Review: Clouds of Witness

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second Wimsey novel, for me, didn't quite live up to the promise of the first, for a couple of reasons. First of all, there's quite a bit of coincidence in it; the plot doesn't outright rely on coincidence, but several significant moments do, and I prefer to see more of the discoveries driven by the actions of the protagonist. Secondly, I fell out of sympathy with Wimsey over his attitude to a side issue. (view spoiler)[His brother won't give an alibi for the murder because he was committing adultery at the time with the wife of a neighbour; Wimsey doesn't blame him, both because the woman is very attractive and because his brother's own wife is hard going. In an age when almost the only thing we can agree on across political and religious lines is that cheating on your partner is a bad thing, this doesn't play well. (hide spoiler)]

Still, it gives Wimsey a strong stake - his brother is suspected of murdering a man who was engaged to their sister. I did wonder whether he would have been allowed to participate in the investigation, given his personal stake in the outcome, but then again, they're members of the nobility, so the rules are different. Indeed, when his brother comes to trial, because he's a duke, the trial is held in the House of Lords, with full pomp and ceremony. I got the impression that the author had a lot of fun researching what this would look like, and then describing it in a way that contrasted the realities of vague peers not used to doing what they're told with the importance of precise organization of the occasion, and also contrasting the medieval pageantry with the modern world, as Wimsey flies back from America in a small plane with a flying ace through dangerous weather in order to bring the crucial bit of evidence to the trial.

The winding path of the clues, the various people who get suspected, and the development of the characters make the book engaging. Because there is more development than you usually get in mysteries of the period; these characters aren't just stock, even though there are some moments of cheerful mockery of stereotypes (such as the bohemian socialists). They have contradictions and weaknesses and unexpected bits of history. The genuine friendship between Wimsey and Inspector Parker, the genuine respect and affection between Wimsey and his efficient manservant Bunter, the way in which Lady Mary (Wimsey's sister) handles being both the daughter of a duke and a socialist, the beautifully depicted rambling stream of consciousness that is their mother's conversation - all of these, along with the effortlessly fine prose, raise it into the Silver tier of my annual recommendation list. Yes, parts of it are melodramatic, and parts have too much coincidence, and I didn't agree with Wimsey's values on at least one key point, but it's a solid piece of work for all that, and entertaining.

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