2026 Re-Read
It has been nine years since I first met Lord Peter Wimsey and it has been an entertaining acquaintanceship. Knowing him better, as I do now, I am impressed by how much of his character is shown in this very first adventure. We quickly become familiar with Mervyn Bunter, who is a friend as well as the valet to Peter. In the beginning, Sayers gives their relationship a rather Jeeves and Wooster flavour, but this doesn't last long. Wimsey is not the happy fool that Bertie Wooster is and Bunter is not the all-solving Jeeves either. Instead, they are quite the team.
We also meet Charles Parker of Scotland Yard, Peter's friend and accomplice in investigation. Another educated man and of a steady disposition, he is the ideal partner in crime fighting. However, it is Bunter who cares for Wimsey when he has a session of PTSD, having served in the war with Peter. It is he who calls the Dowager Duchess, Wimsey's mother, when such an occurrence indisposes him. She is a delightful character, calm, quick witted (when dealing with unexpected church donations and proposed speakers for a nonexistent bazaar), kind (when dealing with a deaf old woman in need of care), and she does it all with a twinkle of humour in her eye.
In all, this is a good introduction to Lord Peter Wimsey and I am glad to have revisited it. I am bumping my rating up to 4 stars, knowing as I do how much enjoyment I have derived from Ms. Sayers' creation.
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