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Unnatural Death

Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 3

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Unnatural Death

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.

His third appearance is a story of murder in a most respectable seaside resort. 'No sign of foul play,' says Dr Carr after the post-mortem on Agatha Dawson. The case is closed. But Lord Peter Wimsey is not satisfied . . .

With no clues to work on, he begins his own investigation. No clues, that is, until the sudden, senseless murder of Agatha's maid. What is going on in the mysterious Mrs Forrest's Mayfair flat? And can Wimsey catch a desperate murderer before he himself becomes one of the victims?

©1927 Trustees of Anthony Fleming (deceased) (P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton Classics Crime Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Murder Detective

Critic reviews

"She brought to the detective novel originality, intelligence, energy and wit." (P. D. James)
"I admire her novels . . . she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail" (Ruth Rendell)
"D. L. Sayers is one of the best detective story writers." (E. C. Bentley, Daily Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a brilliant crime story with great imagination of the crime. With lots of quirky characters.

Unnatural Death

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I tried this version as i could not find this story read full length by Ian Carmichael
Narrator very little feeling - read not performed

good LPW story Shame about the narrator

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This excellent example of the clever detective novels of Dorothy Sayers is tarnished by the unfortunate choice of reader. This narrator is a pleasant enough reader but is not up to the stylised turn of phrase that Sayers employs, to her characterisation or to the sometimes quirky or dated phrases that are typical of Wimsey novels.
These novels are now only available read by the present narrator, and I have now tried two of them but won't be purchasing any more, much as I love them. I find it impossible to 'get into' them when the narrative halts or grinds due to faulty reading of characters, slips or mispronunciation. Even Lord Peter's name is mispronounced.
A sad disappointment.

Unfortunate choice of reader

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The narrator of this story had no idea of the characters she was speaking for and generally spoilt the whole story for me. her voice and characterisation were at complete odds with the story.

terrible narrator

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would use a different narrator to read this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lord Peter is the most interesting character.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator's tendency to make her voice go high and shouty especially when being Miss Climpson was a major turn off.

Was Unnatural Death worth the listening time?

I persevered and listened to the end.

Spoilt by performance

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