The Documents in the Case

by Dorothy L. Sayers

Other authorsRobert Eustace

Paperback, 1930

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Genres

Mystery

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Where:MB

Publication

New York: Avon, 1968

Description

The bed was broken and tilted grotesquely sideways. Harrison was sprawled over in a huddle of soiled blankets. His mouth was twisted . . . Harrison had been an expert on deadly mushrooms. How was it then that he had eaten a large quantity of death-dealing muscarine? Was it an accident? Suicide? Or murder? The documents in the case seemed to be a simple collection of love notes and letters home. But they concealed a clue to the brilliant murderer who baffled the best minds in London. 'She combined literary prose with powerful suspense, and it takes a rare talent to achieve that. A truly great storyteller.' Minette Walters

User reviews

LibraryThing member MrsLee

I just re-read this for a book group. Very good mystery, even though it didn't have Lord Peter in it. It has some great discussions on the origin of life and morality. The author also takes some fun digs at authors. It's missing the usual reparte because of the style, all as it says, documents in

the case. Letters, statements and articles.

Show Less

16 more

LibraryThing member Figgles

Although this isn't a Peter Wimsey story it's set in the same world (where Sir James Lubbock is the Home Office analyst). The story is told, firstly through letters, then through written statements, and finally in the first person. Its a story of suburban melodrama and eventually murder, and it's

quite fascinating to see the story emerge from the multiple narrators, all of whom are unreliable, although eventually the focus coalesces to one sympathetic voice. The science is also fascinating, and is from the contribution by Robert Eustace, pen name for Dr Eustace Barton. Evidently Sayers was not satisfied with this work but I find it a worthy addition to her oevure.

Show Less

LibraryThing member iayork

Lord Peter Wimsey is off the case: In a departure from her trademark Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane stories, Dorothy L. Sayers presents what is essentially an epistolary novel with this book. Ostensibly a collection of 40-some letters and 2 long written statements, the book details the events

leading up to the murder of George Harrison (not *that* George Harrison), and the efforts of the victim's son and a reluctant ally to get to the truth of matter.While it's not exactly Rashomon, unreliable narrators abound, and fixing just what's what as letters contradict each other is the reader's challenge in the first half of the book. In the second half, Paul Harrison details his efforts to find his father's killer and pulls in budding author John Munting to assist him. Their investigation proceeds in fits and starts until it hits the brick wall of knowing *who* committed the murder, and even *why* and *how*, but not being able to prove any of it. As the number of pages dwindles, you begin to doubt if Sayers can get out of the corner she's painted herself into. Without answering whether she does or not, I will say the ending doesn't disappoint.
One suspects that Sayers' late-1920's audience got more out of this novel than today's readers. Unless you're well versed in D.H. Lawrence, R.U.R., and other then-current artistic works, you - like me - will miss what I suspect are some rather satirical asides. Nonetheless, this remains a highly enjoyable book by one of England's best mystery writers. (Robert Eustace, Sayers' co-author, is the pseudonym of Dr. Eustace Robert Barton, who likely provided her with much of the scientific material for the story; he also collaborated with several other mystery writers in the first third of the 20th Century.)

Show Less

LibraryThing member KimMR

Yet another book confirming my very high opinion of Dorothy Sayers. This is her take on an epistolary novel, although it's not composed of letters only. As the title suggests, the novel consists of a range of documents which together form a prosecution brief. As is so often the case with Sayers,

the mystery is only a part of what the book is about. While there is a mystery, the point of it is the "how" rather than the "who". The novel is also a dissertation on creation and the origin of life. I will freely admit that the science largely went over my head, but it actually didn't matter. I understood enough to be impressed. And then there was the wit, the passion and that fierce intelligence which characterises Sayers. In short, I loved it.

Show Less

LibraryThing member franoscar

July 1, 2010 -- Spoilers could be -- I entered this before but I'm pretty sure I was wrong because I just read it & it wasn't familiar. I really liked it when I started it but my affection waned. Plus I don't want to think too hard about the philosophical issues that the characters think about.

Which I don't remember. Anyway, I guess the hero of the story is the writer-guy, and he gets a little dull. It starts with the loony old maid writing to her sister, and I still don't know what was really true...was the writer guy exaggerating this gal's sex-crazed awfulness? Did the writer guy willfully ignore the blooming of the romance between the bad wife & the painter? Who is telling the true story? I guess we are supposed to wonder, my tendency is to pick one narrator as reliable but I don't think that is the right way to do it, although the nutty old maid really is pretty nutty and I think Sayers' own biases indicate that she thinks the nutty old maid is unreliable and badly affected by bad democratic impulses in society. Anyway, so it went on & on a bit.

Show Less

LibraryThing member 530nm330hz

An interesting exercise in epistolary writing, but a bit overdone. Worth reading if you're a Sayers fan, but not up to the Wimsey stories.

LibraryThing member bookswamp

A crime story in letters, pretty good made, although one suspects the outcome at a rather early point.
I actually bought the book by mistake, sweeping it up with some Lorder Peter stories and not checking the contents. But, as said before, it _is_ entertaining.

LibraryThing member Eyestrained

Story is told by means of letters/diaries, as in "Dracula." I like this style, but otherwise not an exceptional book. The murder weapon is poinsonous mushrooms, so that is interesting if you like to cook with unusual fungi.

LibraryThing member raizel

The novel is a series of documents, mostly one-sided correspondences, that gives the background to a man's death. Did mushrooms do him in? Was it an accident? There are some connections to Madame Bovary---an overly romantic wife and a dull, controlling husband, who is more interesting than she

understands. The moral code of the time features heavily in the story---divorce is a scandal and an illegitimate child is completely unacceptable. Science and philosophy also appear more than is usual in a mystery; according to the dust jacket, the coauthor helped with the science and medical aspects of the story.

Show Less

LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher

This was really neat. It's an epistolary novel, mostly - it's presented as a collection of letters and documents related to a murder, although there are several long "statements" in unabashedly narrative form from two of the characters. From the beginning you know who will die, but it quickly

becomes obvious that there are many people with a variety of reasons to kill him.

The pacing is a bit slow for my tastes - I could have done with about half as many letters from the batty housekeeper or the ditzy wife. The scientific interludes also grind on a bit. But the actual mechanism of proof is terribly neat, and the central characters were believable enough that there was some genuine tension. Worth the read for the structure alone, I think, and a solid mystery overall.

Show Less

LibraryThing member OksanaH

This is not a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery; it is a novel in letters set in the 1920-s. Even though the main female character turns out to be the “evil” one at the end and throughout the book a “good” character repeatedly gives a negative opinion of her, she still evokes more sympathy than the

victim. The non-existent women’s rights of the period are portrayed only too well; the book is a very interesting source documenting the change in women’s role and place in society. Even the treatment of the subject itself by the author captures a particular moment in the evolution of women’s rights.

Show Less

LibraryThing member dknippling

A reread.

For some reason, the first time I read this book, I didn't care for it at all. However, this time--I looked at it not as a mystery for some reason, but as a study of POV, and how different characters could see actions differently. How far can different people see the same situation? Here,

wildly differently. I empathized with all the POV characters except for one, but I was never meant to empathize with that one. I felt - very skillfully handled? I don't know. The mystery wasn't all that and a bag of chips; if you're looking for a brilliant mystery as such, this isn't the book. But it was a fantastic study of POV nevertheless.

Show Less

LibraryThing member pgchuis

No Peter Wimsey this time. A narrative told by means of letters and witness statements, describing the relationships between the Harrisons and the artist and writer who move in above them. Mr Harrison eventually dies an horrific death from mushroom poisoning and the dossier is put together by his

son in an attempt to persuade the Crown to prosecute the person he believes was responsible.

While it had its moments: the letters by Mrs Harrison and her companion are good, and I liked the way the common man was held consistently to view the artistic community with suspicion. However, I found the structure messy and the pace uneven. There were long passages musing the meaning of life and science versus religion etc which I skipped over.

Show Less

LibraryThing member ritaer

Letters reveal the uneasy relationship between a painter, a novelist and the middle class couple with whom they lodge. Mr. Harrison is a fan of traditional foods such as mushrooms and hedgehogs. An expert in the topic he nonetheless dies of mushroom poisoning. Is is an accident or is his son

correct in harboring suspicions?

Show Less

LibraryThing member gothamajp

An excellent example of the epistolary novel format where the story is gradually unveiled through letters and supporting documents rather than a prose narrative. Sayers presents distinctive voices and perspectives for each of the four main correspondents that establishes each as an unreliable

narrator so you’re never quite sure where your sympathies should lie. The central mystery and solving of the crime itself takes a definite back seat to the human drama on offer here.

Show Less

LibraryThing member cmbohn

Not a straightforward mystery, exactly. Told in a series of letter and other documents, just as the title suggests.

LibraryThing member themulhern

An "epistolary" novel, except that not every document is a letter. The front cover of the copy I checked out deceives with an image of Lord Peter.

No heroes to be found in this one. The narrators are all unreliable. Nobody really comes off well. The son is devoted and determined and despises the

author. The author was fond of the dead man and dislikes everybody else, except his wife. etc. The adulterous letters are inexpressibly tedious.

Fun as a period piece; the mystery is resolved with the help of modern physics, which at the time was a very contemporary topic. Discussions of religion vs. science as is to be expected in a Dorothy Sayers novel.

Show Less

Fewer