The Late Scholar: Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Investigate (Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery)
*Starred Review* We know from internal evidence that it is 1952. The Duke of Denver, Peter Wimsey; his wife, the Duchess, who writes mysteries under her birth name, Harriet Vane; and the ever-present, ever-indispensable manservant, Bunter, are in receipt of a letter from St. Severin’s, Oxford. It seems that Peter is the Visitor for the college, and a dispute has come up that he must adjudicate. Shall the college, in dire financial straits, sell a Boethius manuscript? This allows Walsh to write a love letter to Oxford, city and university; to illuminate the large and petty disagreements, both scholarly and personal, that then as now drive academe; to provide a rather alarming number of corpses; and to allow Peter, Harriet, and Bunter to do what they do best. Our beloved characters are not so much in evidence as Oxford itself is, but their words are taken with delight. There are glimpses, too, of Peter’s mother, elderly and frail but adorable as ever; of their oldest son, Bredon, who struggles with a future that does not include Balliol; and of Peter Bunter, who has set his sights on the London School of Economics. It does not have quite the tie to Sayers as have earlier volumes in the series, nor does it possess the power of The Attenbury Emeralds (2011), but it is delicious nonetheless. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido