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TBR Wednesday: Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
  | Unnatural Death Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery 1927 Rating: B
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Unnatural Death is the third book in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. It's just as amusing as its predecessor, Clouds of Witness, but with a different cast of supporting characters.
In Unnatural Death, Peter is dining out with his friend Detective-Inspector Charles Parker and strikes up a conversation with a Dr. Carr whose story piques Peter's curiosity. It seems a few years previously he had a patient, an elderly Miss Agatha Dawson, who was dying of cancer but who died somewhat before her prognosis dictated, enough before that the doctor had raised questions about the niece who inherited Miss Dawson's estate, a Miss Mary Whittaker. Unfortunately Dr. Carr's pursuance of this matter provoked a strong local dislike for him and he was forced to move his practice elsewhere and the matter never came up again. Peter, however, looks at the case with different eyes and sees a murder that was never acknowledged and with the help of Parker and his loyal man, Bunter, tries to discover not who killed someone but whether someone was killed and how.
Like Strong Poison, a later entry in this series, the mystery here concerns an ill elderly lady and her will (or lack thereof). What made it so interesting to read was how Peter approached everything backwards since it was general consensus that no murder had occurred, that the old lady had died a trifle prematurely, of cancer. It is only after Peter's nosing causes another related death that people begin to be interested.
As usual, Sayers tells her narrative in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion with Peter's absurdities being punctured periodically by Parker's more dry down-to-earth manner. Miss Climpson appears and is oh-so-enjoyable in her hyperbole and concern for the social niceties and propriety. I love Miss Climpson!
One thing that really stands out in this story is Sayers's depiction of two lesbian relationships before the time when this could be acknowledged. Miss Agatha Dawson had a lifelong live-in relationship with another woman which is described as a friendship but is clearly love, and her niece, the suspected murderess is also in a relationship with another woman that is not as healthy but is emotionally intense. Both relationships are presented as fact, not as scandal, and none of the characters spends a great deal of time thinking about them.
I finished this one and went on right away to Five Red Herrings. Of the two, this one is far superior, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery or an enjoyable read.