Going Around in Circles: The mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers are intricate and intelligent, models of perfectly maddening puzzles that readers can barely solve. "Have His Carcase" is no exception, a fine round and round-about mystery that keeps readers (and the two detectives) searching till the final chapter.

The story finds Harriet Vane, recently acquited of murder, on a walking vacation. Mystery has a way of following her, and she encounters a dead body on the beach. Was it suicide or murder? Knowing that the tide is about to come in, Harriet takes pictures and clues to preserve what she can, and searches out the local authorities. Lord Peter Wimsey, gentleman detective, comes to Harriet's aid and also delves into the crime, a case of murder with a baffling array of suspects and alibis. Every clue and every alibi makes a strong case for suicide, but Wimsey knows it to be a murder, if only he could prove it.

"Have His Carcase" is a story with a lot on its plate; the wide cast of characters creates a web of further mystery and cluelessness around the death. This is all layered in with the flirtation between Wimsey and Vane, a delectable pairing of romance and comedy, as Harriet rebuffs Wimsey's marriage proposals at every turn. Sayers is perhaps almost too intelligent in her mysteries, giving her detectives almost unlimited knowledge on a wide range of topics. The chapters involving ciphers are particularly hard to decipher, but do little to distract from the excellent mystery at hand. And while the story does seem to go round and round, it comes full circle in the end.

I am a big fan of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels and this is the second novel to feature Harriet Vane. I love the relationship between these two, the back and forth of their dialogue as Harriet slowly opens up her heart. The murder mystery is good too. ( )

Have His Carcase is the second book about Lord Peter and Harriet Vane, and as in Strong Poison, the mystery is very much at the forefront and the characters' relationships are secondary to the sleuthing. And what a lot of sleuthing they do! This story has it all: chases through cities, disguises, political intrigue, bearded bad guys — and a solution that presents a question of its own.

Harriet is on a walking tour when she stumbles upon a corpse bleeding profusely on Flat-Iron Rock on the coast. There are no footprints in the sand except the dead man's own, but something about the case seems to point away from the obvious verdict of suicide. Harriet begins quiet investigations with Lord Peter at her side. The dead man was Paul Alexis, a gigolo at a local hotel who believed himself to be descended from the tsars of Russia. Found on his body was a cipher letter, a picture of an unknown girl, and 300 gold sovereigns. A pretty puzzle indeed.

As usual, Sayers' pace is leisurely and measured. A variety of interesting characters are introduced, and we get glimpses here and there of Harriet and Peter's relationship. Harriet's pet detective in her mystery stories make a few appearances too, when Lord Peter asks her what the indefatigable Robert Templeton would do. Funny.

As with several other mysteries by Sayers, the revelation at the end is not so much who did the deed, but how. The thing is patently impossible from every angle... until one little "fact" changes. And then everything falls into place. This is another excellent mystery by the inimitable Dorothy Sayers. I highly recommend reading it after Strong Poison but before Gaudy Night, to fully appreciate the character arcs. Good stuff! ( )

Not my favorite Wimsey mystery, but good, nonetheless. ( )

This is the second of the Peter/Harriet novels, coming after Strong Poison. ( )