90-year-old General Fentiman was definitely dead, but no one knew exactly when he had died — and the time of death was the determining fact... read full description
reviews
Jun 05, 2007
Siria
rated it: 
As a crime novel, it's not bad; compared to her earlier works, it's a definite improvement in terms of the tightness and plausibility of her plotting. Not the best crime novel you're ever going to read, and lightweight compared to the later books, but it still has a nice few twists and turns in it along the way.
Of course, this being a DLS novel, I'm not actually reading it for the murder mystery. The book's introduction describes Sayers' work is very much a 'tapestry novel', and I'd More...
Of course, this being a DLS novel, I'm not actually reading it for the murder mystery. The book's introduction describes Sayers' work is very much a 'tapestry novel', and I'd More...
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Dec 23, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
Not my favourite when I read it, I remember, and rather too predictable, I think. I remembered most of the twists and turns, and figured out what I didn't. The best part about this radioplay was Wimsey and Parker and Wimsey figuring out to some extent that his meddling messes things up and gets people into trouble. Decidedly lacking in Bunter, though.
I really forgot how long it takes for there to be much of an overarching plot. I think it took until Harriet Vane enters the scene for me More...
I really forgot how long it takes for there to be much of an overarching plot. I think it took until Harriet Vane enters the scene for me More...
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Jul 30, 2008
Jarrah
rated it:
Golden Age mystery. General Fentiman, ninety years old, is found quietly passed away in his armchair at the Bellona Club. It's hardly what you want to happen at a respectable club, but it wouldn't have been anything Lord Peter Wimsey, gentleman sleuth, felt the need to involve himself in, if there hadn't been one curious question of inheritance. The general's sister left her considerable fortune to her brother, provided he did not predecease her. The lady also died that morning. If she died firs
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Nov 08, 2007
Maria
rated it:
With this, I finish my last LPW mystery. It was a good time. *moment of silence* Anyway --
When half-star ratings are added, I'll add another half star to this. It's not quite the literary accomplishment that deserves four full stars, but that shouldn't deter anyone from reading it. This is a really solidly written mystery, an unexpectedly interesting read. It's not a book most people mention as one of their favourites, but I can't think of a bad thing to say about it.*
It More...
When half-star ratings are added, I'll add another half star to this. It's not quite the literary accomplishment that deserves four full stars, but that shouldn't deter anyone from reading it. This is a really solidly written mystery, an unexpectedly interesting read. It's not a book most people mention as one of their favourites, but I can't think of a bad thing to say about it.*
It More...
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Jun 07, 2008
John
rated it:
The Bellona Club is the sort of all-male, all-privileged bastion where the members' habits are so regular that it is a number of hours before it is noticed that one of the regulars, sitting in his regular chair, is actually deceased.
Unpleasantness, indeed. But it is only when Lord Peter Wimsey discovers that the member actually was deceased BEFORE he arrived in his chair that the plot really thickens.
And thickens. And thickens.
So much so, that I can't keep up with Lord Peter's More...
Unpleasantness, indeed. But it is only when Lord Peter Wimsey discovers that the member actually was deceased BEFORE he arrived in his chair that the plot really thickens.
And thickens. And thickens.
So much so, that I can't keep up with Lord Peter's More...
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Jun 05, 2007
Writerlibrarian
rated it: 
In this one, Lord Peter stumbles on to a dead body who has all the signs of a natural death with one tiny, little quibble of the rigor mortis sort. When Murbles comes to Wimsey to pinpoint the time of death of the deceased it opens up a can of worms. Interesting and intricate little mystery. It has all the charm and fun of the others Lord Peter novels with the added touch of a "vernis" of personal conflict and tortured conscience. Add the character of George which might be a distorted
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Jan 20, 2011
Bettie
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Feb 29, 2008
Kirsten
rated it: 
It's unpleasant enough when members of the Bellona Club discover that the elderly General Fentiman has apparently passed away in front of the fire. But unpleasantness continues when, due to some complications of inheritance, it becomes necessary to acertain when exactly the good general passed on -- and Lord Peter finds it may have been earlier, and in different circumstances, than anyone previously thought. This is a great puzzler, which takes the conventions of the detective genre and uses the
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Sep 08, 2011
Jodi
rated it:
Another book, ‘read’ on my commute in the mystery genre. This one involves the timing of the deaths between elderly siblings to determine which group of heirs inherits. A bit of a twist is added that made it an enjoyable read.
Sir Peter Wimsey, the main investigator, is independently wealthy and solves cases for the sport---that is a good word for him. A typical English phrase “Very sporting of you” would fit him. Of course he sees clues the detectives do not and since he is not More...
Sir Peter Wimsey, the main investigator, is independently wealthy and solves cases for the sport---that is a good word for him. A typical English phrase “Very sporting of you” would fit him. Of course he sees clues the detectives do not and since he is not More...
