This is a murder mystery of the police procedural sub-genre. There seems to be a serial killer on the loose in London; five women have been raped and murdered, and the cops are baffled, as well as divided by internal politics and bureaucracy. Enter Lord Peter Wimsey, a famous amateur detective from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, fifty or so years after his time, wise, insightful, and frivolous as ever.

It’s an entertaining book, a bit of a homage to Dorothy Sayers (and various other writers of the period), absolutely quirky, and a bit of a guilty pleasure, at least for my fellow lovers of 1920s and 1930s mysteries. I found it a sweet little throwback, and a chance to revisit some old friends. Readers unfamiliar with some of the classics will likely find this story baffling and utterly pointless.

You’ve been alerted; this one is not for all markets. It’s absolutely far fetched (but then, many mysteries are), there’s no gore or horror in the details (this may be a feature or a bug depending on your personal preferences), and it’s refreshingly original in its conception.

NOVEL: What Would Wimsey Do (UK Title: Death in Profile)

AUTHOR: Guy Fraser-Sampson

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2019 (2016 in UK)

IMAGE: Book cover, Felony & Mayhem Press