The Late Scholar

Starred review from April 21, 2014
In Walsh’s cleverly plotted fourth mystery featuring the titular husband-wife sleuthing team—her second wholly original effort authorized by the Dorothy Sayers estate—Wimsey has succeeded to the title of the Duke of Denver after the death of his elder brother, Gerald, in the previous book, The Attenbury Emeralds (2010). One of Wimsey’s new responsibilities as duke is to serve as “the Visitor” for Oxford’s St. Severin’s College, a role that requires him to referee disputes among the college’s fellows. Just such a controversy has sprung up. Some fellows want to sell a rare manuscript of Boethius’s Consolations of Philosophy that may have belonged to Alfred the Great, who translated the work from Latin into Anglo-Saxon, in order to buy some land, while others believe that such a sale would betray the institution’s values. A series of disturbing incidents—including a fatal fall down stairs suspiciously similar to a murder method that Wimsey’s detective-story writer wife, Harriet Vane, has used in her fiction—causes the couple to suspect a killer is at work. Walsh’s pitch-perfect re-creation of the charismatic leads is a delight. Sayers fans can only hope for more. Agent: Phyllis Westberg, Harold Ober Associates.

May 1, 2014
Intrigue and murder in academe lead to further adventures for aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, the once-carefree second son now approaching senior citizenship.Ever since a fire killed his older brother and damaged Bredon Hall, the seat of the Duke of Denver, Peter has taken his duties more seriously. Now he's surprised to find that along with the title comes the office of Visitor to St. Severin's College at Oxford. Peter took his degree at Oxford, as did his duchess, the former Harriet Vane, and she supports his obligation to the dreaming spires. When they arrive, they find St. Severin's fellows deadlocked in a vote that only the Visitor can resolve. The wrangle centers on a medieval manuscript; half the fellows want to keep it, and half want to sell in exchange for much-needed land on the edge of town. In the meantime, the warden of the college has left abruptly without so much as a toothbrush, and no one has seen him for three months. Two fellows have suffered incidents that echo Harriet's detective novels, which she based on her husband's cases, and another fellow has taken a fatal tumble down stairs. It's the first in a series of murders or attempted murders connected to an unfavorable anonymous book review, a suicide, a frightened widow and a case of blackmail. Addressing all these issues and saving St. Severin's takes patience and diligence for Peter and Harriet-and for readers who may fidget over the leisurely pace and the insulated academic setting in post-WWII Britain.Walsh's (The Attenbury Emeralds, 2011, etc.) respectful attempt to keep the franchise going will invite the scrutiny of Wimsey purists, and newcomers may find the Duke affected. Even so, many fans will eagerly welcome back their beloved sleuth and enjoy seeing Harriet hold her own in a thoughtfully constructed mystery.

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May 1, 2014

Lord Peter Wimsey, now the Duke of Denver, receives a summons to St. Severin's College in Oxford. It seems that, along with his new title, he also inherited the position of Visitor at St. Severin's, a mediator who is called upon to settle disputes among the Fellows of the college when voting on an issue is unresolved. St. Severin's possesses a priceless book alleged to have belonged to Alfred the Great. One faction of the Fellows wants to sell the book in order to purchase land to later sell at profit, while the other opposes the sale on the grounds that the scholarly value of the volume far outweighs its monetary worth. Deadlocked, they call in the Visitor. Upon arrival, Wimsey finds the Warden of the college missing and a trail of mysterious deaths and accidents, with Fellows being picked off one by one. Believing these deaths and accidents are intended to tip the balance of votes to favoring the sale of the book, Wimsey and his wife, Harriet Vane, begin investigating. VERDICT Walsh took up the mantle of Dorothy L. Sayers in 1998 when she completed Sayers's unfinished manuscript, A Presumption of Death. Though die-hard Sayers fans may find this title lacks the witty flavor of the originals, this is an entertaining and convoluted puzzle for readers who enjoy Golden Age mysteries. [See Prepub Alert, 1/6/14.]--Sandra Knowles, South Carolina State Lib., Columbia

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Starred review from May 1, 2014
We know from internal evidence that it is 1952. The Duke of Denver, Peter Wimsey; his wife, the Duchess, who writes mysteries under her birth name, Harriet Vane; and the ever-present, ever-indispensable manservant, Bunter, are in receipt of a letter from St. Severin's, Oxford. It seems that Peter is the Visitor for the college, and a dispute has come up that he must adjudicate. Shall the college, in dire financial straits, sell a Boethius manuscript? This allows Walsh to write a love letter to Oxford, city and university; to illuminate the large and petty disagreements, both scholarly and personal, that then as now drive academe; to provide a rather alarming number of corpses; and to allow Peter, Harriet, and Bunter to do what they do best. Our beloved characters are not so much in evidence as Oxford itself is, but their words are taken with delight. There are glimpses, too, of Peter's mother, elderly and frail but adorable as ever; of their oldest son, Bredon, who struggles with a future that does not include Balliol; and of Peter Bunter, who has set his sights on the London School of Economics. It does not have quite the tie to Sayers as have earlier volumes in the series, nor does it possess the power of The Attenbury Emeralds (2011), but it is delicious nonetheless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)