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The next book after Gaudy Night, beginning with letters to and from various people. The story comes out that Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane get married .. rather quietly, without telling everyone. They evaded reporters in such a way that they actually had a bit of quiet (unusual for Lord Peter Wimsey). Wxcept that .. the house they go to stay in, which is in the country, happens to be the place where a man is found dead the day after they arrive. So their quiet honeymoon turns into questions and inquiries and possibilities and ponderings and murder investigations. With which, of course, they help. :)

One of the best parts of this book is the relationship between Harriet and Wimsey. They really do love each other, and it is clear throughout the story. As a married couple, it is good for them to delight in one another, and they do this quite gladly. One enjoyable chapter centers around them coming up with all the reasons and ways various people could have committed the murder, and with their intellectual capacities in full play, they come up with more than one might think. These are two people who have chosen each other, and must make adjustments because of it .. but they know they have chosen well and want to learn to love each other well and fully, without causing the other to change in ways that would be detrimental, losing themselves somehow. Worth reading again.

Title:	Busman's Honeymoon
Author:	Dorothy Sayers
Date published:	1937
Genre:	Mystery
Series:	Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries
Number of pages:	381
Notes:	borrowed from mom

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Harriet Vane decides to go back to Oxford for a reunion of sorts, even though she was on trial for murder and feels unable to face those she knew. Things turn out alright, and because she is a murder mystery writer, when strange things start to happen on campus they call her for help. They want to keep it quiet and under wraps so that the only all women's college isn't closed. But things get stranger and stranger, and Harriet eventually calls in the man who kept her from going to the gallows.

Because of various facts, a number of students are ruled out. So there are a number of tensions that arise, with people getting mad at one another and suspecting one another. Harriet is able to find a few people who have alibis (because she was with them during an event), and so is able to care for the college better. It has to be someone who is fairly well-educated, because Latin is used, and good spelling. Peter Wimsey eventually comes to save the day, and they solve the problem easily, before it comes to a horrible end. It turns out to be a woman whose husband was ruined by one of the teachers, who is trying to get revenge against the woman who ruining his life. Harriet meets Lord Saint-George, who is a nephew of Lord Peter Wimsey. He is quite amusing, knowing that he is handsome and that he can get just about anything he wants. He and Harriet become friends, and some interesting things happen between them. One of which is that Harriet and Peter have to start talking again .. and eventually, she decides that you can relate to someone both emotionally and intellectually. Well-written and intriguing, with plenty to ponder. Re-readable!

Title:	Gaudy Night
Author:	Dorothy Sayers
Date published:	1936
Genre:	Mystery
Number of pages:	501
Notes:	borrowed from mom

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Read in less than a week. Lord Peter is quite an enjoyable character. Certainly a lord with noble bearing -- but also a man who can be down to earth and enjoys using his logic, which is better than that of most men. He and his butler, Bunter, make quite the pair. One who can figure out any mystery that is set before him, and one that can do almost any practical (or impractical) task that is set before him. The butler reminds me of Jeeves, as they have many of the same qualities, as presumably did most spectacular butlers during this time period. Sayers does not make every mystery end in finding and condemning the criminal, which is quite nice -- sometimes difficult decisions must be made that will affect many. And sometimes the truth is quite unbelievable.

A couple different places in the stories, Wimsey is asked how he does it. His answer is that he observes and his brain goes on making connections and asking questions of what he saw. That things are slightly out of place - something is not right. He doesn't worry about it, but simply goes on observing and comes back to it when his brain has already figured out the answers. For instance, a pearl necklace is stolen and it must be in one of two rooms. Everyone does a thorough search and it cannot be found anywhere. Wimsey does his own search with the master of the house and finds a pin. He doesn't actually see the pearls but he sees a reflection in the floor of things that look remarkably like pearls -- and that's enough to go on. He knows where they are and how to reveal who stole them in the first place. I like the idea that our brains work overtime. It's true!! But -- perhaps mine works on different things or notices different details. And I'm very glad that some people have brains that actually work rather like Wimsey's and put them to good use to find criminals, discover cures, seek possibilities.

Title:	The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories
Author:	Dorothy L. Sayers
Date published:	1972
Genre:	Mystery Short Stories
Series:	Lord Peter
Number of pages:	481
Notes:	Borrowed from mom

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