Background romance adds extra interest to investigation
The 2016 Hodder edition of the novel, first published in 1932 |
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 |
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!