About book The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club (1995)
3.5 starsThere is a question in my mind regarding this book. It is listed as #5 in Sayers’s famous detective series about Peter Wimsey, an amateur sleuth. But my copy of the book states its year of publication as 1921, which would make it #1 in the series. The quality of this novel seems to support such assessment – it’s not very high. Nonetheless, it’s a solid mystery novel and it raises some interesting moral questions.In the beginning of this novel, Peter is asked not to investigate a crime but to ascertain the exact time of death of an old member of the Bellona Club. The man was ninety and seemed to die peacefully in his sleep in his favorite chair at the Club. His elderly sister died at approximately the same time, but depending on who pre-deceased whom, a huge amount of money in the sister’s will would go to different heirs.Peter starts the investigation, but it takes him to unexpected places. A crime has been committed after all, but what crime, who did it, and why? As the investigation proceeds, Peter is forced to suspect people he would rather not find guilty, including his army buddy George. Torn between his need to discover the truth and his compassion, he even gets into a spat with his friend, the police detective Parker. In the end, Peter is much more concerned about establishing who is innocent and protecting them than finding who is guilty. Peter’s advice to the guilty party is not what we would consider wise or even decent, although it might’ve complied with the notion of honor that was an atavism from a hundred years before. Altogether, a disappointing denouement. The characterization in this novel is also not the best. Peter talks a lot, but his thought process is not always open to the reader, and the author never describes her hero at all. If you read this novel before reading any other in the series, you wouldn’t know how Peter looks or what his family is like. The other characters are also pretty sketchy, and the timing of the novel is vague, although it’s obviously happening sometime after the WWI. The entire tale seems more like a chapter in Peter’s life than an independent book. I guess it’s not #1 in the series after all, but then why does it list the year of publication the earliest of all other Peter Wimsey novels? Is it a typo, I wonder?I read all Peter Wimsey novels years ago and loved Peter then. I also liked the author’s approach to a mystery story. It’s all about an intelligent detective. Peter doesn’t shoot guns or engage in car chases. He asks questions and looks for clues, chats with everyone and applies logic and psychology to his solutions. He doesn’t subject himself to unnecessary danger or tumble into stupid escapades. The suspense is cerebral rather than physical, a treat for the brain. It’s my favorite type of a mystery story and it’s extremely rare nowadays. So I decided to reread the whole series. Perhaps I started with the wrong book. I enjoyed the mystery nevertheless, but Peter still eludes me. On to the next book.
Honestly, I've been reading all these Dorothy Sayers books in secret recently, but I can't hide it anymore. I have rigorously avoided mystery novels because my mother refuses to read any book that is not Jane Austen or a mystery penned by a woman. It's a family joke. We get her things outside the box: not interested. It's female flowering dogwoods, power-saws so she can do more home repair, and mystery novels by women. As a young reader I said: I will read theology, history, philosophy; I will not be pigeon-holed, so I'd better shy away from mysteries in case there's a genetic predisposition or something.And now I've succumbed. I love Sayers. Like Tolkien, I draw the line at Harriet Vane, and yes "Wimsey" is so precious a name for a character that I feel mildly ill. Regardless of some of the adorableness, she's really a very fine writer. Her prose is marvelous and hilarious and each of the novels are distinct. Not just in plot, but in tone: from the ringing of the bells to the rapid-fire witticisms, each story seems to pull back a curtain and reveal a new aspect of Sayers. It was here, in The Unpleasantness that pity and love for ordinary messy human beings shined through. She's funny! And sort of sad! And Wimsey is an imperfect but lovable person, and damn all his detective brilliance! Sympathetic bad artists! Charming ancient assholes! Working women! I understand now. This is why my mom is so into re-reading the same mystery novels. Here is something I wanted to curl up with at night with a glass of port (and I've never had port) and yet moved me. Like an old friend with a murderous problem that I can watch with affection. I don't even know what I'm talking about now: I'm rendered inarticulate because I just want to finish up and rush back to bed with another Wimsey. Oh! Me! Dorothy! Ha!
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This series really holds up on re-reading. This fifth book in the series has another very interesting mystery. One of the oldest members of one of Wimsey's club is found dead in the smoking room of apparent natural causes. There's no problem until a question of inheritance requires an exact time of death. The story is nicely convoluted as suspicion falls on various people. One thing I find very interesting in this series is how often Sayer's deals with the problem of shell shock (what we know today as PTSD) in WWI veterans. It has come up in each of the books so far in various form. It adds a depth to the stories that I admire.
—Donna
Not my favourite when I read it, I remember, and rather too predictable, I think. I remembered most of the twists and turns, and figured out what I didn't. The best part about this radioplay was Wimsey and Parker and Wimsey figuring out to some extent that his meddling messes things up and gets people into trouble. Decidedly lacking in Bunter, though.I really forgot how long it takes for there to be much of an overarching plot. I think it took until Harriet Vane enters the scene for me to be entirely hooked.Of course, now I already know and love Peter Wimsey, so it's different with the radioplays, but still... I'm rather tempted to skip onto Strong Poison.
—Nikki
Summary: "See here, Lord Peter, an old man has died in his chair, and all the chaps here at the club didn't realize it for a day or so. Beastly unpleasant business, what?" Lord Peter: "Something is suspicious about this dead old man. And I feel sorry for his beastly sons for some reason. Must be something to do with the War."Lord Peter solves the mystery, which involves red herrings and maybe a doctor or two, lawyers, etc. These are starting to blend together for me, as I read in sequence. But I really like them for some reason! Must be something to do with the War...
—Whitney
