In 1932’s Have His Carcass by Dorothy L. Sayers, Harriet Vane needs to get away from the world for a while 18 months after being cleared of murdering her lover. So she goes on a walking tour of Wilvercombe on the South West coast of England. While walking on the beach, Harriet finds the body of a man with his throat slit. As a mystery writer, Harriet uses her personal knowledge of detection to examine the scene, taking pictures and finding a razor, as well as noticing there are no footprints in the sand and that the blood seems very fresh. Trying to get help takes too long, and by the time others go to the spot where the man lay, his body has been washed away by the tide.
As soon as news of the death comes out, Lord Peter Wimsey, who has been asking Harriet to marry him regularly ever since meeting her in Strong Poison, rushes to Wilvercombe to be by Harriet’s side and help solve the mystery. Though the police are inclined to believe the death of the man to be suicide, Lord Peter and Harriet think that it is murder. The victim gets identified as a Russian refugee who is now a naturalized British citizen. Paul Alexis works as a professional dance partner at the local hotel and has gotten engaged to a much older woman, Mrs. Weldon, whose son is very resentful of his mother’s choosing to marry a man younger than he is. Together with the local police, Wimsey and Harriet sleuth to find the truth.
The plot of Have His Carcass revolves around the search for someone who could have been near Harriet when she discovered the body, since the murdered man’s blood gives evidence of his just having been killed. This investigation involves much detail in seeking out clues, even to the extent of deciphering letters that use a code, a section which is skipped over in the audiobook because of its complexity in trying to follow without the diagrams. But this book demonstrates a clear knowledge of medical details, something that impresses my aunt, a professor of nursing.
Have His Carcass is the second of four books featuring Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, and we see their relationship develop throughout the book. The pair begins to work together as colleagues and on an equal footing, as Harriet does her own detection apart from Lord Peter and by his side as a partner. It helps to establish the growing relationship between the two that makes their subsequent romance believable.
The book also demonstrates the social attitude towards both foreigners and Bolsheviks. Because Alexis is a refugee from the Bolshevik Revolution, many speculate that he was killed by a Bolshevik and that Bolsheviks are out to get everyone. Further, even though Alexis is a naturalized British citizen, he is not received as a native. The coroner’s jury, in returning a verdict of suicide, actually tries to make the coroner record a claim against allowing foreigners in the country. They argue that the country would be better withour the foreigner Alexis, despite the coroner’s response that Alexis was a British citizen.
The audio edition, which is frustratingly very hard to locate, is performed by Ian Carmichael. As usual, Carmichael makes the book lively and interesting. I wish he has narrated more audiobooks than the few listed on Audible. His performance helps a lot in keeping straight the details of this book.
I enjoyed Have His Carcass, but not as much as I enjoy other books in the series. This was my first time reading the book, but I already knew the basic solution to the mystery, so I found some of the details of the detection to drag out. But it is worthwhile reading, especially to see the development of the relationship between Lord Peter and Harriet. I give this book four stars.
To purchase this book for yourself, click here on Amazon.
