Dorothy L. Sayers Clouds of Witness

'D. L. Sayers is one of the best detective story writers' Daily Telegraph The Duke of Denver, accused of murder, stands trial for his life in the House of Lords. The victim? His future brother-in-law. When Captain Denis Cathcart is found shot dead outside the conservatory of Riddlesdale Lodge in North Yorkshire, the evidence points overwhelmingly to the estate's owner: Gerald Wimsey, the Duke of Denver. Discovered standing over the blood-stained body at three in the morning, the Duke stubbornly refuses to explain his movements or defend his timeline. It falls to his younger brother, the brilliant aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, to launch a frantic private investigation to save Gerald from the gallows. Aided by his meticulous valet Bunter and Scotland Yard's Inspector Charles Parker, Lord Peter must untangle a dangerous web of family secrets that stretches from the bleak moorlands to the financial underworld of Paris. With the family honour on the line and the trial looming, Wimsey must decipher the mechanical truths hidden beneath aristocratic pride before it is too late. Clouds of Witness is the second entry in Dorothy L. Sayers's iconic mystery series. It is an essential read for fans of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, Margery Allingham's Albert Campion, and quintessential Golden Age country house whodunits. "She combined literary prose with powerful suspense, and it takes a rare talent to achieve that. A truly great storyteller." - Minette Walters