Appearance
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
Dorothy Sayers had the gift of respecting all of her characters. Any one of them (including the villains) could be a member of your family. All were flawed with humanity. The mystery is always secondary to the individuals involved. This is a great read that gets better with each reading.
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
The mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers are intricate and intelligent, models of perfectly maddening puzzles that readers can barely solve. "Have His Carcase" is no exception, a fine round and round-about mystery that keeps readers (and the two detectives) searching till the final chapter.The story finds Harriet Vane, recently acquited of murder, on a walking vacation. Mystery has a way of following her, and she encounters a dead body on the beach. Was it suicide or murder? Knowing that the tide is about to come in, Harriet takes pictures and clues to preserve what she can, and searches out the local authorities. Lord Peter Wimsey, gentleman detective, comes to Harriet's aid and also delves into the crime, a case of murder with a baffling array of suspects and alibis. Every clue and every alibi makes a strong case for suicide, but Wimsey knows it to be a murder, if only he could prove it."Have His Carcase" is a story with a lot on its plate; the wide cast of characters creates a web of further mystery and cluelessness around the death. This is all layered in with the flirtation between Wimsey and Vane, a delectable pairing of romance and comedy, as Harriet rebuffs Wimsey's marriage proposals at every turn. Sayers is perhaps almost too intelligent in her mysteries, giving her detectives almost unlimited knowledge on a wide range of topics. The chapters involving ciphers are particularly hard to decipher, but do little to distract from the excellent mystery at hand. And while the story does seem to go round and round, it comes full circle in the end.
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
Sayers once again delivers a solid, old-fashioned mystery story set in the English countryside. The body of a gigolo is discovered by Harriet Vane, who was recently rescued by Lord Peter from being wrongly convicted for murder. Vane is supposedly on vacation--on a walking tour to recover from her ordeal, but ends up investigating a murder instead. Lord Peter is madly in love with her but she does not return his affections.Vane discovers the bloody body on the beach as the tide is coming in. She rushes to town as quickly as possible to notify the police but is unable to do so before the body is swept away on the tides. Lord Peter comes to stay at the seaside resort to investigate the crime and continue his courtship. While working on the mystery together, Vane's feelings for Lord Peter vary from irritation to camaraderie to a reluctant affection.Lord Peter is a charming, intelligent sleuth who has met his intellectual match in Harriet Vane. This further installment of his adventures evokes the nostalgic atmosphere of an English seaside town during the early 1930's. It also provides an intricate murder mystery and the growing pains of a passionate relationship. Highly recommended.
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
Harriet Vane, well-known mystery writer, has decided to take a walking holiday along the English coast. She would like a bit of solitude to work on her latest novel and to recover from the unpleasantness of being tried for the murder of her former lover (STRONG POISON). She would also like to put some distance between her and Lord Peter Wimsey who had uncovered the true culprit and saved her from prison. Since this is a mystery novel by Sayers Harriet's plans quickly changed.She stopped for lunch and a short nap on the beach and woke to discover a dead body nearby. In this pre-cell phone age (1930's) reporting the crime to the police became a lengthy affair. Once the police became involved the press and Lord Peter were not far behing putting a decisive end to Harriet's quiet holiday. Soon Harriet and Peter found themselves embroiled in the world of resort life - middle-aged widows, professional dance partners, fishermen, farmers, 'kept' women and long-lost royalty. In the end of course the two triumph, solving the baffling crime.Lord Peter's infatuation with Harriet begun in STRONG POISON, has a chance to grow during this novel and is beginning to be returned by Harriet. The interactions between the two are well written and a treat for the Peter/Harriet romance fans without detracting from the mystery. As always with Sayers' work the secondary characters are well written and engaging, the plot intricately plotted and clever. Unfortunately Sayers goes into excrutiating detail at times, particularly concerning a rather complicated cipher - skim or skip that chapter.All in all this is an excellent story, a definite must read for Lord Peter fans, particularly those into the Peter and Harriet romance but this is not the place to begin start with one of the earliest Lord Peter stories or STRONG POISON to begin the Peter/Harriet romance.
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
An intricate, well-paced plot full of pathos and farce. Excellent quotes used as chapter headings from "The Bride's Tragedy" and "Death's Jestbook" by T.L. Beddoes. Includes further interesting developments in the relationship between Peter and Harriett...
HAVE HIS CARCASE.
I love the entire Peter Wimsey series and this is a great adaptation of Ms. Sayers' work. I particularly enjoy Mr. Carmichael's rendition because he has a lovely range of accents and vocal patterns that easily differentiate the characters. His characterization remains solid throughout the entire series -- all of which he has performed for the audio market -- and each returning character's voice is instantly recognizable.