I have a habit of not reading the last book in a series. I put off the inevitable because I usually want the author or the characters to go on and on. The last book seems so final. (Nowadays it is possible for them to go on and on because the author's estates sell the rights to the name or the character.) But in this case Dorothy L. Sayers concentrated on writing other things and gave us the last Lord Peter Wimsey book entitled Busman's Honeymoon. However in the 1937 version that I read, the book is subtitled A Love Story with Detective Interruptions. And that gives the reader a big clue that this particular Wimsey book is not going to be all about finding evidence.
At the beginning, we find Lord Peter and Harriet Vane attempting to finalize their long romance by marrying. It sounds much easier than it is, with the press hounding them and Peter's sister-in-law making plans that no one wants. How ever they manage to do the deed and slip off to the countryside to their new country home. The new home is not all that is it was promised to be, and with the help of Bunter, Lord Peter's man, the happy couple has a lovely evening just the same. However the following day brings a corpse in the basement and it embroils them in a local mystery that they can not get away from.
But along with the mystery, Sayers gives the characters time to figure out some things about their marriage. How will they go on? Will Harriet accept that Peter will always have to have his hand in a case? Will Peter remember to keep her involved? They are trying to figure out their new roles and how Bunter, the man of all trades, fits into the mix.
Sayers gives us a realistic ending. Lord Peter has never been very good with the end result of a case. In those days, they hung murderers. It usually brought back memories of the war (WWI) for him. But this time he has Harriet to help him. A very good read.
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