Dorothy L. Sayers

Can Lord Peter Wimsey prove that Harriet Vane is not guilty of murder - or find the real poisoner in time to save her from the gallows? Impossible, it seems. The Crown's case is watertight. The police are adamant that the right person is on trial. The judge's summing-up is also clear. Harriet Vane is guilty of the killing her lover. And Harriet Vane shall hang. But the jury disagrees. 'She combined literary prose with powerful suspense, and it takes a rare talent to achieve that. A truly great storyteller.' Minette Walters

Strong Poison

Harriet Vane may face the hangman for the murder of her fiancé—and only Lord Peter Wimsey can save her—in this “model detective story” (The New York Times). Lord Peter Wimsey comes to the trial of Harriet Vane for a glimpse at one of the most engaging murder cases London has seen in years. Unfortunately for the detective, the crime’s details are distractingly salacious, and there is little doubt that the woman will be found guilty. A slightly popular mystery novelist, she stands accused of poisoning her fiancé, a literary author and well-known advocate of free love. Over the course of a few weeks, she bought strychnine, prussic acid, and arsenic, and when her lover died the police found enough poison in his veins to kill a horse. But as Lord Peter watches Harriet in the dock, he begins to doubt her guilt—and to fall in love. As Harriet awaits the hangman, Lord Peter races to prove her innocence, hoping that for the first time in his life, love will triumph over death. Strong Poison is the sixth book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.

Lucia Correa

5 Stars for the audiobook

First off - narrator is the actor Ian Carmichael who is excellent. He narrated a few in this series and also was in a full cast recording by BBC (abridged dramatizations) and he also played Lord Peter Wimsey on TV. I remember seeing a BBC Wimsey series with a different actor, which turned me on to reading the books in the 80's or it may have been the other way around. 

This is the 5th book in the series which takes place in the 1920s, England. I started here because it introduces my favorite character, Harriet Vane, a mystery novelist. Harriet is accused of murdering her ex-lover by poison. Wimsey falls in love at first sight with Harriet and proposes to her when he meets her face to face for the first time - while she is a prisoner awaiting trial! She turns him down and he vows to prove her innocent. I especially love their clever banter.

I love this series. Wimsey is not the eldest son, so he is able to be a detective without family duties hindering his efforts. Through the years of detecting he has made many friends on both sides of the law and often asks favors of both. To get Harriet free he uses all his resources - especially from a secretary agency he funds which he will use to be his eyes and ears for where they can go and he can't. They actually do much of the actual clue gathering in this book. 

It looks like I'll have to re-read most of this series myself as the majority of the audio books are abridged. Too many books, too little time!

Sonia Grgas

Connor 

Cindy Lieberman

The classic mystery that first featured Harriet Vane, companion sleuth to the dashing, perennially popular private investigator Lord Peter Wimsey, from the writer widely considered the greatest mystery novelist of the Golden Age—Dorothy L. Sayers. Mystery novelist Harriet Vane knew all about poisons, and when her fiancÉ died in the manner prescribed in one of her books, a jury of her peers had a hangman's noose in mind. But Lord Peter Wimsey was determined to prove her innocent—as determined as he was to make her his wife. With an introduction by Elizabeth George

Strong Poison

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