Review: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sayers continues to develop as a writer, and Lord Peter as a character, in this fourth novel in the series.

The setup is a strong start. A very elderly general is found dead in his customary chair at the Bellona Club, Lord Peter's club, much frequented by military and ex-military gentlemen. Because he typically slept all day in that chair, nobody is quite sure when he died, which is important, because his sister also died either just before or just after him.

If she died just before him, his two grandsons, who are members of the club, inherit the bulk of her large fortune. But if she died just after him, her long-time companion, a distant relative the old lady took in, gets the lion's share instead.

Lord Peter is asked to investigate on behalf of the grandsons, who are friends of his. But in the course of his investigation, he has to deal with a conflict between the interests of justice and what is expected of someone in their "set."

The character of Lord Peter, by this time, is taking on some depth and complexity. The frivolous upper-class twit persona that was almost his whole character in the first book is very much a mask now, which he puts on occasionally when it suits him. When he's acting naturally, he's unfailingly respectful, empathetic, and quietly charming to the people around him, regardless of who they are, unless they start being narrow-minded or harming others. This is not how someone like him is expected to act, and he's starting to face the dilemma that his emotional training is making him feel bad about doing what his intelligence and sense of principle are telling him is right. He even has a couple of spats with his good friend Inspector Parker in consequence, not to mention being roundly abused by several of his club companions for acting like a damn policeman and not a sahib.

But he perseveres, and his empathy and intuition eventually solve the case and not only prevent a tragedy for an innocent bystander involved unwittingly in a criminal plot, but bring about an unexpected happy ending for a couple of the characters.

The mystery is clever, the unfolding of it engaging, and all of the parts that aren't the mystery make a thoroughly enjoyable story with some emotional weight and intelligence.

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