Customer Reviews

Clouds of Witness

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Dorothy Sayers' second Lord Peter Wimsey novel comes in on a more serious note. Wimsey, just returned from a long rest in Corsica, finds himself embroiled in a murder far closer to home. While staying at a hunting lodge with friends Peter's brother Gerald has gotten tangled up in a murder, and has become the chief suspect. To make matters more complicated, the victim is their sister Mary's ex-fiancée. Very recently ex, as a matter of fact. The murder was done shortly after Gerald has thrown him out of the house as a card cheat.

When an alibi is demanded, Gerald refuses to give one, and so is charged with the crime. As he is the Duke of Denver, Gerald's case will not be heard in court, but before the House of Lords. Lord Peter is confronted with a case in which the accused seems bound and determined to get himself hung. Gerald offers no help to his brother, the police, or even Impey Biggs, his barrister. Peter and his long time friend Inspector Parker, are left with only faint clues and surmises as the basis for building a defense.

It quickly becomes apparent that there is guilt everywhere. Denis Cathcart, the victim, had lived a suspicious life in Paris, Lady Mary has complicated ties to the British socialist movement, and Gerald, if he wasn't killing Cathcart, had to be doing something he didn't want to reveal. Wimsey and Parker find a surplus of suspicious behavior, in England and abroad, but the puzzle refuses to be unlocked. Worse, those mysteries they can solve do nothing to help Gerald. Time marches inexorably on, and Lord Peter must make a last minute race against time in an effort to solve the mystery.

Despite the seriousness of this case, with all its lurking tragedies, Lord Peter retains his sarcastic style, providing both comic relief and the insights of the master detective. This time however he does reveal more of serious side, leaving behind his facetious exterior as he displays new depth. Sayers, of course, continues to write brilliantly, providing finely grained characters and a wonderful sense of place. An unexpected side romance shows signs of beginning, which will delight the readers, as Inspector Parker leaves behind theology long enough to embarrass himself.

The Wimsey novels can be read in any order, although the latter part of the series does have some thematic material with develops over several volumes. The early novels are independent tales, and I exhort the reader to start with whatever is at hand. In little time you will find yourself addicted to an England that never really was, but certainly should have been.

This is one of my three favorite Lord Peter Wimsey novels (the other two are The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and Murder Must Advertise), and unless you plan to read the entire series (in which case you should start with Unnatural Death), it's the best introduction to Wimsey and his world, as it revolves around his brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, being accused of murdering their sister Mary's fiance. It also features Wimsey's friend Chief Inspector Parker, as well as introducing several recurring characters.

Unlike Unnatural Death, where Wimsey seems more devil-may-care and speaks in more slang-y sentences, this book shows a more mature Wimsey who's fully aware of his duties to his family and the responsibilities of his position in life (an occasional theme in the series), and we see that Wimsey is far from being merely a man about London.

The mystery itself is one of the more clever ones in the series, revolving around holes in Gerald's testimony which Wimsey must investigate, as well as the background of the murder victim, although the final resolution seems not to completely justify the build-up. (This is common in Sayers' mysteries; the setting and characters tend to be stronger than the puzzle driving the plot.) Overall, though, it's an entertaining book, featuring more moments of dramatic suspense than in the later novels, making it perhaps the most well-rounded Wimsey adventure.

Clouds of Witness is a good book, but not among Sayers best. Written early in her career, the story allows one to feel that there will be greater books yet to come, but this - alas - is not that book. The book suffers mainly because it feels as if Sayers is emulating other writers (at one point Wimsey refers to his "gray cells"), and not trusting her own voice enough. It's understandable, given that this is her sophomore outing, but it's regrettable that it isn't quite what a modern reader might think of as a "Dorothy L. Sayers mystery."

The characters, women particularly, are well fleshed-out stereotypes. We have the noble fool (Lady Mary), the gold-digger (Simone Vonderaa), and the caged bird set free (Mrs. Grimethorpe). Even the legal team of Murbles and Biggs are set at the far ends of the spectrum of lawyerly caricature (Biggs' closing argument is an especially hammy monologue).