Aug 06, 2011
Madeline
rated it:
A pretty well-done mystery, with lots of good twists and turns, but not quite up to the standard of Sayers' later novels. All the regulars are here: Mr. Murbles, Bunter, Charles Parker, and most delightfully, the man known as Waffles. As in her other early novels, the big theme of this one is post-World-War-I trauma, and the mystery centers on this concept. The body that Peter investigates was found on Armistice Day, which ends up being an important factor in the case.
Lord Peter is More...
Lord Peter is More...
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Jan 06, 2011
Lightreads
rated it:
On the surface, a pleasant puzzle-piecey little murder mystery, with Peter bounding here and there, declaiming and detectiving his way to an answer. But under that . . . yikes. What an uncomfortable book, with people turning and twisting and snagging on each other like brambles on silk. Everyone stuck inside a little box called marriage or poverty or shell shock or police rules. This book is all tight spaces – the badly lit veteran’s club, the body crammed up tight in the phone box, the stifling
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Nov 13, 2011
Moira
rated it:
Reading Sayers' fifth mystery novel in November is perfect timing, as the plot centres around events that take place on Armistice Day (aka "Remembrance Day", November 11), with some fun clues around wearing poppies and the two-minutes of silence. A great follow up to reading book #4 in October.
In my humble opinion, "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" is a slightly better paced mystery than "Unnatural Death" (her 3rd effort), but not as good as "Strong Poi
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Apr 28, 2011
Kim
rated it:
I really love this book. For an unpretentious 1920s mystery novel, it really has a lot going on. There's the mystery itself, which has enough twists and turns to remain interesting. (I didn't guess the outcome, which is always a plus!). Then there is the social commentary: the plight of World War I veterans, the effects of poverty and unemployment, the changing role of women in society, relationships between men and women. And of course there is Peter Wimsey: intelligent, intuitive, funny and co
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Nov 28, 2009
pinknantucket
rated it:
By Gad, it was such a relief to read this after “Let the Right One In”!! Yes, in Dorothy Sayers’ books there are actually characters that say “By Gad!”. If you already read Sayers books with gusto then you won’t need to read this review, unless you want to confirm your own righteousness. The Wimsey novels are kind of addictive and you just have to read them all. Unless, of course, you didn’t warm to Sayers’ detective hero, Lord Peter Wimsey, or if you find characters that say things like “By Gad
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Sep 08, 2009
Julia
rated it:
I really loved this book but I have a feeling that has more to do with the main character Lord Peter Wimsey (and a strong feeling of kinship with the author) than with this specific storyline. (It's my first taste of the series.)
The mystery novel part itself was fun and clever - nothing wonderful, nothing bad - a tasty period British detective story that any Anglophile would love.
What really caught my eye, though, was finding Wimsey in the role of God (or at least my o More...
The mystery novel part itself was fun and clever - nothing wonderful, nothing bad - a tasty period British detective story that any Anglophile would love.
What really caught my eye, though, was finding Wimsey in the role of God (or at least my o More...
Oct 30, 2011
Reds_reads
rated it:
Lord Peter solves the mystery of when old General Fentiman died, a fact crucial to the inheritance of a considerable sum.
Reading this book makes me wish for half stars in the ratings as I preferred this book to Unnatural Death, but not enough for 5 stars. The characters continue to be more fleshed out from the earlier books, Parker has quite a sarcastic humour at times and Lord Peter is less frivolous. The plot takes more turns than the previous book and the ending is less predicta More...
Reading this book makes me wish for half stars in the ratings as I preferred this book to Unnatural Death, but not enough for 5 stars. The characters continue to be more fleshed out from the earlier books, Parker has quite a sarcastic humour at times and Lord Peter is less frivolous. The plot takes more turns than the previous book and the ending is less predicta More...
Aug 27, 2010
Brittany
rated it:
In this one, Lord Peter stayed ahead of me the whole time, which is when I love these books best. However, it got knocked down a star for what I felt was the rather unsympathetic treatment of, of all things, the victim and other suspects. Yes, the victim was a very old man, and, yes, the two sons were to be pitied for the way the war marked them, but it was not very pleasant to read. Also, this is the second book in a row where a very old person has died and, while I think a discussion on euthan
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Mar 17, 2009
Briana
rated it:
A pretty good Wimsey book...something fun, relaxing...(something NOT school-related...something I'm NOT supposed to be reading while I have a ton of other stuff to do...)
The story idea on the blurb definitely hooked me, but the plot is not all that dramatic. That's sort of typical Sayers, I've found. However, the characters and the setting are engaging. I must say that Wimsey has had funnier moments...but he's still very cool, as always.
Honestly, this book is not worthwhi More...
The story idea on the blurb definitely hooked me, but the plot is not all that dramatic. That's sort of typical Sayers, I've found. However, the characters and the setting are engaging. I must say that Wimsey has had funnier moments...but he's still very cool, as always.
Honestly, this book is not worthwhi More...
Mar 06, 2011
Whoopsie, I didn't get the ~book~ but a BBC dramatization. But, since this series is so dialog-driven, I feel like I got the price of my admission. Very diverting business about wills and what-not, and unlike its predecessor it doesn't telegraph its ending from the word go. Also, beneath the light tone of the Wimsey series, it is interesting to get a glimpse of what life must have been like in England after the trauma of the Great War, and how the veterans of the war must have been regarded a
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Aug 07, 2011
Tara
rated it:
Honestly, I've been reading all these Dorothy Sayers books in secret recently, but I can't hide it anymore. I have rigorously avoided mystery novels because my mother refuses to read any book that is not Jane Austen or a mystery penned by a woman. It's a family joke. We get her things outside the box: not interested. It's female flowering dogwoods, power-saws so she can do more home repair, and mystery novels by women. As a young reader I said: I will read theology, history, philosophy; I will n
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Aug 29, 2011
Bev
rated it:
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers is another lovely, classic, Golden Age mystery. Old General Fentiman is found peacefully passed away, sitting in his favorite chair by the fireplace in the Bellona Club. Nothing strange about a ninety-year-old gentleman falling asleep and never waking up. Or is there? Lord Peter Wimsey immediately notices a few oddities about the corpse, but as the doctor in charge doesn't say anything, he decides to refrain from pointing them out. But t
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Aug 02, 2011
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Jul 21, 2009
Anna
rated it:
The more Sayers books I read, the more distinct and entertaining the character of Wimsey becomes. I thought this book was especially interesting in its commentary on husband-wife relationships (especially the problem of a working wife and unemployed husband) and the depiction of Peter's friendship with Marjorie Phelps. Compared to some stories I've seen on screen recently, both male and female characters are pretty well developed, and you can tell that Sayers has a sense of sympathy for most of
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Apr 25, 2009
Kathy
rated it:
This might be my favorite Sayers book so far. So delightfully British. It looked as if Wimsey had it figured out early, but with half the book to go, I knew that couldn't be so! This book has less of Parker and Bunter than the others, and I enjoyed seeing Wimsey go it alone in this tale of a suspicious death at his CLUB. Oh, the club. The traditions, the cloak room, the favorite chair by the fire, the library, the crumudgeons. So manly in the goofy British way. Much enjoyed.
Jan 01, 2012
Jan C
rated it:
This was a re-read. Not sure how many times. I couldn't locate my copy so I had .to get it from the library. When all else fails, try the library.
I remembered some of it. But definitely not the culprit.
It does involve some degree of what we now call PTSD, but was then called shell shocked, since almost everyone is a veteran of WWI. One of the suspects has a fair amount of trouble with it, can't earn a proper living for himself and has live off his wife, which kind of com More...
I remembered some of it. But definitely not the culprit.
It does involve some degree of what we now call PTSD, but was then called shell shocked, since almost everyone is a veteran of WWI. One of the suspects has a fair amount of trouble with it, can't earn a proper living for himself and has live off his wife, which kind of com More...
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Jul 31, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
Acceptable without being particularly awesome. It was hard to get too worked up about the murder, since everyone seemed to agree that because the old boy was 90ish it didn't much matter that he had died, the only question was exactly when - and that only because it affected his sisters' will. Several of the characters are flat unlikeable, and the various twists were not all that compelling. That said, Wimsey himself is always entertaining.
Jan 26, 2012
Knitme23
rated it:
This is a re-read, and my edition is a cheesy and very old one, riddled with typos. Still, it's a good read, with a younger Lord Peter, no Harriet in sight, and a proximity to the first World War that again reminds the reader of its incredible impact. Really cringe-inducing scene where LP is stuck with a bickering husband and wife. . . wow. Sayers did do a good job of capturing human nature! High quality stuff, as so much of hers is.
Jul 27, 2011
Kimberley
rated it:
A perfect detective novel, if only for lines such as "Woodward brought across the malacca walking stick, carrying it, after the manner of a well-trained servant, by the middle" or "Mr Murbles waved an expressive hand at Wimsey, who was just taking from Bunter's hands a chaste silver tray, containing a Queen Anne coffee-pot and a milk jug, a plate of buttered toast, a delicate china coffee-cup and a small pile of correspondence".
Dec 11, 2010
Donna
rated it:
Every time you think you have the mystery figured out, it turns out there is another twist to the facts and you go down another path. Lord Peter is getting a bit less obnoxious.
This one, more than the previous Sayers books, goes into the aftermath of WWI. It shows that upper class individuals were just as affected by the horrors after the war as others. As it was written during that time, the emotions ring true and feel raw.
This one, more than the previous Sayers books, goes into the aftermath of WWI. It shows that upper class individuals were just as affected by the horrors after the war as others. As it was written during that time, the emotions ring true and feel raw.
Dec 07, 2011
Laura
rated it:
An ancient general is found dead, seated by the fire at the Bellona Club. Of course Lord Peter Wimsey just happened to be there. Of course there was something fishy about the body. Another great lark of a story with plenty of suspects and maybe not even a crime. I can't imagine not enjoying any of the Lord Peter Wimsey books and will keep reading them whenever I want light escapism.
