Clouds of Witness

By Dorothy L. Sayers

Lord Peter Wimsey must untangle a web of clues, secrets, lies, and betrayals if he is to save his brother from the gallows.
 
Lord Peter Wimsey returns from a relaxing trip to Corsica to discover that his sister’s fiancé has been murdered, and their brother accused of the crime. Vacation is over, and it’s time for Lord Peter to get to work. As his investigations uncover more and more secrets, affairs, and lies, Lord Peter knows that he needs to straighten out the events of that fateful night, or his brother will pay the ultimate price for a crime he didn’t commit.
 
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9780771060380

Dorothy L. Sayers

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.

Reviews for Clouds of Witness

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second in Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series. He's still clever, yet Woosterish at times, and he comes to the wrong conclusion more than once before hitting on the solution. To begin, Lord Peter's future brother-in-law is found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest on the family premises; Peter's brother, the Duke, is suspected and arrested, but will say nothing in his own defense. Their sister, the dead man's fiance, begins acting very strangely, shuts herself in her room, and refuses all attentions. There is evidence at the scene that another person, identity unknown, was present on the night in question. Theoretically, this being a Golden Age mystery and Sayers being very particular about the fairness doctrine, the reader should be able to pick up all the necessary clues to solve the case. I quibble. When Lord Peter takes off for Paris, and then for America, to follow up his brainstorm (which is NOT totally shared with the reader), I could certainly see how he came to his deduction, but I could not make the deduction myself. Maybe I just need more practice. I enjoyed this one very much up to a point, and then I got a bit impatient for the reveal. I think there was one too many red herrings in the pot.

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'd read some of Sayers' lit. crit, but this was my first of her mysteries. I just felt it was too easy to see where this was going. The one really effective red herring falls apart half way through and then it's just a gradual unravel. I wasn't even convinced that the resolution was clearly inevitable from the clues provided. At one point there is a physical implausibility that seems to be sheer carelessness by the author. I'll read more by Sayers and hope they are better.

[cathyskye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I continue to stumble my way through Golden Age mysteries in an attempt to understand what so many other readers enjoy in them. So far, my only real success has been with Gladys Mitchell's Mrs. Bradley, but I am determined to emerge triumphant with Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. I have to admit that it's been a bit of a hard slog. Perhaps I should just jump ahead to the book in which Harriet Vane makes her appearance?The largest part of Lord Peter's investigation in Clouds of Witness seemed to be crawling around on the floor staring at the carpet, and I was about ready to admit defeat when Wimsey's sister finally decided to tell the truth. Then the mystery really began to get somewhere. I am glad that I soldiered on to the end because I do see glimmers of what this series will be in snippets of conversation between characters, and that "lost in the fog in the bog" scene is marvelous. I do enjoy historical mysteries, but I am most definitely a 21st-century reader, so I do sometimes doubt the wisdom behind my dabbling into these fabled waters... but it is for the very reason that these mysteries are fabled that I can't leave them alone!

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lord Peter Wimsey's older brother has just been arrested for murdering his sister's fiancee, whose body was found in the family ancestral home. Lord Peter shows up to find that his brother isn't cooperating with the police and his sister's version of the night doesn't hold up under scrutiny. With little help from his family, Lord Peter, manservant Bunter and police friend Parker have to piece together the dead man's past and childish Lady Mary's movements on the night he died.This is my second Lord Peter book, the first being Lord Peter Views the Body a few years ago. It's interesting and often funny, and the clues and red herrings abound. I know there was a time when the upper class English thought it hip to drop their "g"s to sound like hillbillies, I guess, but Lord Peter can barely get a complete word out, and it's kind of annoying to read a sentences filled with apostrophes. But a good mystery that went on slightly too long.

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A re-read, probably several times over. In this, Peter is called upon to investigate another murder, although this one involves his brother as suspect. The body of Lady Mary's fiance is found in the conservatory of the shooting lodge, with the duke bending over him, Mary leaps to the obvious (and wrong) conclusion, that Gerald did it. From there, it all goes downhill fast for Gerald, who refuses to say what he was doing. It all falls on Peter and Charles Parker to unravel the various mysteries that have enmeshed themselves around the 3 am discovery. Some fabulous side characters in this, although the level of co-incidence is markedly high. Peter discovers who did what and how, as usual, but it's a close run thing.

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second in the series, with a much better paced plot and clues. Lord Peter's brother, Gerald, is charged with the murder of Denis Cathcart, who is engaged to marry Lady Mary, sister to Gerald and Peter. Gerald and Mary appear to have discovered the body at the same moment in the middle of the night, but each seems to have something to hide which prevents them from telling the truth. More of a detective story, with less humour and sadly less of Bunter than the first, but a satisfactory ending.

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The plot is absurdly complicated, amusingly so. There are no end of intrigues in the country house where the murder takes place.

But that's not the joy of reading a Sayers' novel: the pleasure is all in the humor. Wimsey acting a fool, Bunter's magical ability to produce anything needed, Mary's good heart, and the Dowager's formidable control of everything. It's Downton Abbey written by Oscar Wilde.

Personal copy

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is probably my second favorite of the Wimsey novels, after Murder Must Advertise, particularly for the trial before the House of Lords --a tradition now ended by later legal reform.

[janesteen_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Where I got the book: purchased on Kindle. A re-read. [I find LibraryThing's method of handling editions confusing - I would never buy the CreateSpace version listed here. The Wimsey series just cries out for a really good boxed-set edition, but failing that, the one to collect, if you can, is the Gollancz hardcover.]One thing I always appreciate about the Wimsey stories is that each book has a distinct character. In Clouds of Witness the pace is fast and frenetic, with a wildly confusing murder mystery at the center, and yet Sayers does more to develop her characters here than in some of the other books. The mystery itself almost takes second place to the doings of Wimsey's family, placing Wimsey himself very firmly in a distinct social setting, his home turf where he seems more real than in many of the other books. He doesn't show off nearly as much when he's in the countryside, either; I can't help feeling that, titles aside, this is a depiction of the sort of society Sayers was raised in before she went off to London.I also enjoy the sketch of Wimsey's sister Lady Mary Wimsey, who turns up in later novels but only as a cardboard cutout (his brother Gerald never gets his character developed, which is a great shame). Watching Parker go all chivalrous and defensive of her is always amusing, albeit out of character. Mary is real in this book: later on, the Wimsey family becomes more and more a caricature of a noble English household, and Mary becomes a boring housewife, alas. Plenty happens to Wimsey in this book: he gets chased by dogs, shot, falls into a bog, and flies across the Atlantic (in the 1920s that was a noteworthy adventure). I have never seen a bullet wound heal with such great speed and thoroughness.There is an absolutely priceless little cameo of two writers talking about the trends of the day, something Sayers is able to pick up in the later novels once she writes herself in as Wimsey's love interest when Harriet Vane comes along.I absolutely zipped through this novel (which was supposed to be strictly a post-workout cool down read but ended up as a Main Book) despite having read it several times before. And that really defines the enduring success of the Wimsey novels; they're downright entertaining, and despite (or because of?) being set so firmly in a lost era, never seem to age.

[wisewoman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clouds of Witness, the second Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, brings the action close to home for the amateur detective. Peter’s elder brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, has been indicted for the murder of Denis Cathcart, who had been engaged to Peter’s and Gerald’s younger sister, Lady Mary. And that young woman isn’t telling everything she knows, not by a long shot. Nor is Gerald, for that matter. Even the dead man has his secrets.Mysterious accomplices, ducal discretion, a brush with death in the peat bog, a final solution discovered by the most coincidental (providential?) means — this is a Dorothy Sayers mystery and the characters all play up to their roles. Peter is, as always, the witty and disarming peer whom everyone underestimates. Parker is his faithful sidekick, willing to take on the drudge work but also quite a keen thinker himself. And don’t forget the efficient Bunter, whose resemblance to Jeeves grows more and more pronounced every time I meet him.I’m reading the series hopelessly out of order, and it is fun to see the early developments of later events (like in this book, the beginning of Parker’s admiration of Lady Mary). Interesting too is Lord Peter’s own development; his look of benign idiocy isn’t quite perfected yet in this early story. But the Lord Peter/Parker partnership is well in hand, and the Dowager Duchess’s brief appearances confirm her as one of the more delightful minor characters ever penned.Though this was an entertaining and well-written mystery, I didn’t find it quite up to the best of the Lord Peter stories. But Sayers’s average effort is another author’s masterpiece, and there are few detectives I enjoy more than the intelligent and charming Lord Peter Wimsey. Recommended.

