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The Five Red Herrings Mass Market Paperback – September 14, 1995

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,800 ratings

The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements -- particularly the medical evidence that proves he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there are the six prime suspects -- all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead. Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece of murder that baffles everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey.
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From the Back Cover

The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements -- particularly the medical evidence that proves he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there are the six prime suspects -- all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead. Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece of murder that baffles everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey.

About the Author

Dorothy L. Sayers was born in 1893. She was one of the first women to be awarded a degree by Oxford University, and later she became a copywriter at an ad agency. In 1923 she published her first novel featuring the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey, who became one of the world's most popular fictional heroes. She died in 1957.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 006104363X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperTorch; Reprint edition (September 14, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780061043635
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061043635
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.92 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,800 ratings

About the author

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Dorothy L. Sayers
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Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) was a playwright, scholar, and acclaimed author of mysteries, best known for her books starring the gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

Born in Oxford, England, Sayers, whose father was a reverend, grew up in the Bluntisham rectory and won a scholarship to Oxford University where she studied modern languages and worked at the publishing house Blackwell's, which published her first book of poetry in 1916.

Years later, working as an advertising copywriter, Sayers began work on Whose Body?, a mystery novel featuring dapper detective Lord Peter Wimsey. Over the next two decades, Sayers published ten more Wimsey novels and several short stories, crafting a character whose complexity was unusual for the mystery novels of the time.

In 1936, Sayers brought Lord Peter Wimsey to the stage in a production of Busman's Honeymoon, a story which she would publish as a novel the following year. The play was so successful that she gave up mystery writing to focus on the stage, producing a series of religious works culminating in The Man Born to Be King (1941) a radio drama about the life of Jesus.

She also wrote theological essays and criticism during and after World War II, and in 1949 published the first volume of a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (which she considered to be her best work).

Dorothy Sayers died of a heart attack in 1957.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
1,800 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book and found it entertaining and satisfying. They appreciated the beautiful Scottish scenery and charming setting. However, some felt the story was difficult to follow due to too many train schedules and timelines. Opinions were mixed on the mystery content, with some finding it interesting and engrossing while others found it overly complicated and confusing. Readers also disagreed on the writing style, with some finding it clever and literate while others found it difficult to read.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

24 customers mention "Enjoyment"24 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it entertaining, satisfying, and a fun 1930s vintage mystery novel with a Scottish twist. Readers praise the author's wit, humor, and intelligence. The book is described as a real treat by fans of the series.

"...difficult to follow, and adds so much to the personalities and flavor of the tale...." Read more

"...It's extremely true to life and interesting...." Read more

"...to bring back to he daughter, who had just had a baby girl A great read, a charming acquaintance, and a fantastic afternoon spent visiting places I..." Read more

"...The examples of Sayers' rich and sly wit are everywhere, and kept me actually trying to keep track of all those alibis until I realized I didn't..." Read more

9 customers mention "Scottish setting"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the Scottish setting. They appreciate the beautiful scenery, charm, and eccentricity of the country. The rich imagery and stylish writing style are also praised.

"...of a remarkable sleuth in a remarkable time (post war) in a fabulous country! This one is more detailed (and some say tedious, but not me!)..." Read more

"...The Scottish scenery is described beautifully, as you might expect in a mystery about a colony of painters...." Read more

"...The Scottish setting alone was delightful; if only the rest of the book had lived up to it." Read more

"...I got it on Kindle to use with Alexa voice. The book is set in Scotland & the Alexa voice has a bit of trouble with the dialect." Read more

62 customers mention "Mystery content"35 positive27 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the mystery content. Some find it interesting with an ingenious plot that keeps them guessing until the end. Others feel the story is overly complicated and convoluted, with pages devoted to speculations. However, some readers appreciate the unexpected twists and details.

"...not the first book of hers I would recommend, but it is a fascinating piece of the puzzle of a remarkable sleuth in a remarkable time (post war) in..." Read more

"...#34;whodunit", but the details of the "how" contained several unexpected twists (read that as no clues at all) which is uncharacteristic..." Read more

"...Once you so see, it's a very well crafted set of events though. Enjoyed that if getting to there was a real slog." Read more

"...Sayer's use of the Scots dialect is delightful, not difficult to follow, and adds so much to the personalities and flavor of the tale...." Read more

36 customers mention "Readability"13 positive23 negative

Customers have different views on the book's readability. Some find the writing clever and well-thought-out, while others find it difficult to understand due to local dialect and accents.

