Short stories short on thrills? (Lord Peter Views the Body - Dorothy L. Sayers)

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	Lord Peter Views the Body - Dorothy L. Sayers
Date:	23/11/07 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bite-sized crime stories

Disadvantages: Not particularly memorable

Dorothy L Sayers, one of the so-called Queens of Crime (along with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham), is best known for her novels featuring foppish Lord Peter Wimsey, an aristocrat with a taste for crime. Whereas most of the Lord Peter stories are book-length, Sayers has written several short stories, twelve of which are presented in this book. I have always preferred my crime fiction to be in the form of a book that I can get my teeth into; however, there are some good stories in this collection that are representative of Sayers' style and this is a good way for newcomers to the author to sample her work before trying out a full-length book.

Most of the stories involve a murder and Lord Peter's investigation and consequent discovery of the killer. This is usually done in the form of a conversation between Wimsey and the official investigators, or those involved with the dead person, whereby Wimsey pretends to be a bit daft and extremely naive, then manages to amaze everyone at the end with his powers of deduction. This often involves a judgement on Lord Peter's part that is way out of everyone else's thought processes, but sometimes, he is more methodical and works out the answer in a more rational way. For example, he solves one crime because of a grammatical fault in someone's speech. It is very rare that the answer is there for the reader to work out, particularly with these short stories, which could be annoying for those who like to think for themselves. I have to admit that I prefer the style of Agatha Christie, whose work is much more straightforward, for that very reason.

I think writing murder mysteries in the form of a short story is very difficult and there are few authors that can pull it off. I certainly don't think that this collection of short stories is the best show-case for Sayers' work - I much prefer her longer works, such as Gaudy Night and Strong Poison. However, there are a couple of gems in this collection. My favourite is 'The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps that Ran', a story of the murder of a young woman, supposedly by her ex-lover. Thanks to a bit of quick thinking on Lord Peter's part, the real culprit is discovered. This is a really clever story that is not in the least hampered by its shortness. Another excellent story is 'The Unsolved Mystery of the Man with No Face'. Again, it is a good length and I finished it feeling really satisfied.

A couple of the stories are more spy thriller than murder mystery, even though they still feature Lord Peter, and involve shadowy characters with mysterious backgrounds. Agatha Christie also wrote a couple of stories in this vein; I think it is a lot to do with the period in which the stories were written - before the War when the threat of invasion hung over everyone. I don't like this type of story myself; I really think Sayers excels at murder investigation rather than organised crime. However, it does provide a bit of variation for those who do and shows that Sayers isn't just a one horse pony.

I have to admit that I am not particularly keen on Lord Peter as a character. Perhaps it is because he is so out of date - he first featured in Sayer's work back in the late nineteen twenties - but as I love many other fictional detectives from the same period, I think it is just that he is a bit bland. He has potential to be an interesting character; despite being 'posh', he mixes with people from all walks of life, but I've never really been able to feel any warmth for him. Thankfully, this doesn't matter too much, because the stories are usually good enough to make up for it.

This may sound like an odd reason to like a book, but I really liked the titles of the stories. There is something very satisfying about reading a story called 'The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach', 'The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste' and 'The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers'. Some may find it pretentious, and I must admit I had to look bibulous up in the dictionary (it means fond of, or addicted to drink!), but I love the rhythm of the words and they really encouraged me to read more.

On the whole, this is a good collection of stories. It isn't the best example of Sayers' work I've read, but it does have the advantage of providing bite-sized entertainment that is perfect for dipping in and out of without worrying about forgetting who the characters are. And there are a couple of really excellent stories. However, if you are a hardened crime fiction fan, you will probably enjoy her longer works, which are more involved and ultimately more satisfying.

The book is available from play.com for £5.49. Published by Hodder & Stoughton, it has 288 pages. ISBN: 9780450017094.

Summary: Good for dipping in and out of