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TBR Wednesday: Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
  | Clouds of Witness Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery 1926 Rating: B
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Clouds of Witness is the second book in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. It is much tighter and more amusing than the series' first book: Whose Body?
In Clouds of Witness, Peter is called to the aid of his brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, who finds himself accused of murdering their sister's fiancé, Denis Cathcart. Denis was found lying outside of the conservatory with a bullet from Gerald's gun inside him and there is other circumstantial evidence that seems to point Gerald's way. Gerald does not approve of Peter's little sleuthing hobby and does not want him involved in or amplifying the scandal, but Peter thinks that his brother underestimates the real danger he is in and wades in anyway. It is obvious to anyone from the transcript of the inquest that both Gerald and his sister, Mary, are lying their heads off about events that happened that night, and he is determined to avert shame away from the Wimsey family and get to the bottom of things
On parade here are the humorous weaknesses of the various Wimseys and the somewhat dysfunctional way the family operates making it one of the funnier Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. Gerald is an ass, his wife, Helen, is a bloodless snob, and his sister Mary , by way of differentiating herself from the others, has become involved with the Communist Party in England. Sayers manages to send up class, entitlement, political fanaticism, and communism while never sacrificing the humanity of any of her characters. What a gift she has for humor. I particularly loved the Communist Party stuff; it was interesting juxtaposing this crowd of bumblers with what was happening in the Soviet Communist Party in the late 1920's. The contemporary historical view was fascinating, vaguely reminiscent of some of the Soviet satire later in the century, but without the bitterness of experience.
Bunter is magnificent as per usual here and manages to save Lord Peter's life when he makes a foolish mistake. I liked that Sayers showed Lord Peter not at his best - it showed that he is not always in command of the situation and has other weaknesses besides a tendency to run off at the mouth. His interactions with his siblings also add a bit of personal dimension to his character. The Dowager Duchess of Denver is her usual delightful self.
The mystery was an interesting one with an unexpected twist that I did not see coming. Peter manages to ferret out what Gerald, Mary, and the ill-fated Denis were up to and (literally) fly in at the last moment in the trial with critical evidence to prove his theories.
A solid entry in this series. Very enjoyable.