A Presumption of Death
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A Presumption of Death (Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane #2)
by
3.68 of 5 stars
While Lord Peter is abroad on a secret mission, Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, takes their children to safety in the country. But there's no... read full description

reviews

Apr 14, 2011
Sandybanks rated it: 3 of 5 stars
"If anybody ever marries you, it will be for the pleasure of hearing you talk piffle."

Set in the early days of WW II, this book is an enjoyable, plausible continuation of the Wimsey-Vane marriage post Busman’s Honeymoon, Sayers’ last complete Lord Peter mystery. Walsh created reasonably faithful versions of both the central characters, but somehow was not entirely successful in recreating the spark between them, which for me has always been one of the most delightful aspect More...
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Jul 02, 2008
LJ rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH (Trad Mys-Harriet Vane-England-WWII) - Ex
Walsh, Jill Payton and Dorothy L. Sayers – Last in series (EMBRG Selection)
New English Library Ltd, 2003, US Paperback – ISBN: 978-0340820674

It’s WWII and Lord Peter is away on a mission. Harriet has moved the household to the country for safety. Emerging from shelter after an air-raid, the body of a land-girl is found in the street. It wasn’t bombs that killer her, but a quick lethal physical killing. T More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Sequelguerrier rated it: 4 of 5 stars
After finishing an unfinished Sayers draft in Thrones and Dominations, Paton Walsh bases herself on published Sayers articles to create this one and succeeds rather well. We are very much in the world of Busmans Honeymoon mixed with that last glimpse of Lord Peter and family that Sayers provided in the short story Talboys. We find Harriet and the kids, including Mary and Charles Parker's two evacuated from London to Talboys in the early days of WWII. The phony war is captured nicely and so are t More...
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Jan 05, 2012
Judy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
At Dorothy Sayers death, she left behind an unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey novel and notes on how the characters were coping with life during World War II. Sixty years later, Jill Paton Walsh finished the book and the result is a success. Set in 1940 at the beginning of the Blitz. Harriet Vane, Lord Peter Wimsey's wife, has moved with her two young sons to a small village to escape the dangers of the cities. During the village's first air-raid drill, no bombs were dropped, but a body was found More...
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May 16, 2011
Teresa rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I finished this book about 3:30am this morning, after checking it out of the library less than 12 hours earlier. It's been a LONG time since a book has kept me up that late! It doesn't get the 5th star because it starts slowly, and if you aren't already at least vaguely familiar with Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, it would be far too confusing.

Note that this book isn't really written by Dorothy Sayers. A handful of the pages were written by her, but the vast majority of the boo More...
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Mar 05, 2011
Sbt rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Like many of Sayers solo works this is a book about people and situations built around a Detective Novel and if read purely as a Crime Story will disappoint. If read as a novel of time, place and people however it will reward.

The book is, I think, best read with a knowledge of the time and place - having that background would definitely help as there is little explanation of issues of time and place that are well known to the UK reader but may puzzle those from overseas. Beware that at More...
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Feb 03, 2012
Reds_reads rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Another book with author credits for both Sayers and Paton Walsh, this is really Paton Walsh's but draws on Sayers's letters for the circumstances of Peter and Harriet's life at the start of WWII.

The story is set in the early days of the war, Harriet and the children are living in Talboys, Peter is away at the start on intelligence work. One night as the village practices the procedures for an air raid, a Land Girl is murdered. Harriet is asked by the police to help with the invest More...
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Feb 28, 2009
Ikonopeiston rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is not Dorothy Sayers but until the newest incarnation of that formidable lady is identified, it will have to do.

The atmosphere is wonderfully done, showing with skill the conditions which prevailed in England at the beginning of World War II. I had to look up some of the more arcane items in order to be able to visualise them properly. This was an added delight since I greatly relish learning new and peculiar things.

The plot was sadly lacking, definitely playing More...
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Aug 23, 2010
Renee rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Alas! The Lord Peter Wimsey stories and novels are my favorite mysteries of all time, and Jill Paton Walsh did a beautiful job of completing Dorothy Sayers' unfinished novel, "Thrones, Dominations," after the writer's death. This novel is more completely from Walsh's imagination, and it shows. Its inspiration comes from several short articles and notes that Sayers published during World War II, describing the Wimsey family's challenges. However, its weak plot--Harriet and Peter working More...
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Jul 13, 2011
Brittany rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Normally I am dead-set against authors continuing the efforts of another author. However, there are always exceptions, and Jillian Walsh is one of them.

