LurkeyTurkey, #CBR4 Review #9: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Full disclosure: I listened to this on audiobook with the incredibly fun and enthusiastic Nadia May narrating.  She sounds like Julie Andrews a la “Mary Poppins,” and I found myself compelled to listen.  So, there might be a bit of a bias because the narrator was so darn good.

London, 1920-ish.  A body is found naked in a bathtub with nothing to identify him but a pince-nez, much to the confusion and chagrin of the house inhabitants.  Scotland Yard is called in, as is amateur detective, the amusing and charismatic Lord Peter Wimsey.  Across town, a wealthy financier is discovered missing!  Is he the body in the tub, or is there more than meets the eye? 

This book is a delightful “whodunit,” and one of my favorite mysteries in the last few years.  The development of the lead characters, namely Lord Peter and his manservant, Bunter, are wonderful characters: funny, intelligent, and believably invested and understanding of each other.  Lord Peter’s mother, the Duchess, is another wonderful addition to the story, as is Charles Parker, Lord Peter’s “partner in crime.”  The interaction between the characters really does make this book a lot of fun, as do the twists and turns along the way.   

All in all, a fairly delicious mystery for a rainy day.  I would highly recommend the audiobook (obviously), as the British accent was a charming change of scene, and more realistic than the ” ‘ALO, guvnor!” accent I always seem to have in my head when reading Brit Lit.  Good fun, all the way around.

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