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Dorothy L. SayersWhose Body?

Librivox recording of Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Read by Kara Shallenberg and Kristin Hughes

The novel begins with a telephone call to Wimsey from his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, saying that her vicar’s architect has just found a dead body in his bath, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. Whose body is it? Whodunnit? It’s up to Lord Peter to find out.

(Summary by Kara and Wikipedia)


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This audio is part of the collection: LibriVox

Artist/Composer: Dorothy L. Sayers
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; literature; mystery; Sayers; Lord Peter Wimsey

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: mikezane - - August 26, 2009
Subject: Good Mystery!
A body is found in a man's tub. No one recognizes the body. At the same time, a wealthy man goes missing. The detective is on the case, but he finds himself following one red herring after another.

So who is the body in the tub? What has happened to the missing man? Good story, kept me guessing.

Reading was VERY well done, no complaints.

Reviewer: ListeninginChicago - - July 24, 2009
Subject: A body in a bath wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez . . .
From Wikipedia: Wimsey's mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, telephones to say that Thipps, the architect her vicar has hired to do some work on the church, has just found a dead body in the bath in the flat where he lives: a body wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. Ignoring the clumsy efforts of the official investigator, Inspector Sugg, who suspects Thipps and his servant, Wimsey starts his own enquiry. Meanwhile, Sir Reuben Levy, a famous financier, has apparently disappeared into thin air in his own bedroom, and there has been an odd little flurry of trading in some mining shares, long believed defunct. Inspector Parker, Wimsey's friend, is investigating this.

The corpse in the bath is not Levy, but as matters unfold Wimsey becomes convinced that the two are linked. The trail leads to the prestigious teaching hospital next door to the architect's flat, and to the eminent surgeon and neurologist Sir Julian Freke who is based there. Wimsey finally unravels the gruesome truth: Freke murdered Sir Reuben and staged his 'disappearance' from home, having borne a grudge for years over Lady Levy, who chose to marry Sir Reuben rather than him. He also engineered the trading in mining shares, to lure Sir Reuben to his death. He dismembered Sir Reuben and gave him to his students to dissect, substituting his body for that of a pauper donated to the hospital for that purpose, who bore a superficial resemblance to Sir Reuben. The pauper's body, washed, shaved and manicured, was then carried over the roofs and dumped in Thipps' bath as a joke. Freke's belief that conscience and guilt are inconvenient physiological aberrations, which may be cut out and discarded, are an explanation for his monstrous conduct. He attempts to murder both Parker and Wimsey, and finally tries suicide when his actions are discovered, but is arrested in time.

The book establishes many of Wimsey's character traits - for example, his interest in rare books, the nervous problems associated with his wartime shell-shock, and his ambiguous feelings about catching criminals for a hobby - and also introduces many characters who recur in later novels, such as Parker, Bunter, Sugg, and the Dowager Duchess.

My Comments: This audiobook brings together two of Librivox's best readers. Kara and Kristen alternate chapters in this twisting murder mystery. Neither of them rely heavily on "character voices", it's a straight read, very well done, that brings Peter Wimsey and this wonderful cast of characters to life.