Clouds of Witness


Read by Kirsten Wever

(4.7 stars; 57 reviews)

While Lord Peter Wimsey is on holiday in the wilds of Corsica, his brother Gerald, Duke of Denver, is charged with the murder of their sister Mary's fiance. According to newspaper reports, on October 13th the shooting party at the Duke's Lodge had retired for the night when, at 3 a.m. of a bitterly cold and wet morning, his sister found him just outside the conservatory door, leaning over the dead body of her betrothed, Dennis Cathcart.

Learning of his brother’s indictment for murder, Lord Peter and Bunter - his invaluable man servant qua assistant sleuth - fly to the scene. Scotland Yard is already at work, in the person of Detective Inspector Charles Parker, with whom Lord Peter had recently solved the Battersea Mystery. (See Dorothy Sayers’ first Lord Peter Wimsey novel, “Whose Body?”)

What were the Duke of Denver, Lady Mary and Dennis Cathcart doing there on such a night, at such a time? True, Cathcart had angrily left the house hours earlier. But why, in that weather, had he stayed out? If the Duke, as he claimed, came on the body while returning from a stroll, why such nocturnal wanderings in the fiercest of weather? What led Lady Mary to come down from her bedroom in the middle of the night in order to go to, of all places, the conservatory?

The mystery's apparently independent but closely intertwined threads are disentangled by the joint efforts of Lord Peter Wimsey, his friend Chief Inspector Parker, and the inestimable Bunter. - Summary by Kirsten Wever (11 hr 21 min)

Chapters

Chapter 1: Of His Malice Aforethought 1:09:04 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 2: The Green-Eyed Cat 1:00:31 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 3: Mudstains and Bloodstains 1:03:15 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 4: —And His Daughter, Much-Afraid 43:25 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 5: The Rue St. Honoré and the Rue de la Paix 42:20 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 6: Mary Quite Contrary 34:11 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 7: The Club and the Bullet 33:15 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 8: Mr. Parker Takes Notes 10:33 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 9: Goyles 38:22 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 10: Nothing Abides at the Noon 35:03 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 11: Meribah 43:53 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 12: The Alibi 40:19 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 13: Manon 21:06 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 14: The Edge of the Axe Towards Him 41:53 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 15: Bar Falling 15:28 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 16: The Second String 15:30 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 17: The Eloquent Dead 19:49 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 18: The Speech for the Defense 37:57 Read by Kirsten Wever
Chapter 19: Who Goes Home? 15:22 Read by Kirsten Wever

Reviews

A Literary Crime Novel


(5 stars)

A story with 1920's English nobility at in London, the moors, and Paris. If you want a mystery that anodes by the rules and has plenty of characterization, scenery, and the shadow of WWI still lingering over the war generation. The reader is a bit slow, but gets nearly all the pronunciation right, except for "viscount." The difficult French all was flawless, as far as I could tell, too.


(4 stars)

Well read, although the delivery was a bit slow and measured in tone, and didn’t convey Sayer’s sparkle. I sped it up by 10 percent. Her French pronunciation was perfect. All in all, a very credible job.

great mystery story


(5 stars)

It’s striking how true the old saw that rank has its privileges plays out in the book. But a rousing good story

Witness


(5 stars)

Interesting story with many characters. Got a bit better as it went along. A great twist at the end!

Great story


(5 stars)

This is fun to listen to. The plot is somewhat predictable but who cares. Excellent reader.


(4.5 stars)

Any criticism of this reading would be unhelpful nit-picking! A sympathetic rendition of the book.

Cloud Of Witnesses


(4.5 stars)

Wimsey at his finest. Webber captures the mood of Sayers/Wimsey perfectly.


(5 stars)

Extremely witty. It could be much more entertaining if it weren’t so long!