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A review by rebeccacider
The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh
3.0
The strongest praise I can give this novel is that I found it a pleasurable page-turner. Walsh gets the period details just right and does a good job capturing some of the nuance of Sayers' characters, as well as the cultural shifts taking place in post-war Britain.
AND YET THE PLOT. The Attenbury Emeralds is lively and dramatic, but plotted more like an episode of Sherlock than a Golden Age detective story, with a mystery held together by coincidence and fuzzy thinking. While Sayers was not above the odd coincidence (Peter Wimsey is, after all, a Mystery Magnet), she is known for intellectual rigor. We just don't get that complexity in these fan sequels.
Don't get me wrong, the next time I'm in need of a cozy read I will certainly consider picking up another of these books, but the weak plotting means I find them simultaneously enjoyable and frustrating.
ETA: While I'm referencing TV Tropes, I forgot to complain about Walsh's hat tip to the Celebrity Paradox - it's silly, but it really bothered me! A world where Dorothy L. Sayers existed and wrote detective novels that aren't about Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane is a world I'd rather not contemplate.
AND YET THE PLOT. The Attenbury Emeralds is lively and dramatic, but plotted more like an episode of Sherlock than a Golden Age detective story, with a mystery held together by coincidence and fuzzy thinking. While Sayers was not above the odd coincidence (Peter Wimsey is, after all, a Mystery Magnet), she is known for intellectual rigor. We just don't get that complexity in these fan sequels.
Don't get me wrong, the next time I'm in need of a cozy read I will certainly consider picking up another of these books, but the weak plotting means I find them simultaneously enjoyable and frustrating.
ETA: While I'm referencing TV Tropes, I forgot to complain about Walsh's hat tip to the Celebrity Paradox - it's silly, but it really bothered me! A world where Dorothy L. Sayers existed and wrote detective novels that aren't about Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane is a world I'd rather not contemplate.