While it's nice to meet Wimsey's family, the rest of the hunting party is mostly useless (murder victim excepted). Wimsey and D.I. Parker's camaraderie is enjoyable, though the latter likely has a conflict of interest - doubly so, given his attraction to Lady Mary, Wimsey's sister and the deceased's fiancée.

My greatest frustration with the book has to do with the way the emerald-eyed cat charm is handled. Although its ownership is proven relatively early in the book Wimsey and Parker keep trying to determine if it belonged to someone else. It seems Sayers wants it to be a red herring, but in light of the fact that we know whose it is - as do Wimsey and Parker - it just doesn't work. Sayers also tries her hand at adventure writing, most notably in the "foggy bog" and "trans-Atlantic flight" scenes; in these she succeeds and it's a pity that in the future these dramatic touches are saved mainly for scenes involving the detective and his Daimler.

Even though the book has several shortcomings it's still an entertaining piece of writing. It does better at charting the rise of one of England's finest authors than as a literary masterpiece in its own right, but for all that Sayers fans should be sure not to overlook this early treasure.

...That Dorothy Sayers was in love with her own fictional detective. I'm half in love with him myself. This wasn't my favorite Peter Wimsey novel, but even in being my not-favorite, it was satisfying and enchanting.

Sayers reminds me of GK Chesterton in this novel in the way she uses the form to gently deflate the radical political ideas of the day without losing the plot. The trial procedure for the peer of a realm contrasted with the romances of Wimsey's sister Mary neatly highlight the decaying class system in which these characters move. It's full of priceless moments, such as the one where a character is told witheringly that while he could be forgiven being a murderer, he can't be forgiven for being an ass.

The book suffers a bit from an overly complicated plot that only becomes overly complicated three-quarters of the way through and Sayers accidentally makes several of the red herring characters more interesting than the really pertinent ones. Most importantly, I felt like the character of the murdered man was not illuminated as well as she has done in some of her other novels-- despite all the details provided, he felt curiously unfinished or stock.

Acclaimed for his portrayals of Lord Peter Wimsey on BBC, Ian Carmichael is the ideal voice for this story. As the London Daily Express put it he plays Wimsey so perfectly that "Sayers might have created Wimsey just so Carmichael could portray him."

Dorothy Sayers (1893 - 1957) is surely one of the most popular mystery writers of all time. Today, some years after her death, her stories continue to be widely read. With "Clouds of Witness" her protagonist Lord Peter Wimsey is called upon to investigate the death of his sister's fiancé. At least it may have been a fragrant departure as the recently murdered was found dead among the chrysanthemums, sartorially perfect in dinner jacket and slippers.

Most shocking is the fact that Sir Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, stands accused. Surely that cannot be so. Sir Peter begins his own investigation in order to save his brother.

As is often the case, Sayers creates a surprising courtroom scene and Carmichael reads it with gusto.

- Gail Cooke

In some respects Dorothy Sayers is a problematic author, and early in her career she struggled with what can only be called a tendency toward incessant clutter: a wordy style, an often awkwardly expressed fascination with the mechanics of timetables, and constant reference to erudite academia that frequently verged on the downright obscure. But with CLOUDS OF WITNESS she found a very neat balance--and the result is not only the first clear sounding of Sayers' literary voice, it is also simply the best of her early works.

In this particular story, death unexpectedly arrives in the very bosom of the Wimsey family: the Duke has taken a rural manor for the hunting season, and when his sister's fiance is found shot to death in the small hours of the morning he is himself accused. Curiously, he declines to offer any sort of alibi--but fortunately there is a sleuth in the family: Lord Peter Wimsey, who arrives post-haste to sort the matter out.

While the novel's conclusion may frustrate many readers, this is a fast, fun read with engaging characters and an emerging and very sophisticated literary style--the style on which Sayers would ultimately establish such later and landmark works as MURDER MUST ADVERTISE, GAUDY NIGHT, and BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON. Established fans will likely enjoy it more than first-timers, but if you've not yet encountered Sayers don't let that stop you: it's an elegant work. Recommended.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--

This is one of my favorite Wimsey stories, but the formatting in the Kindle edition is bad to the point of distracting from the plot. Paragraphs are run together and the margins meander around without uniformity. I hope this edition will be improved in the near future, I'd be glad to re-download it.

