This is the first day of DRESS UP, STAY HOME!
CLOUD OF WITNESSESWriter: Dorothy L. Sayers
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense Challenge 2011
Challenge: 2011 E-Book Challenge
Challenge: Vintage Mystery Challenge
Kindle: here
Genre: Mystery
How I read it: Kindle
Synopsis: The fiancé of Lord Peter's sister, Lady Mary Wimsey, is found dead outside the conservatory of the family's shooting lodge in Yorkshire. Peter and Mary's elder brother, the Duke of Denver, is charged with willful murder and put on trial in the House of Lords.
My Thoughts: Once again I picked up a book by Sayers--her second book. She's a wonderfully complex writer, trying to find her niche. Although her plots are intriguing, I have to admit I had a difficult time getting through it. I don't really know why.
Perhaps it's because I couldn't relate to some of the characters. Lord Peter Wimsey's brother is on trial (and facing the death penalty) for murder, and even though I thought I would feel anxious about it, I didn't In fact, at one point in the reading, I put the book down and thought it didn't matter to me who the killer was. I love Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs and in that book a woman is hung for murder. In that book, I cared. I didn't want her to die. In this book, I was like... meh!
We really don't meet the brother so there's no rapport.
I did love reading the dialogue in Sayer's novels. Peter and the other characters have some interesting idioms. For example, Peter uses the question 'What?' a lot.
"...we must make what we can of him as a witness, what?"
"havin; no turn for criminology, what?"Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey reference:
Whether, like the heroine of Northanger Abbey, he expected to find anything gruesome inside was not apparent.Should you read this book?
Yes. It's classic literature. And it's cheap on Kindle.
Clarissa - No doubt about it; Sayers' dialogue is quite good. Everyone's different of course, but I think personally that Sayers' work got better over time.Clouds of Witness for instance, isn't (in my opinion, anyway) as tense and suspenseful as Strong Poison, where again a character is on trial for murder. But it does give some interesting insight into Wimsey's character.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review :-)
Sometimes we just don't connect.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I have recently figured out how wonderful and easy my Kindle app is on my phone. Must say I'm lovin it!
ReplyDeleteI dunno why, but it seems the more complex the plot, the more I feel like I slog through it. That's why I rarely read women's lit (the serious stuff).
ReplyDeleteHaven't read anything by Sayers yet. Not sure I'd be able to get through it if I didn't care about the accused or who dunnit.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound like interesting dialogue!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
is it a period story? Seems like it's set in the last century.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read her. Not sure I will find time to for awhile.
ReplyDeleteNancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.
I'd never heard of Sayers. Very interesting review! Thank you for your honesty. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read her either. Will jot her name down for later.
ReplyDeleteYes! Because my grandmother gave it to me - the very first crime novel of my own! I began reading it when we visited her, and when my parents wanted to go home, she told me I could keep the book. And if it had been too realistic and scary, I may not have been able to stomach it then.
ReplyDeleteI must, I must, I must read Dorothy Sayers!!!! I really want to - I've heard of Wimsey, read of him, about him but never stories with him in it!! thank you for prodding me further!! Off I go to the library (well not literally - it's 10.30 pm here!). Take care
ReplyDeletex
Clarissa I found it particularly disappointing that I no longer 'liked' Patricia Cornwell's characters in her Kay Scarpetta series. Her latest Port Mortuary has them presented as cold fishes. I've just finished reviewing it so it's fresh on my mind.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this book you're talking about but the dialogue sounds sharp.
Denise<3
Patricia Cornwell's Port Mortuary Book Review
I have never read Sayers, how did the first day of dress up work out for you?! :)
ReplyDeleteJules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
I just read this one last month Clarissa so it's neat to see your review! The 'what' thing is very much a feature of upper class 20s British - you can catch it on the Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie BBC version of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories.
ReplyDeleteInteresting what you say about Peter - it's true that he seems to be on the sidelines, and that we end up caring more about whether Wimsey can solve the case than whether Peter is innocent or guilty or what will happen to him either way.
On the other hand, I guess I'm a bit biased. Give me good old fashioned British writing anyway and I'll eat it with a spoon. I've said this before, haven't I? :-)
I love your last line! "and it's cheap on Kindle." THAT is classic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. Maybe a wormhole or two would have helped in the plot. Or a female ninja assassin.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting review. thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDelete......dhole
Unfortunately the word what has now been further bastardized by kids in England its almost an epidemic.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I remember reading Dorothy Sayers when I was in high school--not part of the curriculum reading, but I owned some of her books. I don't remember her writing at all, but this is definitely old school literature. Now I'm curious as to whether I still have any of those books still around.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge
Classic and cheap -- good reasons in my book.
ReplyDeleteI didn't connect for much the same reason. Kept asking, "So who's this brother?"
I love Sayers' work but I have to say that Cloud of Witnesses isn't my favourite by a long way.
ReplyDeleteAs for 'what', it's an upperclass Brit thing. It was really common in books written in the 1920s.