Sunday, December 13, 2020

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Slayer

Dorothy L. Sayers was one member of the Detection Club - an elite group of crime writers in the 20th century - alongside Agatha Christie and several other prominent writers: G.K. Chesterton, Ngaio Marsh, P.D. James, as well as Baroness Orczy. Published in 1923, Whose Body? is where Sayers first introduced Lord Peter Wimsey - an aristocrat who embraces criminal investigations as his passionate hobby.

The body in question belongs to a stranger - possibly comes from working class - who was found mysteriously in the bathtub of a bachelor architect who lives with his mother in a flat. Nobody knows whose body it is, as no identification can be found on the body, except for a golden pince nez, which clearly does not belong to the deceased.

So, whose body is it? The local investigator suspects that it belongs to a gentleman who has disappeared from his house the night before: Sir Reuben Levy. Peter Whimsey, on the other hand thinks that the fact that the architect's flat is located near a teaching hospital, might contribute to the case. Disliking the local Inspector Sugg, Whimsey chooses to work alongside his friend, Inspector Parker, who is investigating Sir Reuben Levy's disappearance.

Actually, I've had high expectations on Sayers, and had planned to read more of her if this book satisfy me. Knowing that she was Christie's fellow Detection Club member, and came from the same era, I expected she'd be quite as good as Christie. But I guess, I'm disappointed. Not that her writing is bad, but... let's say... less interesting than Christie's.

In the first place, Lord Peter Wimsey doesn't impress me much. He's a typical careless, laid back rich gentleman who gets bored, but with plenty of time and energy (and money and connection!) He performs his investigations just out of amusement. To him, crime is just another challenge or game.

As he's also terribly clever and funny, Whose Body? is full of dark humor and technical descriptions on detective jobs. I was soon bored with fingerprints, footprints, and evidences. Moreover, we get to know the murderer much too soon - where are the red herrings and suspenseful plot twists? - the last chapter is dedicated only to explain how the murderer perform the tricks, and the actual motive. But the suspense is over, I've even suspected the murderer before Wimsey proved his theory!

But the biggest point missing, is the deep understanding of human psychology. I felt that Whose Body? is merely about crimes, while Agatha Christie's are more about the complexity of human beings; morality, family, love, good and evil sides of men. So, Christie's are classics for me, while Sayers' (from this one novel I've read, at least) are crime novels. I should probably read more from Sayers to do her justice, but I decided not to waste my time.

Rating: 3 / 5

7 comments:

  1. I'm currently re-reading all of Agatha Christie. I don't remember having ever read Lord Peter, but I sure heard a lot about him. Maybe I'll give a try to reading this, just for the sake of saying I have, lol ! Curiosity and all that ^^

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    1. I haven't heard of him either, before reading Sayers. Apparently he's not as famous as Poirot or even Miss Marple...
      Happy re-reading with your Agatha Christies! :)

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  2. I keep wanting to try this series -- I like Sayers' style -- but I always get distracted before the novel really hooks me.

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    1. The beginning is rather technical, right? At least in this novel. I almost decided to skip it in the middle, but I was also curious how Sayers will pull it off, so I kept on reading.

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    2. It's been 2-3 years since I last tried to read it, so I can't remember. Have you read GKC's Father Brown stories? They're another detective series that, like Christie, are supposed to swing more on human nature than technical tricks.

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    3. I've read one of Father Brown stories collection few years ago, and yes, you're right about the human nature side. But I found it rather dull. Maybe I ought to give it another chance!

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  3. A young lady nods off on an abandoned seashore and wakes to find the body of a man whose throat has been cut from ear to ear... The young lady is the praised analyst writer Harriet Vane, indeed drawn without wanting to into a homicide examination in which she, when all is said and done, could be a suspect.

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What do you think?