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Have His Carcase

Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 8

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Have His Carcase

By: Dorothy L. Sayers
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
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About this listen

The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey.

In his eighth appearance (and the second book featuring Harriet Vane), he solves a murder on a deserted English beach. With an introduction by Elizabeth George.

A young woman falls asleep on a deserted beach and wakes to discover the body of a man whose throat has been slashed from ear to ear...

The young woman is the celebrated detective novelist Harriet Vane, once again drawn against her will into a murder investigation in which she herself could be a suspect. Lord Peter Wimsey is only too eager to help her clear her name.

©1932 The Trustees of Anthony Fleming (deceased) (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton Classics Crime Fiction Detective Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Fiction Crime Murder

Critic reviews

"She combined literary prose with powerful suspense, and it takes a rare talent to achieve that. A truly great storyteller." (Minette Walters)
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Not my favourite of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, but a good tale and an important point in the Peter/Harriet story. It is generally well read and Jane McDowell has a good voice for the story. I question the wisdom of reading out every letter in the ciphered document, which gets very tedious to listen to. Also, there are a few excruciating mispronunciations, not just of names (e.g. Bredon) but ordinary words like "mischievous". I'm not sure I will listen to it more than once.

A bit of editorial control needed

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Who on earth in the production team thought it a good idea to have a woman reading a male lead character? JM has totally ruined the entire wimsey series with her utterly incompetent, mediocre and downright inept performance. She truly lacks even the basic ability despite having a clear voice. Cadence, inflection and character nuances are all down the toilet with this infuriating woman. Why does she insist on ruining the pace with her slow, deliberate, plodding speed?! She cannot get to grips with wimseys style which is witty, wry and nuanced. The dialogue interchanges between wimsey and HV are just painful to endure.
Thank God the books are being done again by the other chap, I hope he does the whole series, then all the rubbish by Mcdowell can be deleted. Don't buy the Mcdowell narrations, buy the other ones far far superior

Ruined by Mcdowell

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A good story, told with Sayers’ characteristic wit and charm. Only downside was the breaking of the cipher in chap 23 (?) which consisted of an interminable list of letters and incomprehensible charts. Good in print - a disaster in audio.

Classic Wimsey

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I've always liked the Peter Wimsey series and never liked Ian Carmichael's reading (he mumbles too much). So this new set of recordings delights me. The narrator has a pleasant clear deep voice and manages all the voices and accents well. She is a pleasure to listen to.

I remember reading this story many, many years ago and not liking it much but as an audiobook it is probably one of my favourites so far. I did remember the solution (well, the trick of the solution) but nothing else about it.

I enjoyed the interplay between Harrriet and Peter and I know there is more in Gaudy Night.

Just for the record, I fail to find fault with a woman reading a book with a male protagonist if it is done well and in this series it is done very well.

Full marks, Audible, and keep them coming.

Just as Advertised

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The readers voice was good but I would so liked to have heard a man’s voice do Lord Peter…

Unabridged Lord Peter. What a treat

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