I am rereading Dorothy Sayers' books after a period of several years, and although for the most part I am enjoying them very much, this one is a disappointment.
The story is complicated, with a large cast, most of whom will be unknown to readers of the earlier Wimsey novels. There is very little of Bunter, less of Parker, and even Peter is a rather two-dimensional version of himself. This is the problem with most of the characters; they are very flat and largely undifferentiated (other than between "artists" and "police"). The story reads more like a chess problem or similar intellectual exercise, rather than a pacy story, and there is no feeling of "psychological truth" about any of the characters. I didn't really care about any of the characters (all of whom were poorly developed). The ending, where Peter (with police in tow) re-enacts the events surrounding the murder) is perhaps the most entertaining part of the story, but nonetheless preposterous.
There are flashes of Dorothy Sayers' humour, and the story is at its best when Peter is on stage, but overall this was a slog to read through, and is not one of her books to which I will return. One for Sayers completists only.
This is a review of the Kindle ebook.
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