[.ca] Radio Show (ISBN 0563494263)

Great book, but read Strong Poison first:
All of Dorothy Sayers' mysteries are worth reading. She has a command of English and a story-telling ability that makes her, in my opinion, one of the two greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century. Most of Ms. Sayers' mysteries feature Lord Peter, second son of the Duke of Denver. He is one of the most delightful characters in English literature and well worth meeting in any of Ms. Sayers books. Most of the Lord Peter mysteries stand alone and can be read without worrying about sequence. However four of the mysteries involve Harriet Vane, and for maximum enjoyment, those four mysteries should be read in order. Strong Poison describes the first meeting between Harriet and Lord Peter. Have His Carcase explores the relationship between the two of them as they investigate the death of a man whose body Harriet discovers while hiking along a deserted beach. The interaction between the two of them can best be understood and appreciated if Strong Poison is read first. Have His Carcase may be the least enjoyable of the four romance-mysteries involving Harriet, but this book leads to the final two books in the series, and those two books are the finest romance-mysteries ever written.

Overplotted:
The story is extremely convoluted and the solution of the mystery rests upon complex ideas that Sayers fails to present in an attention-holding way; indeed, this is perhaps Sayers' weakest effort in the Wimsey series. Certainly worth the effort for Sayers fans, but other readers would be wise to select Clouds of Witness, Gaudy Night, Murder Must Advertise, or Busman's Honeymoon. GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I give Petherbridge 5 stars; Audio gets 4 due to abridgement:
The reviews I value most on amazon are those for audio books, because not only does the quality of the writing need to be ascertained, but also the quality of the reader -- a much more nebulus and subjective thing to assess. I have several of my favorite Sayers novels on audio, and the Petherbridge ones are my preference, despite their being abridged. David Case also does an excellent job on his narration of Whose Body. But I must add my support to the previous post which noted that Ian Carmichael can be difficult to follow. Carmichael does a decent Whimsey, but cannot bend his voice enough to create distinct characters beyond Whimsey. All too often I find myself backing up to replay episodes of conversation because I can't keep track of WHO is talking -- and this is despite having read the book! I cannot recommend the Carmichael readings to those unfamilar with the original works. Start with Petherbridge instead.

Above her average:
I've read 2 other novels by Sayers (5 Red herrings, and Murder must advertise) before. This one is somewhat better than the other 2 and close to Dame Christie's standard. The story is more on Carr's line. A man's throat was cut on a lonely beach, despite the number of witnesses, nobody saw anyone close to the victim at the supposed time of death, besides, suspects' cast-iron alibis were comfirmed not only by their conspirators but also by innocent witnesses. The author provided an ingenious explanation that accounts for all. Good things said, it isn't short of weakness. First, it is far too fat for a relatively simple plot. Sayers spent vast amount of words on the dispute between suicide theory and murder theory despite the fact that the throat was cut to the neck bone by one slash. I believe Zangwill had tersely pointed out that such an incision is impossible to be self inflicted in one sentence decades before in his Big Bow Mystery. Besides, since the hero, Lord Wimsey, supported the murder theory as early as in the 2nd chapter, the dispute could have been long called off. (A mystery writer is unlikely to let his/her hero make a huge mistake. Give readers some credit!) Secondly, the motive is unconvincing at all. If one's rich mother is only 57 and in perfect health, and to disinherit one, one doesn't go the long way to murder the new heir-to-be instead of one's own mother. And don't tell me the murderer in this novel is not cold-blooded enough to do so!

A great classic story with Peter Wimsey and Harriet too:
This is a long, complex classic story which turns a lot on times and alibis all of which, of course, are completely misleading. As another reviewer has noticed, it has a marvellous cipher-breaking chapter as well as plenty more misunderstandings between poor Peter and his Harriet, who won't have him. Great twist at the end which is probably guessable if you keep your brain going while reading.