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Unnatural death

by Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957)

  • Free to read
  • 6 hours to read
  • 24 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"Unnatural Death" by Dorothy L. Sayers is a mystery novel published in 1927. Lord Peter Wimsey investigates the seemingly natural death of an elderly cancer patient, despite no evidence of foul play. When witnesses begin dying mysteriously and a closer relative surfaces who would inherit under new property laws, Wimsey uncovers a chilling pattern. With help from private investigator Miss Climpson, he pursues a cunning killer using an ingenious murder method—but the trail leads to unexpected connections and deadly disguises.

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  • Private investigators · England
  • Detective and mystery stories
  • Wimsey, Peter, Lord (Fictitious character), 1890-

Read the opening

Chapter I: Overheard

“_But how I caught it, found it, came by it,
What stuff ’tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn._”
Merchant of Venice

“The death was certainly sudden, unexpected, and to me mysterious.”
_Letter from Dr. Paterson to the Registrar in the case of Reg. v.
Pritchard_

“But if he thought the woman was being murdered—”

“My dear Charles,” said the young man with the monocle, “it doesn’t do for people, especially doctors, to go about ‘thinking’ things. They may get into frightful trouble. In Pritchard’s case, I consider Dr. Paterson did all he reasonably could by refusing a certificate for Mrs. Taylor and sending that uncommonly disquieting letter to the Registrar. He couldn’t help the man’s being a fool. If there had only been an inquest on Mrs. Taylor, Pritchard would probably have been frightened off and left his wife alone. After all, Paterson hadn’t a spark of real evidence. And suppose he’d been quite wrong—what a dust-up there’d have been!”

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Contents

  1. Front Matter
  2. Part I: The Medical Problem
  3. Chapter I: Overheard
  4. Chapter II: Miching Mallecho
  5. Chapter III: A Use for Spinsters
  6. Chapter IV: A Bit Mental
  7. Chapter V: Gossip
  8. Chapter VI: Found Dead
  9. Chapter VII: Ham and Brandy
  10. Chapter VIII: Concerning Crime
  11. Chapter IX: The Will
  12. Part II: The Legal Problem
  13. Chapter X: The Will Again
  14. Chapter XI: Cross-Roads
  15. Chapter XII: A Tale of Two Spinsters
  16. Chapter XIII: Hallelujah
  17. Chapter XIV: Sharp Quillets of the Low
  18. Chapter XV: Temptation of St. Peter
  19. Chapter XVI: A Cast-Iron Alibi
  20. Chapter XVII: The Country Lawyer’s Story
  21. Chapter XVIII: The London Lawyer’s Story
  22. Part III: The Medico-Legal Problem
  23. Chapter XIX: Gone Away
  24. Chapter XX: Murder
  25. Chapter XXI: By What Means?
  26. Chapter XXII: A Case of Conscience
  27. Chapter XXIII: — And Smote Him, Thus

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About this edition

This free edition of Unnatural death by Dorothy L. Sayers comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #70008, released 2023-02-10. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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