Strong Poison
by Dorothy L. Sayers
★★★★☆
Now
this is what I was hoping for when I read Whose Body? last year! That
was the first book in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, but definitely not the best. After
reading it I wasn’t sure I wanted to try any others, but I’m so glad I
did. Everyone who told me that the series improved the second Harriet
Vane showed up was absolutely right.
From the first moments the book hooks you. It starts
with a judge speaking to a jury as they deliberate on a case. A man was
either murdered or committed suicide by arsenic poisoning and they must
determine if the accused is guilty of the crime. Many of the facts point
to his estranged girlfriend, Harriet Vane, who is on trial for her
life. As the case heats up Wimsey decides Vane is innocent and he needs
to prove it if she’s going to be acquitted.
One of the best elements in the book is the focus on
characters outside of Wimsey and Vane. We follow a secretary as she
tries to obtain evidence from her slippery boss and later Miss Climpson,
who must travel to a small town in search of an elusive will. These
side trips and stories kept the plot moving quickly.
BOTTOM LINE: I will definitely read more of the books from this series
as long as they contain Harriet Vane! Wimsey needs her intelligent
repartee to balance his and together their chemistry makes for a great
mystery novel.
