Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers

I'm now up to book #7 in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Its title is Have His Carcase.

The mystery writer Harriet Vane, recovering from an unhappy love affair and its aftermath, seeks solace on a barren beach -- deserted but for the body of a bearded young man with his throat cut.From the moment she photographs the corpse, which soon disappears with the tide, she is puzzled by a mystery that might have been suicide, murder or a political plot. With the appearance of her dear friend Lord Peter Wimsey, she finds a reason for detective pursuit -- as only the two of them can pursue it.

Have His Carcase now stands with Strong Poison as one of my two favourite Sayers books. An A.

After an absence in the lackluster Five Red Herrings, Harriet Vane reappears in this book, and her interactions with Lord Peter are a joy to read. I love the way Sayers develops their relationship, so sloooowly, little by little.

The mystery itself was the best so far. The timetables were easy enough to follow (that's not always the case with Sayers, who always loved to introduce complex train schedules) and the mystery itself was beautifully constructed. I'm very proud of myself, actually, because I guessed a certain detail which allowed me to know exactly how the murder was committed, and I guessed it very, very early.

Excellent book. I have all the rest here, up until # 11, and I'm very tempted to continue. I'll do my best to wait a bit, but I don't know if I'll be successful.