THE ATTENBURY EMERALDS

TITLE: THE ATTENBURY EMERALDS
AUTHOR: JILL PATON WALSH
Pages: 338
Date: 19/12/2010
Grade: 4
Details: no. 17 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery
Library

The mysteries written by Dorothy Sayers were the second English language series I discovered, after Agatha Christie. It was also a series suggested to me by my mother, who owned a few of he books and happily provided me with the ones she didn't have.
The fact that they came so highly recommended by my mother, is only one of the reasons I like the books and the characters so much. Another reason is that Mrs. Sayers wrote good mysteries, with characters who interested me and I found easy to like.
And, I'm still enjoying spending time with Lord Peter, his wife Harriet, his servant and friend Bunter and all the other characters.
This books is set after WW II in 1951. Lord Peter and Harriet have three sons, Bunter is married and has a son of his own, and the world is in the middle of huge changes as far as the aristocratic lifestyle is concerned.
Lord Peter tells his wife about his very first case, one he conducted  in 1921 while he was still suffering the effects of the first world war and which concerned the disappearance of The Attenbury Emeralds.
Shortly after, the new Lord Attenbury comes to the Wimsey's asking for help, again with regard to the Attenbury Emeralds. Somebody is claiming that the Emerald kept by Attenbury's bank, is not actually his emerald, and he needs Lord Peter to find out if this is true, and if it is, what happened to the original Emerald.
Lord Peter, with the assistance of the very reliable Bunter and Harriet has to investigate events which happened over the past 30 years and discovers that the Emerald seems to have left a trail of misfortune, death and destruction in its wake. He also has to deal with a personal tragedy and major upheaval in his own life.
I enjoyed another visit with these characters. I'm not sure that Mrs. Walsh is quite as good at presenting Wimsey and his world as I remember Sayer's being, but she is more than good enough to make me a happy reader. What's more, I'm seriously thinking of reading all the books in the series again. It's been a very long time since I read one of the originals by Sayers.