Harriet Vane, mystery writer and object of the eligible Lord Peter Wimsey's affections, attends a reunion party (a "Gaudy") at Shrewsbury College of Oxford University. There she is drawn into a mystery surrounding disturbing pranks and vulgar notes delivered to dons and students. Eager to keep the press and public at bay, the dons of Shrewsbury beg Harriet to investigate the case. But when the tricks become steadily more violent, even her tangled feelings for Lord Peter are pushed momentarily to the side as she asks for his help.

Lovers of mystery who enjoy a dash of romance and well-written characters.

Harriet is such a vibrant character; I feel as though I know her after reading this book. The characters and relationships are always the shining bits of Sayers' stories.

Read the next in the series.

Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a number of short stories and novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, but her best are probably those that feature both Harriet and Peter.

It's a must read. I can't recommend it enough.

'Gaudy Night' is arguably one of the best in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Ironically enough, Peter isn't even the main character in this novel; Harriet Vane, the women he saved from the dock in "Strong Poison" is the narrator and detective in this long, introspective story. Nevertheless, Sayers' talent with dialogue and characters pull the reader swiftly through the pages. The one fault of this book might be the many characters; Sayers isn't prone to over-describing secondary characters so it's easy to get them mixed up, especially when there are so many Oxford dons to keep track of. But, of course, the real focus is on Harriet and Peter and whether or not they will be able to stop butting heads and finally get together.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery)   from Amazon.Com!

Created Jul 31, 2006 at 7:39pm • Submit your own review...