Review: Whose Body?

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable detective romp that has exactly all of the things you would expect from a murder mystery that has a Lord as the sleuth - a dimwit detective, a dastardly villain, and plenty of "what ohs" and "Yes, sirs" (from the ever-present butlers). There are moments, however, of uncomfortable reading with the odd bit of antisemitism banded about is if it's not remotely problematic. But, as always, you do have to judge a book by the time it was written (1920s) and the antisemitism is more about stereotypes than anything hateful.

What I was surprised by was how well-rounded Lord Wimsy is - he's described as having "nervous problems" because of WWI and these are described with sympathy. I was particularly impressed by a speech he gives in which he recognises that what is a "jolly jape" to him (i.e. finding the murderer) will have a dramatic effect on people's lives (i.e. someone will be convicted and hanged).

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