A mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, starring her main protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey. A gentleman with an eye to solving the most improbable mysteries, he draws inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and is assisted by his butler and right-hand man, Bunter.
Stories about Wimsey typically involve a typical old-English setting and a crime occurring in an out-of-the-way neighbourhood. The crimes themselves appear to be simple at the outset (in this case, a fresh body discovered in an old grave) but quickly present many difficulties. With proper British bulldoggedness, and more than an ounce of British humour a la P.G. Wodehouse, he solves the improbable, with twists all the way up to the final pages.
What makes this book interesting is its vivid and technical description of change ringing. The story is set around the Rectory of a small English village and much of the action revolves around the bell-tower, magnificently described. A lot of effort is put into describing the different methods of ringing, as well as the different types of bells and their pitches.
A delightful English mystery infused with a good dose of an obscure topic - good reading with a bedside light on a rainy night.
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