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Title: A Presumption of Death (Mystery Masters Series) by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edward Petherbridge ISBN: 1-57270-323-7 Publisher: The Audio Partners Pub. Date: March, 2003 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.21 (14 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Less than stellar as a sequel...
Comment: I have to admit that I was hoping Walsh would get better at doing Sayers, & instead she seems to have strayed further from her writing than in the previous attempt (which I enjoyed very much). Walsh is a fine mystery writer in her own right, but her straightforward style of writing is greatly at odds with Sayers' lovely verbal curlicues. The best part about using Sayers' characters is that it really helps make clear the magnitude of the social upheaval that took place in WWII. However, I think, on the whole, the story would have been better served if Walsh had told it as her own with her own characters.
That said, it is a fun story, well told. Despite the irritating errors of continuity mentioned by previous reviewers, it has a captivating mix of humor, suspense and social history. The character development is fun, if not authoritative. Sayers made it clear that she was, in many ways, quite sick of Lord Peter and wanted him to "grow up," though those are not the words she used to describe the process. Walsh's cautious exploration of that theme is quite interesting, but does have rather a "fan fiction" feel to it. Still, given Sayers' own short story, "Tallboys," all her choices are well within the bounds of probability.
I rather hope that Walsh will abandon the pale-imitation-of-Sayers routine, and go back to her own Imogen Quy series. Walsh is a strong and graceful writer in her own voice.
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: 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.
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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: 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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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 $52.18 |
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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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