It is a privelege to be selected as a First Read recipient and, when this has occurred, I eagerly anticipate the book's arrival. But this time it was was different; I was going to receive a pre-publication copy of a book featuring one of my most cherished literary characters, Lord Peter Wimsey. It was beyond pleasant anticipation; I was giddy.

Jill Paton Walsh has assumed a daunting task---continuing the legacy of Dorothy Sayers and expanding the canon of Wimsey mysteries. I've read her two earlier Wimsey books and while both were successful, I found A Presumption of Death the most successful and equal to Sayers' best works. Walsh has absolutely nailed the nuances of her characters and is a worthy successor to Sayers. Her books move Wimsey into a more modern Britain (post World War 2).

I suspect this had to happen to keep the series fresh, give the author her own voice etc. but my pleasure in reading period mysteries from the 30's and 40's is to escape contemporary society. A world of gentlemen who wouldn't dream of working . . . the novelty of a woman who chose to have a career. . . the priveleges of nobility. . . and now in Patton's latest book, the reality of a lost life-style. My interest in the character of Peter Wimsey was stimulated by his discomfort and conflicted feelings about his status and family responsibilities; in the rapidly changing post-war Society of the late 1940's he is less magical and the book loses a bit of lustre as the old life-style fades.