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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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 8 hours, 53 min ago

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What Members Thought

Feb 24, 2014 BrokenTune rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Review first posted on Booklikes:
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...-

" ‘You see, Lady Swaffham, if ever you want to commit a murder , the thing you’ve got to do is to prevent people from associatin’ their ideas. Most people don’t associate anythin’ – their ideas just roll about like so many dry peas on a tray, makin’ a lot of noise an’ goin’ nowhere, but once you begin lettin’ ’em string their peas into a necklace, it’s goin’ to be strong enough to hang you, what?’ ‘Dear me!’ said Mrs Tommy Review first posted on Booklikes:
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...-

" ‘You see, Lady Swaffham, if ever you want to commit a murder , the thing you’ve got to do is to prevent people from associatin’ their ideas. Most people don’t associate anythin’ – their ideas just roll about like so many dry peas on a tray, makin’ a lot of noise an’ goin’ nowhere, but once you begin lettin’ ’em string their peas into a necklace, it’s goin’ to be strong enough to hang you, what?’ ‘Dear me!’ said Mrs Tommy Frayle, with a little scream, ‘what a blessing it is none of my friends have any ideas at all!’"

There is a certain resemblance between Lord Peter Wimsey and Bertie Wooster and the worlds they both inhabit. Of course, the obvious similarity is that both are somewhat nit-witted upper-class toffs who are aided through life both their valets and a group of strong-willed female relatives - Bertie by his aunts and Peter by his mother.

For the first part of Whose Body? I just could not get over this similarity, because it seemed that Mrs Tommy Frayle's circle of friends may as well have included most of the book's characters, including Lord Peter. I just could not find an angle to his character that showed him to be more than a two-dimensional caricature of the Wooster archetype.

However, then it happened: Whose Body? presented a pivotal moment that changed my appreciation of Lord Peter and his relationship with Bunter, his old friend and servant. I don't want to spoil this experience of discovery for any prospective readers so I won't go into much detail, but the main reason I came to appreciate Lord Peter - and to be fair this is the only memorable part of the story for me even after only a few short weeks of reading the book - is that he is portrayed as a man of his times. Sayers lifts Wimsey out of the cliche and attributes him with a real world experience and complexity that is lacking not only in Bertie Wooster - who of course was always meant as a caricature - but also other notable fictional contemporaries (maybe with the exception of Poirot).

Had it not been for this sub-plot, I am not sure I would have enjoyed the story much at all. ...more

7 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

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

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

Aug 05, 2012 Leslie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000, mysteries

2020 reread via audiobook narrated by Ian Carmichael.
I love this series and have read it multiple times since I was introduced to it in my youth. This time I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it since I found an audiobook that was narrated by Ian Carmichael. I loved his narration & the mystery was pleasantly complex enough that I could be entertained even though I clearly remembered the solution.

1 like · Like · see review