From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey, #1)

Dorothy L. Sayers

Start date: May 1, 2022

Finish date: May 31, 2022

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: Next in our Detection Club challenge.
[close] Next in our Detection Club challenge.

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Showing 2 of 168 topics — 7,797 comments total

Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 16 posts · 18 views

last updated Sep 12, 2025 08:12PM

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
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last updated 9 hours, 50 min ago

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What Members Thought

Jan 02, 2016 Damaskcat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is one of my least favourite books by Dorothy L Sayers but I still found plenty to enjoy in re-reading it for the first time in many years. I had to admire the way the crime was committed and the way the clues are scattered throughout the text. A dead body is found in the bath in a flat belonging to a Mr Thripps an acquaintance of Lord Peter Wimsey's and an expert on matters architectural.

The police naturally suspect Thripps himself though it is patently obvious to everyone that he couldn' ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2016 Sawako rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: moon-reader, joint-reading, mystery, lord-peter-wimsey, p-d-books, books-read-in-2016, open-library, 1-books-read-in-2021

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2013 Lynnie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010s, read-in-2022, london, read-in-1970s, golden-age-detective-story, favorite-authors-first-time-read

English Mysteries Club - Continuing Buddy Read of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.

It was wonderful to revisit Lord Peter at the beginning. I had forgotten the plot so it was like reading a new book. Very enjoyable and engaging and humourous too, I loved the inquest scene -
"In reply to a woman juror - well, yes, she was walking out with a young man. Williams was his name, Bill Williams - well, yes, William Williams , if they insisted." ...more

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Dec 01, 2013 Andréa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: digital, mystery-thriller-crime, a-owns, british-isles, lendable-kindle, lendable-nook

I recently plowed through most of the Agatha Christie stories I had on hand, so I gave this a try in the hopes it would be similar -- plus, I love this cover. Unfortunately, though, I knew from early on who the killer was, which for me takes away a lot of the fun of reading a mystery. I also found the writing style to be annoying: too much spelling-out of people's accents, the rambling one-sided presentation of certain conversations, references to prior events of which the reader has no knowledg ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2012 Lark of The Bookwyrm's Hoard rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, classics

Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

Whose Body? is the first of Dorothy Sayers’ classic mystery novels starring the inimitable Lord Peter Wimsey, and to borrow the slang of the day, it’s a corker. The body of a middle-aged gentleman has turned up in the bathtub of a timid and respectable architect, stark naked except for a pince-nez. Who is he, and how and why did he come to be in Mr. Thipps’ bathroom? Lord Peter takes on the case for fun, but soon realizes he is up against a dev ...more

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