"The Scots accent used throughout makes reading difficult and the train schedules to keep straight made this book a mass of confusion for me...." Read more

"...convoluted in plot, but hang in there and simply enjoy the beautifully crafted writing." Read more

"...1930's British slang, events, and personalities made this book particularly hard to read...." Read more

"...Ironically, the end result of this is that it makes for very difficult reading and I'm still wondering what some of those words meant in regular..." Read more

23 customers mention "Character development"11 positive12 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development. Some find the characters well-developed and enjoyable, adding to the personalities and flavor of the tale. Others find the plot boring, with too many characters to follow and no character development. They also mention the characters are unpleasant and condescending to Scottish people.

"...dialect is delightful, not difficult to follow, and adds so much to the personalities and flavor of the tale...." Read more

"...There are lots of locations and loads of characters, some of which are referred to by different names, making them hard to follow especially since..." Read more

"...The characters are well developed and the plot is always a good one. Not only that her books are informative and the worst curse word is damn...." Read more

"...This one is a jumble of train schedules, vague characters, and improbable caveats...." Read more

13 customers mention "Intelligence"7 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the book's intelligence. Some find it clever and well-thought-out, while others consider it trite, boring, and senseless.

"...Not only that her books are informative and the worst curse word is damn...." Read more

"...schedules and everyday routine and characters who in the end are not interesting. The weakest of the series so far for me." Read more

"...This book is subtle, and hard work, but rewarding...." Read more

"...Laborious and tedious. Nice landscape and local color but it is boring and the characters are unpleasant." Read more

16 customers mention "Train schedules"0 positive16 negative

Customers find the book full of train and bus schedules. They feel the story is too focused on these details, with too many characters and timetables. Many readers describe the book as a dull mystery with too many characters and boring stretches of sorting through train and bus schedules and theories.

"...It is Vintage Lord Peter, it is full of the time (and timetables) and not the first book of hers I would recommend, but it is a fascinating piece of..." Read more

"...There is also such a mind-boggling profusion of train schedules and timings in the suspects' alibis that it is likely to make your head spin...." Read more

"...This one is a jumble of train schedules, vague characters, and improbable caveats...." Read more

"...Unfortunately, this involves long, boring stretches of sorting through train timetables and figuring out how each of the subjects could get from..." Read more

14 customers mention "Difficulty to follow"0 positive14 negative

Customers find the book difficult to follow. They describe it as complicated and confusing, but also enjoyable and challenging.

"...this mystery was inspired, it's turned out as an uninspiring, confused effort...." Read more

"...This book was really rather complicated and it was a little hard to follow as a result...." Read more

"...This book is subtle, and hard work, but rewarding...." Read more

"Six terrible alibi. This was an enjoyable though extremely challenging Lord Wimsey book...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2013
    I love Dorothy Sayers. I love Scotland, lived there, visited this area, made a pilgrimage once just for this book, although visited friends several other times. It is Vintage Lord Peter, it is full of the time (and timetables) and not the first book of hers I would recommend, but it is a fascinating piece of the puzzle of a remarkable sleuth in a remarkable time (post war) in a fabulous country! This one is more detailed (and some say tedious, but not me!) and somewhat convoluted in plot, but hang in there and simply enjoy the beautifully crafted writing.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2024
    The Scots accent used throughout makes reading difficult and the train schedules to keep straight made this book a mass of confusion for me.

    Only at the very end when the events are reconstructed is it at all comprehensible.

    Once you so see, it's a very well crafted set of events though. Enjoyed that if getting to there was a real slog.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2014
    I'm an avid fan of Sayers, but this novel is probably her most torturously complicated. There are lots of locations and loads of characters, some of which are referred to by different names, making them hard to follow especially since this book is not X-ray enabled. There is also such a mind-boggling profusion of train schedules and timings in the suspects' alibis that it is likely to make your head spin.

    At the beginning of the book is a map that may have made the train schedules and the numerous comings-and -goings of the characters somewhat easier to follow. But, alas, in the usual Kindle fashion, the map is too small to decipher, even in landscape mode. How long has it been since the Kindle first appeared? Seven years now? I find it an unforgivable flaw of Kindle's software that it is not able to zoom in or enlarge illustrations when every other piece of software that deals with graphics is capable of doing so. Let's get together, people! Ring in your complaints with Kindle Customer Service at 1-866-321-8851.

