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Clouds of Witness: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery | 
 enlarge | Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
Creator: Ian Carmichael
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 285600
Format: Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 7
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1602833478
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9781602833470
ASIN: 1602833478
Publication Date: March 18, 2008
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Book Description
Lord Peter Wimsey Clears the Family Name in this Classic Mystery! In Clouds of Witness, murder strikes close to home. Lord Peter is on vacation when he hears that a dead body has been found at the Wimsey family retreat, and that Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, is being held for the crime. The dead man? Their sister's fiance. Lord Peter must clear his brother's name to avoid the death penalty. There is overwhelming circumstantial evidence against the Duke, but Lord Peter firmly believes that his brother is innocent and begins his own investigation into the murder. Can Lord Peter find the truth in time to save his brother and the family name? Presented unabridged on 7 CDs. Narrator IAN CARMICHAEL is a veteran British actor. His lengthy career includes several portrayals of Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC television, as well as appearances in other TV series, stage productions, and feature films.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
Not the best of Sayers, but interesting June 12, 2008
If you are a Dorothy L. Sayers fan, this is an important piece of the Wimsey family history--particularly that of Lady Mary and Chief Inspector Parker. I had put off reading this and several other novels for a long time because (1) they didn't include Harriet Vane, and (2) I felt Sayers later works were better than her early stories. I still feel the latter is true, although that should not dissuade the reader from perusing these earlier mysteries.
I give Clouds of Witness four stars only because five stars has to go to her crowning work Gaudy Night.
Somewhere in the lower-middle of Sayer's works February 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Here we have another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, (before his marriage to Harriet), where his brother, The Duke of Denver, is brought to trial for murder. And it is an unusual trial indeed since members of the British nobility who were charged with murder, during the era of Lord Peter Wimsey, had to be tried, not at the Old Bailey, but rather by the full House of Lords!
The Duke of Denver, ("Jerry" to his friends), has purchased a small hunting lodge on the edge of the moors and his guests are in for some bird shooting. But on a cold, rainy night, the Duke's prospective brother-in-law, Lady Mary's dubious gold-digging fiance, ultimately becomes the victim of an apparent murder.
At the inquest, one lie after another is proffered by the Wimsey family and the jury brings in a murder indictment against the Duke for his clear skullduggery in the matter. Lord Peter is away on an extended vacation to the European continent but rushes to his brother's aide when he hears of the fiasco. Lord Peter then teams up with his Scotland Yard pal, Inspector Parker, to find the real killer and thus free his brother -- but Lord Peter gets shot for his trouble!
WARNING TO READERS -- SEMI-SPOILER AHEAD!!!
Now, the most compelling caveat of this Sayers entry is the fact that, in this one, the stogy Duke of Denver (Jerry) is having an affair with the wife of a very nasty character, a farmer who also happens to be the Duke's neighbor! If that were not enough, Lord Peter and his lawyer make every effort to get the Duke off the hook without disclosing to his wife that she's been cheated on, and they SUCCEED in that devious endeavor!!! I mention this as Sayers treats this indiscretion in a notably cavalier manner and many women readers might not exactly savour this particular caveat of the book. These days, we are not surprised by similar writings but, in the 20s, Sayers was clearly breaking new ground, sort of in an anti-feminist way.
I enjoyed the book, all around, but it's far from being Sayers' best work. If you are new to this renowned author of British mysteries, you might want to read either "Whose Body?" or, "The Unpleasantness at the Belonna Club" first. They are her two best, in my opinion.
Cloudy "witness" February 10, 2007
The worst nightmare for a detective is having a solid case... against a member of your own family. Dorothy Sayers imagined such a story for Lord Peter Wimsey in her second mystery novel, "Clouds of Witness," a solid, twisting whodunnit full of lies, affairs and deception
Peter is on vacation when he finds out that his brother, The Duke of Denver (informally "Gerald"), is on trial for murder -- he had a blowup with his sister Mary's fiancee, Denis Cathcart, upon learning that Cathcart was a former cardsharper. The next morning, Cathcart was found shot through the heart by Gerald's gun, with Gerald bending over the body. The Duke stubbornly refuses to explain why he was out in the rain at three in the morning.
Peter is determined to solve the case, and quickly finds plenty of clues and odd little details, including the fact that Mary keeps lying -- and changing her lies. There are too many clues, and not enough logical motives. Now to save his brother, Peter must unravel plenty of lies and red herrings, and discover who wanted to do away with Denis Cathcart -- and why.
"Clouds of Witness" is an excellent whodunnit, with lots of quirky characters and a very twisty murder mystery -- in fact, it's not even clear whether it's even a murder. And Sayers seemed to be more at ease in this mystery, since it unfolds in a more gradual manner, as if she were more sure of herself than in "Whose Body."
If there's a flaw, it's that her writing can be slightly uneven -- we get lots of descriptions of Mary, but I still have no idea what Bunter looks like. But Sayers can craft a spectacular plot, with lots of red herrings and odd twists, especially since most of the people involved are telling lies, usually about romantic affairs.
The general feeling is unusually taut even for a mystery, since Peter is trying to help his stuffy brother. But Sayers also sprinkles in some comedic moments to lessen the tension, such as when Peter dines with a flaky, chic socialist who thinks it's thrilling when the police raid them. The dialogue is also enjoyably quirky, especially when Peter is doing the talking ("I should be crucified upside down for anemia of the brain!").
The cast is made up of all sorts -- weaselly socialists, flaky socialites, the stuffy Gerald and his equally stiff wife, and the rambling yet clever Dowager. And Peter is the center of all this, a detective who acts like Bertie Wooster and thinks like Hercule Poirot -- he has loads of brains and reasoning ability, but you'd never guess it by how he acts.
"Clouds of Witness" is a clever, twisty murder mystery with a likably eccentric hero, and one of Dorothy Sayers' best mystery novels. Definitely a good, solid read with a colourful cast.
Really Enjoyable January 13, 2007
The story is a good one, but it is the dialogue that makes this a really great story.
 "The romantic soul at war with the realistic brain" June 26, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Lord Peter Wimsey is one of the great English sleuths of literary history. His creator was Dorothy Sayers, one of the first women to receive a degree from Oxford University.
Wimsey is a complex yet agreeable character, a peer of the realm who has a witty, urbane facade which can slip to reveal a steely resolve as well as a tender and sometimes fragile psyche. "The essential Peter," Sayers once wrote, "is seen to be the familiar figure of the interpretative artists, the romantic soul at war with a realistic brain."
In this second of eleven Lord Peter books, the accused is Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, suspected of murdering his sister's fiance after discovering he is a cad. The Duke refuses to share his whereabouts the night of the murder, so Lord Peter must solve the mystery in record time in order to prevent his brother being executed for murder.
This is a well devised mystery plot with enough emotional involvement to make it a page turner. In addition the portrayal of English culture of the 1920's is enjoyable.
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