Lord Peter Wimsey
Sayers's complete run, first case to last. Wimsey starts as a silly-ass aristocrat playing detective and ends up written into a genuine human being.
- Whose Body? EnglishA stranger's body turns up in a bathtub wearing nothing but a pince-nez, and Lord Peter Wimsey investigates mostly because it amuses him. The banter is the point here, though Sayers gives him real shell shock underneath, which keeps the froth from floating away entirely.
- Clouds of Witness EnglishThe fun here is watching Lord Peter have to investigate his own family, since his brother's on trial for murder and being stubbornly unhelpful about it. Sayers gives you real wit, a near-drowning in a Yorkshire bog, and a trial before the House of Lords played straight.
- Unnatural Death EnglishYou get Lord Peter Wimsey at his most polished and mischievous, while Miss Climpson quietly does some wonderfully unglamorous detective work from the sidelines. The mystery is tightly constructed and pleasantly cerebral, though its chilly country-house atmosphere and emphasis on deduction may suit you better than emotional drama.
- You get old General Fentiman dead in his club armchair on Armistice Day, and the whole puzzle turns on exactly when he died, which sounds dry but isn't. Wimsey's charm carries it, and the shell-shocked veterans give it a sadness most detective stories don't bother with.
- Lord Peter Views the Body EnglishWimsey in bite-sized doses, all silly titles and sly wit, including one where the entire mystery hinges on solving a crossword puzzle in a dead man's roof garden. The stories are uneven and a few are pure froth, but if you like his chatter, this is a happy afternoon.
- Strong Poison EnglishYou get Harriet Vane, clever, prickly, and understandably wary, while Lord Peter Wimsey works to clear her name with charm that occasionally hides real seriousness. The courtroom opening gives way to a carefully built investigation, and the romance is unusually patient about how much trust costs.
- The Five Red Herrings Englishpubblico dominio dal 2027
- Have His Carcase Englishpubblico dominio dal 2028
- Hangman’s Holiday Englishpubblico dominio dal 2029
- Murder Must Advertise Englishpubblico dominio dal 2029
- The Nine Tailors Englishpubblico dominio dal 2030
- Gaudy Night Englishpubblico dominio dal 2031
- Busman’s Honeymoon Englishpubblico dominio dal 2033
- In the Teeth of the Evidence Englishpubblico dominio dal 2035