My negative review is solely with respect to the edition that I purchased, not the story. Unfortunately, this newly printed version of the paperback is a poor substitute for an older used version of this paperback. I should have known from the images on the book cover which had absolutely nothing to do with the story, given that I have read the novel before and simply lost my original copy (the front cover showing a flapper in a nightclub; the back side of the cover showing a hand holding a knife -- despite death having occurred in this story by revolver).

The copyright having lapsed, it apparently allowed someone to print up the book at will, and what a regrettable job they did. The font size is on the small side (although there are huge spaces between paragraphs), new chapters do not necessarily begin on new pages, and occasionally one finds an odd character (such as a capital O with an umlaut) which I have only seen appear when text is dumped from one word-processing program into another program without care for editing. It does not make for an easy read -- despite being an entertaining read.

The story is a great Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and I recommend it to all -- but not in this edition. Despite having just purchased it, I will donate this copy to my local Goodwill and buy another REAL copy of the book.

Lord Peter needed to get away after the stresses he encountered solving a case a few weeks earlier (Whose Body?). He and Bunter went to the wilds of Corsica to relax. On their way back to civilization they discover that while they were gone the fiance of Lord Peter's sister, Lady Mary was murdered. Worse, the murder took place at a shooting party hosted by their older brother, Gerald the Duke of Denver. Worse still Gerald is the prime suspect!

Peter and Bunter hurry home to try to solve the crime only to find that there are many mysteries about what happened that night. Why isn't Mary more upset about the death of her fiance? Why was their engagement called off that very night? Where exactly was Gerald that evening? Who left a suitcase in the conservatory?

Gradually Peter begins to find answers to the various questions and raise a few more along the way. He and Bunter of course eventually save the day but not before having a few adventures along the way.

This is an exciting mystery, it is well plotted and fairly laid out, all the clues are there for the reader. There are a few coincidences but nothing that overly strains possiblities. For fans of the series we are treated to a lot more insight into that wonderfully eccentric Wimsey family.

So why four stars instead of five? First the book does tend to drag just a bit in places. Compared to later books in the series this is one of the lesser works. If you are a fan of the series this is a must read. I would also recommend it if you are a fan of mysteries of the '20's and '30's definitely read this one.

"Clouds of Witness" is the first novel by Dorothy Sayers that I have read. I was an avid Agatha Christie fan in junior high and high school and haven't really read much of the mystery genre since. However, I was recently recommended "Clouds of Witness" so I picked it up.

"Clouds of Witness" follows Lord Peter Wimsey, an amateur detective who lives in Britain, as he tries to clear his brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, of murder charges that have been brought against him. The victim is their sister Lady Mary's fiancé Captain Denis Cathcart. Cathcart is found shot to death one night in the garden of Riddlesdale Lodge where the Duke of Denver, Lady Mary, and a group of others are staying. Gerald refuses to supply an alibi for the time of the murder and becomes the prime suspect and his sister's testimony does nothing to help him. Wimsey, with the help of his "confidential man and assistant sleuth" Bunter and his friend Detective Inspector Parker gather clues and follow leads in an attempt to discover who killed Cathcart. To solve the mystery, Wimsey must discover exactly what his brother was up to at the time of the murder and what it is that his sister is hiding. Along the way there are lots of red herrings and twists and turns in the investigation.

The writing in "Clouds of Witness" was good with great descriptions of the Duke of Denver's trial. There were a lot of British colloquialisms in the text that in my opinion helped establish the atmosphere.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, although I find it a bit hard to get into. I would've preferred for the plot to have a quicker pace. It just didn't pull me into the story immediately. The plot was suspenseful and wasn't predictable, which is very good for a mystery novel since you don't want to guess "who-dun-it" within the first few pages. However, the resolution was a slight disappointment.