The Five Red Herrings

Dorothy L. Sayers

Jul 2012 · The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Book 6 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

“Beyond question one of the most skillful mystery writers . . . offers a first rate piece of work. . . . Lord Peter Wimsey [is] at his amusing best. . . . The book is a treat” (The New York Times).

The majestic landscape of the Scottish coast has attracted artists and fishermen for centuries. In the idyllic village of Kirkcudbright, every resident and visitor has 2 things in common: They either fish or paint (or do both), and they all hate Sandy Campbell. Though a fair painter, he is a rotten human being, and cannot enter a pub without raising the blood pressure of everybody there. No one weeps when he dies.
 
Campbell’s body is found at the bottom of a steep hill, and his easel stands at the top, suggesting that he took a tumble while painting. But something about the death doesn’t sit right with gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. No one in Kirkcudbright liked Campbell, and 6 hated him enough to become suspects; 5 are innocent, and the other is the perpetrator of the most ingenious murder Lord Peter has ever encountered.
 
The Five Red Herrings is the 7th book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order.
 
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.

Ratings and reviews

I've seen many people comment that they don't like this book as much as other Wimsey mysteries, but I think it deserves more appreciation than that. The mystery itself is perhaps more convoluted than other Wimsey mysteries, or indeed than just about any story in the genre; what other mystery novel has the police propose *five* wrong solutions before the detective gives the correct one? Not to mention that Wimsey doesn't just describe the solution; he re-enacts it from start to finish. But that's part of the fun.

About the author

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) was a British playwright, scholar, and acclaimed author of mysteries, best known for her books starring the gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. While working as an advertising copywriter, Sayers began writing Whose Body? (1923), the 1st Wimsey mystery, followed by 10 sequels and several short stories. Sayers set the Wimsey novels between the World Wars, giving them a realistic tone by incorporating details from contemporary issues such as advertising, women’s education, and veterans’ health. Sayers also wrote theological essays and criticism during and after World War II, and in 1949 published the 1st volume of a translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Although she considered this translation to be her best work, it is for her elegantly constructed detective fiction that Sayers remains best remembered.