Clouds of witness

by Dorothy L. Sayers, and The documents in the case

No cover

Dorothy L. Sayers: Clouds of witness (1938, Harcourt, Brace and Company)

287 pages

English language

Published Oct. 29, 1938 by Harcourt, Brace and Company.

OCLC Number:
780850

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4 stars (13 reviews)

The fiancé of Lord Peter's sister, Mary, is found dead outside the conservatory of the Wimsey family's shooting lodge in Yorkshire. The evidence points to their older brother, Gerald, the Duke of Denver, who is charged with the murder and put on trial in the House of Lords.

To clear the family name, Lord Peter and his close friend Inspector Charles Parker scour the lodge's grounds, finding several tantalizing clues, including mysterious footprints, a piece of jewelry, and a cat charm. What do these leads mean, and why are Mary and Gerald suddenly acting so mysterious? Unraveling a string of coincidences, Lord Peter is determined to solve this intriguing case. But will the answer save his brother . . . or condemn him?

36 editions

Review of 'Clouds of witness' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is the second of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, and it is not quite as good as the first one. It is quite easy to go too far into caricature with a character like Wimsey, and I think Sayers does so here. And it has a lot of the Golden Age tropes of mysterious goings on in the night with everyone keeping secrets. But at least there are plausible reasons why they are keeping secrets. Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, is accused of murder when he is found bending over the body of Lady Mary's fiance, with whom he had quarreled earlier in the evening. The man was killed with the Duke's pistol, and all the Duke will say is that he was going for a walk (at 3am!). And why was Lady Mary up? IF you like golden Age mysteries, this will be satisfactory, and it …

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Subjects

  • Wimsey, Peter, Lord (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.
  • Private investigators -- England -- Fiction.