There's so much to admire in Dorothy L. Sayers's writing, especially its sheer quality and her talent for world-building.In this book, the fifth in the Lord Peter Wimsey detective series and first published in 1928, I learned a lot about shell-shock. I was also surprised by how sympathetic most of the characters were to those suffering from it. I've since done some (superficial) reading, and it seems that eventually, shell-shock victims were expected to 'snap out of it.' Sayers definitely shows ...

The Lord Peter Wimsey series almost feels like Dorothy Sayers channeled Agatha Christie and stole one of P.G. Wodehouse's characters. <--that's a compliment. I'm not trying to say Sayers plagiarized anything, for the love of god!The aforementioned "unpleasantness" starts when an elderly gentleman at Lord Peter's club is found dead in his favorite chair - surely of natural causes!But things get sticky when it is discovered that it is necessary to determine when exactly he died, as that means t...

I'm so glad I stuck with Lord Peter Wimsey! The first three books were just okay for me, but *The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club* was genuinely clever and witty. I'm really enjoying how the relationship between Charles Parker, the Scotland Yard detective, and Lord Peter is developing. There were so many twists and turns in this one – I went down several rabbit holes trying to solve it! – but I actually managed to figure it out before the final, well, unpleasantness. Definitely looking forwar...

Lord Peter Group Read September 2022After this last re-read, I'm seriously tempted to bump my review up to 5 stars. Dorothy L. Sayers' writing in "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" is excellent, the characters feel incredibly real even though they're from almost a century ago, and the story itself is just a fantastic detective mystery.Lord Peter Wimsey gets involved pretty early on when a dead body is discovered in one of his clubs. Even though everyone initially thinks the old gentleman d...

Full disclosure: I *listened* to the BBC radio dramatization of Dorothy L. Sayers' "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" during my commutes instead of reading it. (For anyone thinking of doing the same: each story in the collection clocks in at around three hours, so plan your commute accordingly!)Honestly, the story is ideally suited to the radio format. Sayers' mysteries are usually dialogue-heavy anyway, and the rare action scenes are easily covered by someone banging on a wall, a creaking...

This is the book where Dorothy L. Sayers really finds her groove with Lord Peter Wimsey. He’s suddenly starting to feel like a complete person—perceptive, subtly sharp, occasionally goofy, and completely endearing. The mystery in *The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club* allows us to watch him tackle two separate puzzles while sizing up everyone around him. I love how Sayers artfully weaves in social commentary. She never lectures, but I always find myself agreeing, wondering why I hadn’t thought...

This marks my fifth foray into Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series with "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club," and my enjoyment of her writing and Lord Peter's character arc only deepens. There's even an updated biography (courtesy of Lord Peter's uncle) tucked away at the end, allowing us to piece together more of his life as Sayers herself uncovers new facets of his persona. The mysteries are becoming increasingly intricate, brimming with red herrings – I particularly relish the on...

'What in the world, Wimsey, are you doing in this Morgue?' demanded Captain Fentiman, flinging aside the Evening Banner with the air of a man released from an irksome duty. 'Oh, I wouldn't call it that,' retorted Wimsey amiably. 'Funeral Parlour at the very least. Look at the marble. Look at the furnishings. Look at the palms and the chaste bronze nude in the corner.''Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know - 'Waiter! Take away Lord Whatsisname....

Published in 1928, Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, *The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club*, is set around Remembrance Day. When Wimsey arrives at the Bellona Club, he meets up with his friend, George Fentiman, a victim of poison gas and shell shock during the war. George admits to Lord Peter that he's struggling financially and upset that his wife, Sheila, has to work. In this novel, both Lord Peter Wimsey and Dorothy L. Sayers are in a much more reflective mood. There’s an obviou...

At first glance, it seems like a charming, intricate little murder mystery, with Peter Wimsey dashing about, pontificating and playing detective until he finds the solution. But underneath that... yikes. What an unsettling book, with people turning on each other, backstabbing, and getting caught on each other’s barbs like brambles snagging on silk. Everyone trapped inside a tiny box labeled marriage or poverty or shell shock or police regulations. This book is all about claustrophobic places – t...