Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

Background romance adds extra interest to investigation

The 2016 Hodder edition of the
novel, first published in 1932

Lord Peter Wimsey’s character comes to life in Have His Carcase, the seventh novel by Dorothy L Sayers to feature her gentleman sleuth.

Instead of appearing as just an amiable aristocrat indulging himself with his detecting hobby, tolerated by Scotland Yard because of his status in society, he shows himself to be energetic and determined during this novel, which was first published in 1932, because he is trying to help the woman he loves.

Mystery novelist Harriet Vane is on a solitary walking tour along the south west coast of England when she discovers a dead body on the beach.

She has stopped for refreshment and a brief doze in the afternoon sun. But instead of just enjoying a peaceful picnic and then resuming her journey, she wakes up to find a corpse nearby. A man, who has had his throat slashed from ear to ear, lies spreadeagled on the rocks below her.

Harriet tries to gather evidence at the scene before the incoming tide sweeps the body out to sea. Then she finds she has to walk several miles before she can find a telephone to report her discovery to the police.

As a woman who has recently been acquitted of murder, a case featured in Strong Poison, a previous Wimsey novel, Harriet finds it unpleasant to come under suspicion and be the subject of police scrutiny again.

Ian Carmichael as Wimsey
in a 1970s TV adaptation

But she does not have to wait long before Wimsey joins her at the seaside and involves himself in the investigation, having been tipped off by a journalist about Harriet’s predicament.

The amateur detective duo discover that it is a complicated case to solve and it involves them, and Bunter, Wimsey’s manservant, in painstaking work to try to break the alibis of their main suspects.

They also have to crack a secret code used by the murderer to communicate with his victim beforehand. This was the only part of the novel that I found less than riveting, as the codebreaking lasted for several pages that weren’t very interesting to read.

However, Wimsey’s character acquires more depth in this novel, and the ‘will they, won’t they?’ sub plot of their romance also adds interest to the story.

The couple part as friends at the end of the book, but Harriet has still not accepted Wimsey’s proposal of marriage, providing a major incentive for fans to keep reading!

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