Information
Goodreads: The Unpleasantness at the Bellonna Club
Series: Lord Peter Wimsey #5
Age Category: Adult
Source: Library
Published: 1928
Summary
When elderly General Fentiman is found dead in his favorite chair at the Bellonna Club, no one thinks much of it. It's heart failure at his age, surely. But why is his knee swinging freely when the rest of the body is undergoing rigor mortis? And when it comes out that the time of the general's death could determine the fate of a great fortune, Lord Peter Wimsey feels sure there is more to the case than meets the eye.
Review
The Unpleasantness at the Bellonna Club proves an intriguing mystery as, at first, no murder seems to have been committed. By all appearances, ninety-year-old General Fentiman has passed away peacefully in his favorite chair at the club. But later events reveal that the exact timing of his death has great significance: if he died before his estranged sister Lady Dormer, the sister's money goes to his grandchildren, while if he died after her, the money goes to a distant relation of Lady Dormer's husband. And it just so happens that Lady Dormer and the General died very close together. Thus begins another captivating mystery featuring the high-spirited Lord Peter Wimsey.
The delight of a Lord Peter Wimsey is, as ever, in the character of the detective. While he has gained a bit of reputation for himself due to his successes, new acquaintances over tend to underestimate him. He has such a silly face, after all, and a such a rambling way of speaking. I rather like reading these mysteries largely because it is so fun to see him "bumbling" around.
Fortunately, Lord Peter's eccentricities carried me through what, at times, felt like one of the slower books in the series. It gets bogged down after awhile in the minutiae of the law. While I appreciate Sayers' commitment to more realistic stories after that the implausible explanations given in Unnatural Death, I admit I found the legal explanations a bit dull. Still, Lord Peter and Bunter are a duo worth sticking around for.
While this is not a mystery I could see myself returning to, I still am enjoying the series as a whole. I can't wait to embark on another adventure with Lord Peter Wimsey, not just for the mystery but also for the humor and sometimes scathing social commentary.
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