OurColony.net

Worth the read

Customer Rating:
I think I would have liked this book better if I didn't already know Lord Peter Wimsey from "Clouds of Witness"--meaning, I love Peter so much, that I was disappointed he wasn't in "Strong Poison" more. I adored all the chapters with him in "Strong Poison" but they seemed few and far between, so as interesting and all as the other characters were, I was never as wholly invested because I wanted to get back to Peter and the other beloved characters from past novels. For me, the book felt a little disjointed. Peter must call on various people to help him solve the case, and many chapters are devoted to those mini-plots, instead of centering around Peter, the result being a quarter of the book devoted to Peter, a quarter to a Miss so-and-so, another quarter spent on this other character, and so on. Which, for a pure mystery is fine, but the character-side of the story wasn't able to be as developed.

As for the mystery, I did enjoy it, and thought the final chapters were really well written and conclusive. The mystery itself isn't the best I've read, but it was able to hold it's own. I was able to figure out most of it by the end, but there were still a few surprises.

Overall I'm glad I read it, and I'll probably pick up another Wimsey story before too long.

A great intro to Dorothy Sayers

Customer Rating:
This book is a delight. It was recommended by a friend, and as soon as it was finished I had to read all the rest in the series. This is the start of the delicate relationship between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. Enjoy!

A Little Disappointing

Customer Rating:
Alas, I was rather disappointed in Strong Poison. True, it addressed one of the complaints I had early on in the series and featured loads of personal drama for the investigators. I liked the turn Peter took here--in love and accepting rejection with grace and angst--and I liked Harriet, too, though there wasn't enough of her. Miss Climpson and another enterprising spinster were also entertaining and made valuable contributions to the case.

But! I just about tore my hair out when Sayers reused one of her favorite plot devices AGAIN--a will. There was a twist involved that made it slightly different than a matter of mere inheritance, but just once, I'd like to read a Sayers book that mentions neither a testatrix nor a legatee! There was also a certain clue that, by the randomness of its inclusion, enabled me to immediately guess the method in which the arsenic was administered.

Despite not being everything I'd hoped for, it was still probably the best of the Sayers so far.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Customer Rating:
Dorothy L. Sayers created perhaps one of the most iconic of all detectives when she fashioned Lord Peter Wimsey. At first impression, Wimsey seems to be a lot of piffle, dressed to the nines, and overly confident in his intelligence. Yet there is something intriguing about his character and his buffonery that makes readers laugh at his expressions and marvel at his exploits. Such is the case with "Strong Poison", the book that introduced Lord Peter Wimsey to Harriet Vane.

The reader is immediately drawn into the story through a recounting of the evidence against Harriet Vane; she is on trail for murdering her lover with arsenic. The case against her seems airtight, and it isn't helpful that she was writing a mystery concerning arsenic poisoning, but Wimsey is convinced of her innocence, and is just as convinced of making her his wife. When the jury can come to no verdict, the defense has one month before Vane will be retried. Wimsey takes it upon himself, with a colorful cast of helpers, to make sure he clears Harriet's name and finds out who the real murderer is.

"Strong Poison" is a quick-paced read with ingenious plotting to the central mystery that is baffling to the readers. Although one can only handle so much of Lord Peter Wimsey at one time, the story clips along even with a wide array of characters and a plot that includes sleuthing, religious fanaticism, lessons in lock picking and spiritualistic shennanigans. All of these strange occurrences brew together to create a truly unique mystery. While Dorothy L. Sayers' writing can seem dated, since this novel was originally published in 1930 and the expressions that are used are not in modern usage, her stories have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so.

Lord Peter in love

Customer Rating:
It's nice to see Sayers's unflappable and delightfully conceited Wimsey suffer from the disabling effects of self-doubt in this one. As opposed to his traditional dilettante approach to crime solving, there is something on the line here. Wimsey's in love and his new found love is in line for the gallows. Sayers aristocrat superman has fallen for murder suspect, Harriet Vane, and he is in a race against time to find the actual killer and while the solving of the case is far too dependent on Wimsey's use of intermediaries, there is a satisfying conclusion and a more human Lord Peter for the reader's enjoyment.