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Title: A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers ISBN: 0-312-29100-0 Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Pub. Date: March, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.21 (14 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: What happened to Roger?
Comment: One specific criticism: Walsh seems to have mixed up the Wimsey children Roger and Paul: in Sayers' story Talboys, set after this book, Bredon is six, Roger is four, and Paul is only briefly mentioned and strongly implied to be the youngest. Then somehow in Presumption of Death, Harriet has a three-year-old Bredon and . . . Paul. Harriet introduces him as "her second son" and Roger seems to have been completely skipped. I really don't understand how Walsh could clearly have done so much research and mimicked Sayers style so skillfully, yet overlooked something as basic as keeping her characters straight.
Rating: 2
Summary: Sadly lame
Comment: I agree with much of the criticism in previous reviews. As a mystery, ignoring for a moment the Wimsey-Vane series, the fundamental problem is that the book is too short. The print is large so that fewer words can be stretched to a standard number of pages. Because the book is short, it is easy to catch all the hints about the case. There is not enough extra action and text to hide them. The author very heavy-handedly adds comments like, "Harriet forgot what was troubling her." By way of "explaining" Harriet's failure to follow up and thereby prolong the mystery, this tactic highlights the clue, which is not what a mystery-writer would want to do.
As a volume in the Wimsey-Vane series, the book is very weak. The personal material is entirely dependent on previous, authentic Sayers' works. Harriet is constantly thinking back to the events of Busman's Honeymoon, and Gaudy Night is also referred to. Interestingly, she seems to have forgotten about the Thrones, Dominations case. It doesn't figure in her recollections at all. The parts that are new are more wish-fulfillment (popular characters get happy endings) than authentic development.
Finally, to the person who complained that Jerry Winsey appears as uncle to his cousins Charlie Parker and Paul Wimsey, give me a break. Jerry is considerably older than the boys. It's a courtesy title.
Rating: 5
Summary: Two Thumbs Up!
Comment: I'm a big fan of Sayers and have sometimes found "continuations" by other authors to be a disappointment. Luckily, however, Jill Walsh does a *wonderful* job capturing the language and characters of those wonderful fictional friends, Lord Peter and Harriet. A satisfying read and well worth adding to your classic Brit mystery collection.
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Title: Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers, Jill Paton Walsh ISBN: 0312968302 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers ISBN: 0061043516 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 April, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title:Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection - Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night) ASIN: B000062XDX Publisher: BBC Video Pub. Date: 14 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $59.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $49.99 |
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Title: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Leigh Sayers ISBN: 0156658992 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: September, 1966 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Lord Peter : The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers ISBN: 0060913800 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 05 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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