    Much of the dialogue is not only written in Scottish dialect but uses several regional accents. (Example: "good" is sometimes "gude" and sometimes "guid".) I had to read about a third of the book before I had a decent understanding of what was being said. Then I had to go back and reread much of it. I will probably never know what "imph'm" means, though!

    All of this and the usual Sayers/Wimsey references to the Classics and a mix of 1930's British slang, events, and personalities made this book particularly hard to read. (Tip: Changing you dictionary to the Oxford Dictionary of English - the English version, not the American version - helps a bit. This came as a free download when I bought my Kindle - Dec. 2013.)

    In the end, I was able to figure out the "who" of the "whodunit", but the details of the "how" contained several unexpected twists (read that as no clues at all) which is uncharacteristic of Sayers. Overall, though I did eventually finish the book, it took at least twice as long to read as most mysteries and seemed more a chore than a pleasurable or satisfying read.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2011
    Wimsey addicts should love this one. Sayer's use of the Scots dialect is delightful, not difficult to follow, and adds so much to the personalities and flavor of the tale. (I find it helps to put a marker at the page where the 6 suspects are profiled so as to keep them straight.) Wimsey fits very comfortably into a setting that is not really his milieu, but sadly there is little use for Bunter who has a rather minor role. I've read and reread the Wimsey series multiple times over the years, and while this one isn't my favorite it ranks quite high.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014
    Dorothy L. Sayers put a lot of effort into "The Five Red Herrings." First, if the Foreword is to be believed, she's reproduced the areas of Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright (places, trains, landscapes) in tremendous detail. Then, there are the suspects. All six of them. Each with their own stories, tracking them down, and their alibis. Ditto, the trains. My goodness, the trains. Almost all of the tracking and alibis revolve around the trains and she provides all the details about their movement. Plus, she's given just about everyone a different accent (very humorous at times). And, don't forget all the information on painting and fishing. It's extremely true to life and interesting. Unfortunately, all of that adds up to the reason I dropped my rating by one star to a "mere" Very Good 4 stars out of 5: there's so much extraneous material that you just give up trying to figure out what's going on and merely ride along as an observer. Specifically, there's just no way that I could keep track of the stories of six different possible perpetrators and their movements across all those trains and landscape. But, I'll admit that even though I couldn't keep track of everything, the mystery, itself, and how Wimsey solves it are excellent. Highly recommended.

    The novels in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries are:

    1. Whose Body?
    2. Clouds of Witness
    3. Unnatural Death
    4. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 5)
    5. Strong Poison (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 6)
    6. The Five Red Herrings (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 7)
    7. Have His Carcase (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 8)
    8. Murder Must Advertise (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 10)
    9. The Nine Tailors (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 11)
    10. Gaudy Night (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 12)
    11. Busman's Honeymoon (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, 13)

    Note: my numbering differs from Amazon's because they include collections of short stories whereas my list is just of novels. Also, I can only include 10 links in the review, so the 11th Wimsey book is just a title.
    16 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • MS PATRICIA LESLEY EDGE
    5.0 out of 5 stars golden age
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2024
    all the Wimsey books are great and this one keeps you guessing to the end. Wimsey and Bunter are a first class team. Ignore the master /servant these two are friends but it is of its time.
  • Santiago G
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un clásico
    Reviewed in Spain on August 3, 2024
    A los que nos gusta la "literatura de detectives" nos gustaría que hubiera traducciones de esta autora y otros autores y autoras, y no solamente británicos, que están reconocidos y considerados justamente clásicos. Y que se conservara la calidad de esta edición, sencilla paperback pero que atrae a las manos, la mirada y la curiosidad.
    Mientras tanto, en inglés.
  • Valerie Priddle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dorothy Sayers detective stories always are good read
    Reviewed in Canada on August 7, 2020
    Nothing to dislike
  • elisa soldani
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Dorothy Sayers classic
    Reviewed in Italy on April 29, 2020
    But the new joke and challenge to reader to be a sleuth himself. I also liked a lot the descriptions of characters and some deep conversation. The only 'fault' is that the continuous crossing of red herrings, and the railway timetables somehow slow the novel and sometimes are a bit boring. Great description of the places
  • Anita Slade
    3.0 out of 5 stars Five red herrings | Dorothy Sayers
    Reviewed in Brazil on February 11, 2017
    Achei o enredo confuso, às vezes complicado de acompanhar com tantos personagens suspeitos e tantas hipóteses complicadas. A autora em geral tem livros interessantes, mas este não foi muito do meu agrado.