Summary: Harriet Vane is introduced to the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series.
I read the final book of the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series last week, and that inspired me to go back and listen to the audiobook of Strong Poison, the book where Harriet Vane was introduced. Unfortunately, I continue to not really be a fan of Ian Carmichael’s audiobook. They are fine, but not as well narrated and engineered as I think they should be.
There is not much different from this second reading of Strong Poison than my thoughts after the first reading. I was mostly interested in getting the details of the book, so I could read the books between Strong Poison and Busman’s Holiday over the next couple of weeks. I also wish that Harriet was more present in this book. She is basically a damsel in distress here. She is in jail for virtually the entire book. People know her and reference her, but she is not a strong character. She is more present in Have His Carcase, but that is still mostly told from Peter’s perspective. I still have not read a number of the short stories, and I am currently in the middle of Gaudy Night (which is told from Harriet’s perspective). Gaudy Night and Busman’s Holiday prove that this could have been a good series that focuses on the two of them, not just Harriet as a sidekick.
At some point, I will probably read the Jill Paton Walsh series based on this one. Jill Paton Walsh turned a draft of Sayers into Thrones, Dominations and then wrote an additional three books about the married life of the Wimsey’s.
Strong Poison Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook