A good read and a good listen

I am always a bit nervous of reading a follow-on to a classic series written by another author. There certainly were odd moments when the story jarred, but mostly it was good. The performance wasn't perfect - the characterisation and accents were a bit uneven - but that is perhaps the most difficult aspect of recording an audio-book and I wouldn't want to make an issue of it. (Years ago I recorded several books for my mother, who was blind, and I didn't even try to adopt accents - I knew my limitations.)
So, read the novel, listen to the audio version, and I think you'll enjoy it.

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Pitch perfect.

You always fear that an author 'after' the style of a such a strong stylist as Sayers will grate at least a few times but really this didn't happen for me at all. A great plot, characters that have matured but not altered, themes that are so familiar it's like wearing an old but faithful winter coat.

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Not as good as the two earlier stories in the series

This is the book that I really could not get into. I recognized the characters but it just didn't ring true. For someone who has read and listened to all Of Dorothy L Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey's books, it was still difficult to follow the character's development or to relate to the plot. It's a pity because I enjoyed the earlier two books that this author had written. So I guess two out of three is not bad for Ms Patten.

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Good enough but not Dorothy L Sayers

I enjoyed revisiting Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane later on in life but the mystery plot was over-complicated and ultimately unsatisfying. The concept of using DLS's plots as Harriet's and then basing murders on them got tiring rather quickly. There was no sense of urgency in the detection which, with academics dropping like flies, there really should have been. What I did enjoy was the small details of Peter and Harriet's lives like the education of their children and the ageing of the Dowager Duchess.

The reading was better with some voices than others. The rendition of Peter and Harriet was OK but it was lucky there wasn't too much of Charles Parker as that sounded completely wrong to me.

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3 people found this helpful

As good a yarn as Dorothy l Sayers

This reincarnation of Dorothy L Sayers hero Lord Peter D B Wimsey is a fascinating story bringing our hero forward in time updating his life & wonderfully weaving previous books as history. I just found it a great story & the narrator has Wimseys voice just right. A spell binding listen

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1 person found this helpful

Read the last reviews and then read the book.

After having read the one star ratings I was struck by the similarity to the book itself. The knockers might have written the plot.
I found it a well presented and conceived story, read almost as well as Ian Carmichael might have done it. Well worth a listen.

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Death by quotation?

Only a dedicated DLS fan would tolerate this book, and fortunately I am.
JPW's plots are usually very good, and this plot is fine, but the book assumes a good knowledge of Oxford university college terminology, and I assume the written version of this book has a map of the centre of Oxford (although in fact the references to specific streets, pubs etc are not really necessary for the plot.
The number of quotations that Lord Peter spouts is just ridiculous, and even the faithful Harriet starts begging for mercy towards the end of the book.
If you're a DLS fan, start with another JPW book, and theBBC's 1970s radio dramatisations of DLS books are little gems.

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Brilliant!

insightful takes on the characters, and a real insight into Oxford at the time. sticks to the characters, but advances them too. really good

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Well worth the wait.

Any additional comments?

Any fans of Dorothy L Sayers detective Lord Peter Wimsey will not be disappointed with this book. The characterisation of the more mature Peter and Harriet is extremely well done.

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5 people found this helpful

Good

I've enjoyed listening to all Paton-Walsh's Wimsey books, she's followed the originals well and provided some excellent additional storylines. The only disappointment for me was the narrator this time, not a patch on Edward Petherbridge or the incomparable Ian Carmichael

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3 people found this helpful