware mockery; sensitivity covered up by quotations and babbling.

Unnatural Death has always been one of my favorite Sayers (and also has one of the most fabulous last lines in popular fiction). In Unnatural Death, you get a hefty dose of Ms Climpson, a pro-active Parker and vignettes of village life (something that Sayers does very well). The plot is a tad convoluted (there are some points I still puzzle over), but psychologically, the murders all make sense.

One of her earlier novels, Unnatural Death does not delve as deeply into morality or characterization as some of Sayers' later works. But it is still a satisfying listen that is more than a mere puzzle.

When Dr. Edward Carr overhears Lord Peter Wimsey and Detective Charles Parker discussing crime and the responsibility of the medical profession, he is drawn to share a perplexing problem of his own. When a patient of his who was slowly dying of cancer suddenly took much worse and died, he was unable to sign the death certificate with confidence and insisted on a post mortem, greatly discomfiting the survivor, one Mary Whittaker. When nothing suspicious is found, Dr. Carr found himself losing patients, and eventually had to sell his practice.

Wimsey is intrigued, and, despite the misgivings of both the doctor and Detective Parker, dispatches the elderly Miss Alexandra Climpson to gather information in the town of Leahampton while he pursues other leads in London. He finds many suspicions, but no facts, even when one death and then another are reported. In each case there are no indications of foul play, and Wimsey becomes convinced that he has grabbed the tail of the perfect crime. His opinion is not shared by Parker, however, and it is only reluctantly that the latter consents to investigate.

Gradually circumstance builds, and even Parker must admit that there are many questions to be answers. Yet all are baffled. Even knowing who the perpetrator must be, the investigators are unable to formulate a case that will stand in court. Wimsey is up against one of those sociopathic minds that pays careful attention to detail and apparently has the means to murder as if by magic. Dorothy Sayers has created a truly baffling case.

The greatest delight of this novel is the first appearance of Miss Alexandra Climpson. A delightfully sharp woman who is a persistent and dedicated investigator in the service of Lord Peter. Initially giving the appearance of the archetypal maiden aunt, it quickly becomes apparent that Miss Climpson has unplumbed depths and she will return often to the delectation and joy of the reader.

While 'Unnatural Death' is an eminently readable and entertaining story, it does not bear up as well on rereading. For one thing, most of the book is spent knowing exactly who is guilty but not having the important clue in hand. As a matter of personal preference, I like to have to guess the criminal better than guessing the means. Also, since the story depends on a trick solution, the ending is less satisfying than it might have been. All this aside, it is still a great story. Dorothy Sayers' worst (which this isn't) is far better than most writers' best. Have no fear, you will enjoy this.

Dr. Carr, who had been forced to give up his practice for believing the death of Agatha Dawson to be murder despite the absence of any cause other than natural causes, told his story to Lord Peter Wimsey and Chief Inspector Parker (who is erroneously called 'sir' by a Superintendent). While Parker remained unconvinced, Wimsey believed that he had found "the case [he had] always been looking for. The case of cases. The murder without discernible means, or motives or clue. The norm"-for he believed that there were far more unsuspected murders than the "failures" known to Scotland Yard. There was no evidence to suggest how Miss Dawson could have died other than from natural causes-yet all the clues pointed to murder having been done. For example, there was the death of Miss Dawson's maid, Bertha Gotobed, also of natural causes-yet the presence of an empty bottle of beer, the absence of a bottle-opener, and the presence of highly expensive ham, discovered in a Baileyesque investigation, all indicated that somebody else had been on the scene. And Bertha Gotobed's sister, Mrs. Cropper, returning from Canada, saw Miss Dawson's great-niece Mary Whittaker waiting for her at the train station. Mary Whittaker, who stood to gain if she killed her great-aunt before the New Property Act was passed, struck Wimsey as the main suspect-and this is one of Sayers' books, like WHOSE BODY? and STRONG POISON, where the villain's identity is obvious from the start, allowing Sayers to create a memorable portrait of evil, for "when a woman is wicked and unscrupulous, she is the most ruthless criminal in the world-fifty times more than a man, because she is always so much more single-minded about it." Wimsey sends Miss Climpson-who is his "ears and [his] tongue, and especially [his] nose. She asks questions which a young man could not put without a blush. She is the angel that rushes in where fools get a clump on the head. She can smell a rat in the dark. In fact, she is the cat's whiskers"-to Hampshire to sleuth, a prototype Miss Marple.