Whose Body?

A damn good detective story it was, maybe a very old one but a golden one no doubt! Dorothy Sayer’s 1^st novel of the Lord Peter Wimsey series had all the ingredients of a suspenseful mystery with the nobility taking interest in sleuthing, for a change. When a naked corpse with a pince-nez turns up in a humble architect’s bath it naturally arouses a curiosity. Add with it the curious disappearance of a famous financier just before an all important meeting on the next day. The motive being untraceable as was the corpse and all evidence carefully erased and those left leading haywire, Lord Peter tackles one of the shrewdest criminal brains with the help of Inspector Parker and Mervyn Brunnet, a butler and a photographer. The minute research of the criminal mind has been reflected in the works which adds a truly realistic touch to the narrative. A little stretched midway in the plot it revives the pace as Wimsey sees light in the mist of mystery. The narrative completes with a clearly composed explanation detailing every aspect of the crime that never feels boring. The only slight disappointment is the offender being unmasked at an early stage of the final chapters but it seems to be the right place as the way the novel has been developed.