Summary: A female crime novelist is accused of poisoning a former lover, and Lord Peter falls for her, but he has to prove she is innocent first.
After reading the first two books of the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series and enjoying them, but being a bit disappointed by a collection of short stories that came next, I decided to skip to Strong Poison (book six), which many reviews suggest was one of the better books in the series.
Strong Poison opens with a judge reciting the facts of the case as he gives instructions to the jury. Harriet Vine is accused of poisoning her former lover several months after they stopped living together. Unfortunately, the facts seem just a little too perfect for Peter Wimsey, and he is convinced that Harriet Vine is innocent.
After a hung jury, Lord Peter sets out to find evidence for his intuition. After meeting regularly with Harriet Vine, he falls in love and has even more reason to prove her innocent.
This is a well-written mystery, and I think the best of the series I have read so far. What I keep discovering about Sayers is that there are many instances of mystery conventions that seem to me to have originated with her in her hands. I have to wonder how much of herself Sayers was writing into this book (and others.) Here, in particular, Harriet Vines is a crime novelist who lived with a man out of wedlock (Sayers secretly had a son raised as her nephew, and his real identity was not revealed until her death.)
Strong Poison was written about 80 years ago, but it is still very contemporary in the best sense (it doesn’t feel old). There is humor, subtlety, and a good mystery.
There is some distance, however. Our modern romance stories do not have marriage proposals with the first direct meeting (even if it is modern enough that she turns him down.) The law is different as well. Much of what is being done by Lord Peter and his team would be outside the bounds of legality now. They go undercover, break into a law office and safes, and steal documents and evidence.
Also new with this book (it must have originated in the last book that I have not read yet) is Lord Peter’s own undercover team of women typists, secretaries, and others in what has become his own private investigative agency.
I continue to enjoy this series, and it seems to be getting better as they go on.
Strong Poison Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition