Reviews

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers

jon288's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A lighter Wimsey story, all hanging on the exact time of death of an old man, and the chaos it causes with his will. interesting postwar trauma and how it's affected many of the key characters. Pretty decent, and interestingly was chosen as one of the first 10 penguins published

fiktiviteter's review against another edition

4.0

Läs min bloggtext om boken här: https://www.fiktiviteter.se/2023/11/30/pinsamt-intermezzo-pa-bellonaklubben-av-dorothy-sayers/

bodhiayala's review against another edition

5.0

Love Lord Peter Wimsey!! Great detective fiction!!1

nitidstar's review against another edition

4.0

Great source to understand Sayers' literary references, colloquialisms, and other assorted interesting facts. It added much to the reading experience.

https://planetpeschel.com/the-wimsey-annotations/the-unpleasantness-at-the-bellona-club/

lincolnham_lincoln's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

wslockard's review against another edition

3.0

Summary: "See here, Lord Peter, an old man has died in his chair, and all the chaps here at the club didn't realize it for a day or so. Beastly unpleasant business, what?"

Lord Peter: "Something is suspicious about this dead old man. And I feel sorry for his beastly sons for some reason. Must be something to do with the War."

Lord Peter solves the mystery, which involves red herrings and maybe a doctor or two, lawyers, etc.

These are starting to blend together for me, as I read in sequence. But I really like them for some reason! Must be something to do with the War...

bombycillacedrorum's review against another edition

4.0

Quite rollicking and I do like weird male social club bullshit

i_aletheia's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.5

renny_reads's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this one. Not quite as funny or "lighthearted" as the others, but I thought it actually had some substance in terms of morality and ethics. It also branched out and explored the complexities of Wimsey's and Parker's friendship. They are often seen as allies, but this book really brought into focus the fact that Wimsey is not a police officer, and that there is a definitive boundary between the two friends. Really interesting.

julan1027's review against another edition

4.0

The old general was definitely dead sitting in his chair and holding his paper. At 90 years of age and with a weak heart nobody was surprised, but something wasn't quite right. And soon a question of significant inheritance demands that a more accurate time of death be established. When Wimsey starts digging he isn't happy with what he discovers.

What I love about Sayers is how much her writing reflects the era in which she was living. This book was written ten years after the end of World War 1, but still in her books we encounter men living with the effects - missing limbs, stomachs and lungs affected by gas, shell shock.

At times the story dragged a bit and we had no sooner solved one mystery than another presented itself. However, there was a nice pool of suspects and clues didn't seem to be hidden. It was certainly a very clever puzzle.