[emanate28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this more than 'Whose Body', maybe because I liked Lord Peter Wimsey better here (he was too flippant and silly in the other one for my taste). The characters were intriguing and one felt interested in their fates; the unfolding of the story and clues were good and I enjoyed much of the book. Unfortunately, I personally didn't feel very satisfied at the conclusion/solution--there were so many threads and possibilities, that what turned out to be the truth seemed anticlimactic.

[elliezann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dorothy L. sayers is at the top of the cozy field. In this Lord Peter Wimsey book, his brother is on trial for murder and his sister is acting strangely. With the help os his manservant, Bunter, and his friend Parker, Wimsey sets out to find the whole truth about the murder of his almost brother-in-law.Denis Cathcart is found in the Riddlesdale lodge where the Wimsey family was preparing for the marriage of Mary , Peter's sister,and Denis. He had been shot.Everyone noticed the tension between Denis and Wimsey's brother,Jerry and since Jerry was discovered over the body by Mary, Jerry was indicted for murder.Peter knows his brother is innocent but how can he prove it when his brother won't talk and his sister is acting sickly and telling lies. Across two continents and three countries, Peter races to solve the crime and,of course, in the nick of time he does.Splendid example of an English cozy by one of the truly great mystery writers.

[lahochstetler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lord Peter's family is thrown into suspicion when his brother is accused of murder. The Duke of Denver is obstinate in his refusal to defend himself. Lord Peter tries to unravel the case. He finds multiple infidelities and secret affairs. Much of this book shows Wimsey interacting with his family. The book takes place at the family estate. Wimsey is delightfully snarky when dealing with his relations. Several of the chapters of this book are written as transcripts of newspaper articles or courtroom testimony, and I found that format to be somewhat tedious. I definitely prefer straight narrative. This is not my favorite Wimsey book, but lesser Sayers is still greater than many other options.

[druidgirl_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Lord Peter Wimsey, he has an incredible sense of wrong and right, of honor and love of family. He finds that his brother has been accused of murder and jailed. Lord Peter drops everything and rushes to investigate. His brother refuses to talk,so he does it his way. This is a true British mystery which I love.***I received this book in exchange for an honest review***

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great one. Beautiful language!

[rubyscarlett-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I fear I might have been really lucky with Gaudy Night (which I think is a masterpiece). Sayers has been disappointing ever since I started to read Peter in order. Oh well. I'll keep on reading and see if it gets better.
The story's fairly good but the writing is incredibly heavy and the pacing is wrong - it's way too slow. I also was relatively indifferent to all the characters, which didn't help. Some funny moments mostly to do with Peter's personality but all in all frankly a bit of a bore.

[seoulful · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Once more Dorothy Sayers brings forth an admirable cast of characters including Lord Peter Wimsey, amateur sleuth; Bunter, his excellent manservant; Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, who has been accused of murder; Lord Peter's indomitable mother, the Dowager Duchess; Inspector Parker, whose investigating is hampered by his falling in love with Lady Mary Wimsey, Lord Peter's sister who is withholding information about the case, and a host of colorful local villagers. Wonderful window into the life of the nobility in 1920s England with fortunes still intact and servants to care for every need. One must have some French and be well-read in Shakespeare and other great writer's of the past to catch the asides of this most intelligent, witty and insightful writer of mystery.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This mystery with Lord Peter Wimsey and his valet, Bunter, has them working diligently to clear Lord Peter's brother (the Duke of Denver) of a murder charge. The characters include not only the Duke of Denver, but Peter's sister Lady Mary, his Mother the dowager Duchess, colorful villagers, and a few political malcontents.Again this mystery was written in the early part of the 20th century but it was still entertaining and challenging for the reader.

[wintersrose · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While not as wonderful Gaudy Night and Hangman's Holiday, Clouds of Witnesses, which follows Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation of the murder charge against his brother, will keep you turning pages. Sayers characterization is wonderful, as usual. Wimsey's brother, the Duke of Denver refuses to account for his whereabouts during the time of the murder; Wimsey's sister is obviously lying, and Wimsey's brother-in-law to be is the victim. An interesting development is that Detective Parker, Lord Wimsey's associate, reveals for the first time his attraction to Lady Mary, Lord Wimsey's sister.

[sable677 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Clouds of Witness was chosen as the book for the month for my mystery book club. This book is the first one that I have read by Sayers, and while the story was all right it was not a favorite of mine. However hearing other opinions at our meeting, it was said that there were other books in the series that were better and not to base this series on this one book. The mystery in the book was one the reader would definitely have trouble solving. There are many twists and turns however the ending came out of left field for me. I enjoyed the characters of Bunter and Parker and found Peter to be the most enjoyable of his family members. Clouds of Witness was a nice read however I am not sure I would have chosen it on my own.

[jeffreymarks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another wonderful title by Sayers and not to be missed.

[judithproctor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Holds up better than the first book in the series. The characters are getting more depth to them now. The first couple of chapters are a bit dry as they're done in the form of court reporters. Once we get into first person viewpoints, it works a lot better.

[amelish · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Way too much writing in dialect. I recognize the urge to represent speech as an extension of character, but: why not leave some room for the imagination? Obviously an early entry in the series, Sayers still finding her feet as a mystery writer and possibly tossing off however many pages of hyperactive/manic camp because mysteries are what she wrote to make money. Happy for her gradual move away from preciousness and towards thoughtfulness in her later writing. The contrast between Clouds of Witness and Gaudy Night is almost shocking.

[jeremypreacher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Still good fun, although I found the pace and complexity a little much after Whose Body? and the ending not entirely satisfactory - it seemed like it was all red herrings until the clue was produced literally in the nick of time that changed everything. Not bad, but not my favorite so far.

[sriemann_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love the writing and the dialogue of the different characters - it brings an era of England to life. the mystery itself is pretty good, too. lots of twists, where you think you're done and have figured it out... but no, you're not quite right.

[ragwaine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very witty and fun but I got lost with all the different characters and still can't figure out some of the plot.

[crowyhead · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. As usual, it has a good mix of humor and seriousness, and I particularly enjoyed Parker in this one. There's a tendency in fiction about private detectives to portray the police as idiots, and there's a certain amount of that even in the Sayers mysteries, but I've always appreciated Inspector Parker. Parker is, of necessity, more stolid than Lord Peter and of course slightly less brilliant, but he's a very good, honest cop and often keeps Lord Peter from flying off into fantastical scenarios. I also got a huge giggle out of the chapter where Lord Peter meets his sister's "radical" friends.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every now and then I have to have a visit with Lord Peter Wimsey. He is my favorite, bar none, detective. Archie Goodwin is second, for when I'm not feeling so refined.Read this book recently with a group and found it interesting how much character growth there is, and yet the characters are well established. We just get to know them better. Mostly the Wimsey family, but Parker, Bunter and Mr. Murbles, some of my favorite characters are given good play here.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was an unexpected pleasure to discover that there was a Wimsey novel I hadn't read yet - rather like finding the last bottle of the '47 lurking dust-covered at the back of the cellar. The book - the second full-length Wimsey novel - isn't up to the standard of some of the later ones, but it does have quite a lot to entertain and interest the reader. The Yorkshire setting is nicely observed, with dialect characters who are portrayed as individuals and manage to avoid becoming stereotypes. The scene where Wimsey goes astray on the moors on a foggy night is pure melodrama (Wilkie Collins at his most wuthering), but Sayers defuses the tension with neat irony by tying it into the song "On Ilkley Moor baht'at"What is most interesting about the book, seen as part of the Wimsey "canon", is the way it establishes the relationships between Lord Peter, his brother the Duke, his sister Lady Mary, their mother the Dowager, and Chief Inspector Parker. The Duke is accused of murdering Mary's fiancé: we know, of course, that Wimsey will be able to get him off the hook (any other outcome would pretty much rule out any further Lord Peter novels), but it's an interesting challenge for him, not least because the Duke refuses to explain where he was on the night in question, while Mary's evidence at the inquest conflicts with the other witnesses.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Lord Peter Wimsey finds out his brother the Duke has been accused of murder, he hightails it over to try to sort it out. Who really killed his sister's fiance, Denis Cathcart? Lord Peter may find out a few family secrets by the time he's finished detecting...This entertaining second book in the Lord Peter Wimsey series could easily be read as a standalone. Lord Peter reminds me a lot of Bertie Wooster with his prattling and his valet. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing until quite close to the end. The adventures of Lord Peter as he gets to the bottom of things generally kept me amused, and sometimes provoked a laugh. I didn't fall head-over-heels in love with it, but I'd be willing to keep reading the series.