Lord Peter Wimsey first laid eyes on the Attenbury Emerald
in 1921 at Charlotte Attenbury's engagement party. Somehow,
the jewel was stolen and Peter, having gained some
enthusiasm for life again after serving in the war, did
some amateur sleuthing, exposed the thief, retrieved the
jewel and return it to the family.
Thirty years have passed and Lord Peter Wimsey has been
entertaining his wife, Harriet Vane, along with assistance
from his butler, with the story of how the original theft
transpired. His steadfast butler, Bunter, has an impeccable
memory and has also kept quite detailed notes over the
years. So it is quite good timing when an Attenbury heir
calls on Peter to solve yet another mystery with the
Attenbury emerald. It appears the emerald's ownership is
now in question. The emerald, which has been kept in a
safety deposit box in a bank and only removed a handful of
times over the last 30 years, is in great demand from other
parties.
By this time, Peter is officially a private investigator
and his wife, Harriet, is a mystery author. Peter starts a
backward trail to each known person to have contact with
the emerald over the last 30 years. What they discover is
that some of the people having contact with the emerald
have died in questionable ways. Time is running out and
Peter must not forget the emerald in the midst of a
personal tragedy that hits his family.
Jill Patton Walsh reintroduces readers to the world
of Dorothy L. Sayer's famous characters. I have not
had the pleasure to read the Peter Wimsey series; however,
my introduction to these characters in THE ATTENBURY
EMERALDS has been quite entertaining. The British humor and
suspenseful plot kept me turning page after page. This
winter would be a lovely time to curl up with a cup of tea
and THE ATTENBURY EMERALDS and, as the Brits may say, have
a jolly good time.
In 1936, Dorothy L. Sayers abandoned the last
Lord Peter Wimsey detective story. Sixty years later, a
brown paper parcel containing a copy of the manuscript was
discovered in her agent’s safe in London, and award-winning
novelist Jill Paton Walsh was commissioned to complete it.
The result of the pairing of Dorothy L. Sayers with Walsh
was the international bestseller Thrones, Dominations.
Now, following A Presumption of Death, set
during World War II, comes a new Sayers-inspired mystery
featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, revisiting his very first case.
. . . It was 1921 when Lord Peter Wimsey first encountered
the Attenbury Emeralds. The recovery of the gems in Lord
Attenbury’s dazzling heirloom collection made headlines—and
launched a shell-shocked young aristocrat on his career as a
detective. Thirty years later, a happily married Lord
Peter has just shared the secrets of that mystery with his
wife, the detective novelist Harriet Vane. Suddenly, the new
Lord Attenbury—grandson of Lord Peter’s first client—seeks
his help to prove who owns the emeralds. As Harriet and
Peter contemplate the changes that the war has wrought on
English society—and Peter, who always cherished the
liberties of a younger son, faces the unwanted prospect of
ending up the Duke of Denver after all—Jill Paton Walsh
brings us a masterful new chapter in the annals of one of
the greatest detectives of all time.
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