The famous amateur sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, makes his first appearance in 1923 in Dorothy L. Sayers novel, Whose Body? The story begins when a call from Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess, alerts him that her friend, Mr. Thipps has found a naked body in his house.
Lord Peter, who has taken to sleuthing as a way to deal with shell shock from serving in WWI, wastes no time in going to see about the body and finds a lot of odd details which will no doubt help him solve the crime. Why was the body in the bathtub? Is there a reason the man was shaved after death and what is the meaning of the pince-nez perched on his nose?
Before long it is revealed that there is more than one crime that needs to be solved as a wealthy financier, Mr. Reuben Levy, has gone missing. The police, headed by Inspector Suggs, are sure that the body in the bathtub belongs to none other than Mr. Levy and take in Mr. Thipps and the household maid for questioning. It is up to Lord Peter with the help of his manservant, Bunter, and Detective Parker to successfully solve the crime.
I wasn't too sure what to think of Lord Peter. At first I thought he was a bit too nonchalant about the crime but then there were some excellent scenes especially when he confronts the killer which made me realize his nonchalance is probably part of an act.
So while I still don't call myself a Dorothy L. Sayers fan I will admit that this novel made me smile a bit at times. I thought Bunter was a great character and I got a kick out of Lord Peter's enthusiasm for collectible books. I can see myself picking up the next one in the series.
Added 05/07