"Unnatural Death" by Dorothy L Sayers

The third in the series of novels starring aristocratic amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey. This introduces Miss Climpson, a lady who gossips with ladies in the same way as Bunter can gossip with servants, and Charles Parker can do the Scotland Yard legwork, providing extra antennae for his Lordship.

An old lady who was dying, dies perhaps a little too soon. But there is no evidence of any unnatural causes. Her great-niece inherits despite the old lady leaving no will. There might be no case at all, until one of the maids from the house is discovered dead and a £5 note in her possession is traced to a mysterious vamp called Mrs Forrest.

DLS is certainly able to write a good description: “A cat spring up upon the bench, stretched herself, tucked her hind legs under her and coiled her tail tightly round them as though to prevent them from accidentally working loose.” (C12)

Other quotes

• “It isn't very difficult to write books. especially if you either write a rotten story in good English or a good story in rotten English, which is as far as most people seem to get nowadays.” (C3)
• “Nurse Philiter decided that she was to be asked to go to a mental case and that the patient had come to fetch her in person.” (C4)
• “‘I say what I think,’ said Mrs Peasgood. ‘Then I'm glad I haven't such uncharitable thoughts,’ said Miss Murgatroyd.” (C5)

September 2019; 277 pages

I have set myself the task of reading all the Lord Peter Wimsey novels (mostly again) in order. The ones I have read and reviewed in this blog so far include:

• Whose Body in which my Lord and his manservant are introduced
• Clouds of Witness in which Lord Peter must sleuth to get his brother Gerald, Duke of Denver, off a murder charge
• Unnatural Death which introduces another Wimsey sidekick: Miss Climpson
• The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
• Strong Poison which introduces Harriet Vane, a detective writer who becomes Lord Peter's love interest
• The Five Red Herrings; Lord Peter in Scotland
• Have His Carcase: Harriet and Peter investigate the death of a gigolo with dreams

There are also Wimsey books written since the death of DLS by Jill Paton Walsh. These include:

• The Attenbury Emeralds in which Lord Peter, in 1951, recalls the circumstances of his first case, the Attenbury Emeralds, which have gone missing again.
• The Late Scholar: in which Wimsey returns to Oxford