"If you've seen one emerald, you've seen them all -- not."

By: Jill Paton Walsh

Genres: Mystery Historical

Posted: December 13, 2010

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.

Book Summary

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.

The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh

The Attenbury Emeralds

by: Jill Paton Walsh

New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane

Minotaur Books
January 1, 2011
On Sale: January 4, 2011
Featuring: Lord Peter Wimsey; Harriet Vane
352 pages
ISBN: 0312674546
EAN: 9780312674540
Kindle: B00486UA5W
Hardcover / e-Book

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