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PRESUMPTION OF DEATH, A by Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L. Sayers St. Martin's, March 2003 384 pages $24.95 ISBN: 0312291000

Jill Paton Walsh's A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH, using letters from Dorothy L. Sayers' "The Wimsey Papers" as a starting point is a real boon for fans of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Walsh has done a wonderful job of continuing the saga of the Wimseys and continuing a beloved series is a difficult thing to do and rarely successful. Nancy Pickard did a fine job with the Virginia Rich characters and Taffy Cannon presented a seamless treat finishing Rebecca Rothenberg's final book. But neither of these authors had reached the iconic status of Dorothy Sayers. Nor do they have quite the legion of articulate and organized fans who would be all too willing to jump on any discrepancy from their idol's character development.

It's early in 1940 and England is at war. Harriet is at Talboys with her children and her nieces and nephews. The bombing of London hasn't started, but the people are all wary and more than a little frightened although the sense of bravado is also there. The village is filled with children and other evacuees from London. Peter is off on some extremely secret and highly dangerous mission with Bunter.

When a Land Girl is found murdered during a practice blackout session, Harriet agrees to help Supt. Kirk solve the murder. But things become more complicated. and the mystery is a good one. What is most fascinating is the picture of a small English village at war. The solution to a second murder also brings about a rather tricky moral and ethical dilemma. A remarkable entry in, what I hope will be, a long running series bringing back some of mysterydom's most remarkable and beloved characters.

At least for me, Walsh is able to capture the essence of Peter, Harriet, Bunter, their friends and family. I think Dorothy L. Sayers would approve.

Reviewed by Doris Ann Norris, March 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

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