A Presumption of Death is a very fast, satisfying read. I do enjoy Harriet Vane, and Walsh does an almost-seamless job picking up where Sayers left off. The part of the book I thought felt least Sayers-like, the letters (I thought they came off too forced) turns out to be the only part entirely written by Sayers, so that goes to show More...
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Dec 14, 2011
***Dave rated it: 3 of 5 stars
(Original review http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2010/05/09/...)

An original Peter Wimsey novel based very loosely on the “Wimsey Papers” war-time correspondence that Sayers wrote during the early years of WWII. Walsh does a serviceable job of fleshing this out in to a 1940-based novel, with Harriet and her children in the countryside during the Blitz, and dealing with a murder during an air raid. Some lovely period detail about live in that time, and Peter does make appropriate appearan More...
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Jul 29, 2011
Catherine rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This made me fele that it might be time to re-read the original seires. this was reasonably good but just not the quality of plot that Dorothy Sayers brought to murder mysteries. The setting is after the original series, and here is in 1940--Harriet is in the country, Peter is working in espionage, and there is rampant shortages and everyone is doing their part for the war. in the midst of the recent financial downturn, I think we may get the opportunity to see days like this again, and I am More...
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Aug 08, 2011
Bev rated it: 1 of 5 stars
Ruth Rendell wondered, "Will Paton Walsh do it again?" My answer? Unfortunately, yes. Paton Walsh does not have the classic background of a Sayers. One of the delights of reading Sayers' work is all the quotations she would sprinkle through the pages. Not just to say, "look what I know" but as a natural part of the characters of Peter and Harriet. Paton Walsh may write very good mysteries of her own...but she really doesn't do Lord Peter well. I've read the Wimsey pape More...
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Jun 17, 2011
Kelly rated it: 4 of 5 stars
It wasn't Dorothy L. Sayers all the way through, but it was good. I was slightly less than satisfied by the way that the Wendy-plot was wrapped up in the end, but I did quite love seeing all of my favorite Sayers characters back (Bunter! Harriet! The Dowager!). It was like a reunion of sorts - so long as your idea of a reunion involves spies, Nazis, and the British countryside. Of course, this is one of the reasons that it didn't feel like Sayers -- she only wrote the novels before WWII, so the More...
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Sep 04, 2011
Sarah rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A practice air raid ends in real murder in the quiet English village where Harriet Vane is waiting out the Blitz while her husband, Lord Peter Wimsey, is away on a secret mission. Building on a series of letter written by Sayers herself, Walsh does a solid job of reviving beloved characters, though it is a disappointment that Peter is absent for so long. His eventual arrival brings that extra spark, not to mention a second corpse. The period is beautifully portrayed, from the petty annoyances More...
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Jan 09, 2010
Anna rated it: 3 of 5 stars
In a way I can't quite put my finger on, I almost think Paton Walsh is more successful with this book than Thrones, Dominations. Interesting look at the early years of World War II in any case, and fairly well plotted. There are still times when she seems to repeat things from earlier books as if to compensate for a possible lack of plausible continuity, but overall it's an engaging read, albeit not one with quite Sayers' flair (it's a bit like someone more or less following Grandma's classic re More...
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Mar 15, 2009
Joy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Harriet and family, minus Lord Peter Wimsey, have settled for the duration of WWII in their country home in the village of Paggleham where Harriet grew up. An excessively flirtatious girl laborer is found dead during a practice air raid. The local police being busy with blackouts and food rationing offenses, Harriet is asked to find out what happened to Wicked Wendy. Until Peter gets home, she is lacking some essential pieces of the puzzle. It was rather fun to meet the Paggleham characters from More...
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Jun 01, 2009
Laura rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A good book written in England during WWII. I liked the historical parts and also reading a book set in another country. I'm not sure if it was the author's tone or the different time period, but some parts of it were kind of difficult to understand. I had to recall a lot of history and "slang" terms to understand a lot of the undertones of the book!

The characters, especially more than the two or three main characters, seemed really underdeveloped to me. I'm not sure More...
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Mar 01, 2011
Jessi rated it: 4 of 5 stars
A wonderful addition to the Wimsey canon. Walsh developed this story from letters published in papers during WWII. Sayers wrote exchanges purportedly from Harriet to Peter and vice versa so Walsh picked up from there.
This story has Peter on a secret spy mission and Harriet evacuated to their country home with her own children as well as the Parker family. One night during a practice air drill, one of the girls who have also been evacuated to the village is killed. Harriet begins working on More...
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Dec 18, 2009
Ellen rated it: 5 of 5 stars
With Thrones and Dominations and Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh manages to accomplish two demi-miracles--to provide worthy successors to the memorable novels of Dorothy L. Sayers and to write a passionate account of a marriage between two intellectual equals. I particularly enjoyed the second novel, set in a village in wartime England. Lord Peter is off on a secret mission and Harriet is not only keeping the home fires burning, but investigating a murder of a land girl whose unsolved de More...
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Jan 27, 2011
Sharri rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Dorothy Sayers is among my favorite authors and is a person I admire immensely. This book was written posthumously using some WWII letters she had written as a public service (to encourage the British population to be leaders rather than wait for leadership) that show where her characters were during the war and what they were up to. The modern author, Jill Paton Walsh, does a nice job of incorporating these letters into a new mystery story and keeping the characters 'in character'. So I enjoyed More...
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Oct 11, 2011
Meaghan rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Again I must admit to being impressed. With "Thrones, Dominations," I was impressed that Jill Patton Walsh was able to keep Dorothy Sayers' characters plausible, however Dorothy Sayers had a good number of notes for the plot of that book. Having read the author's note at the end of this book, I didn't find any indication that there was too much of a plot already in place for this book. Thus, I am impressed with Jill Patton Walsh's ability to continue writing about Peter and Harriet. Th More...
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Jan 26, 2010
Brooke rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I am a huge Lord Peter fan - I own all of them (my mother's 1940s editions) and have read all of them over and over. I was a little dubious about this book, though I did enjoy Thrones, Dominations but Sayers had started that book herself. This new one is written entirely by Jill Paton Walsh though I gather she used 'letters' written by the Wimsey's during WWII as the basis for the story. It is definitely worth reading and if you are a fan of the Lord Peter mysteries it is awfully nice to see More...
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May 17, 2010
Janieb rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Jill Paton Walsh has done an amazing job in bringing the characters in this story to life, after residing for such a long time in Dorothy Sayer's notebook.
A really well-developed plot, with great insights into the lives of the different classes of people living through the war in Britain. Well-strewn with red herrings, the ending was a complete surprise.
My only question was whether or not the morse code was deciphered - what messages had been sent?

Definitely worth rea More...
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Feb 05, 2011
Lynne rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Written by Sayers and Walsh, can't tell who is who. This is set during the early war years, and Peter is away through at least the first half while Harriet holds down the fort at Talboys with what seems like a million kids plus the village characters from Busman's Honeymoon, plus various soldiers and evacuees. Good mystery ultimately, but Harriet, even distracted by kids and terrified that Peter's dead, is incredibly slow on the uptake. I KNOW she's really sharper than this!
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Jul 17, 2011
Hilary rated it: 4 of 5 stars
A worthy attempt at filling Sayers s (sensible) shoes; her writing style fits the bill, and her story is competent enough. Peter was sadly missed, but Harriet taking centre stage was appreciated, and the cameos by Bunter, St George, the Dowager Duchess and a vastly improved not to say redeemed Denver give the story life. She is, of course, writing with the benefit of hindsight and thus cheating, and her language slips occasionally, but overall this is excellent.
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Nov 18, 2009
Betsy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
As a fan of Dorothy L. Sayers and her mystery characters, I was glad to find this book. It isn't (probably couldn't be) up to DL Sayer's level, but it was a treat to meet those wonderful characters again in a fresh mystery situation. Harriet was very true to form; Peter was as good as he was in her previous book, but the other characters were pale shadows of themselves. The characterizations felt rushed, as if there wasn't time to let them talk and develop themselves.
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Nov 13, 2011
Readingjay rated it: 4 of 5 stars
An easy-to-read mystery for a book club. Jill Paton Wash has picked up up the threads from Dorothy Sayers fictional letters giving clues to the whereabouts of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. References to events in and earlier (unread) Wimsey/Vane novel intrigue enough to want to find out more. Of most interest is the recreation of Britain in wartime. Frightfully British, and an enjoyable murder mystery. I really should have read Lord Peter Wimsey before now.
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May 04, 2011
Kim rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I've been on a Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane binge lately. Over the past few weeks I've read all of the Sayers novels involving them. That is, I've re-read the ones that Dorothy L Sayers wrote, and then started reading the Jill Paton Walsh continuations. I quite liked Thrones, Dominations, althougth I didn't think it was entirely successful. This one I liked much more. I enjoyed the evocation of the early WWII years and felt that Paton Walsh portrayed Peter and Harriet in a way which was true to More...
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Jan 05, 2008
Jamie rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is pretty good, although the plot is terribly implausible. The book is set in 1939 and the descriptions of England in the early years of the war, as the country prepares for the Blitz, are interesting although sometimes they read more like a chatty history lesson than a novel. But the Peter/Harriet interaction is satisfying.

The story takes place in Hertfordshire, where Harriet has retreated with the children while Peter is abroad doing something mysterious for the war effort. More...
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