Discreet witnesses

Discrete witnesses , also Lord Peter's worst case is a crime novel by Dorothy L. Sayers published in German by Scherz Verlag in 1954 . The English original was published under the title Clouds of Witness in 1926. In the book, the aristocratic amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey investigates his second case.

action

Lord Peter is on a vacation trip when he reads in the newspaper that his brother Gerald, Duke of Denver, has been arrested and accused of the murder of Captain Denis Cathcart, fiancé of his sister Lady Mary. Gerald had an argument with the captain after he found out that he had made his fortune by gambling fraud and also wanted to break the engagement to Lady Mary. According to Gerald, he got up at night to go for a walk and discovered Cathcart's body. Lady Mary, who was woken up by a gunshot, saw Gerald standing next to the body and immediately accused her brother of "killing him".

Lord Peter goes immediately to Riddlesdale, the scene of the incident, to do his own research. He and Inspector Parker find evidence that another person must have been present at the scene. It turns out that Lady Mary intended to run away with her secret lover Goyles that night. Gerald, on the other hand, had returned at this late hour from a date with Mrs. Grimethorpe, the wife of a tyrannical and brutal peasant. But the Duke wants to cover his lover at all costs and is silent. The most impressive scene in the novel is the depiction of the court hearing in the House of Lords in Westminster, where 300 peers are to decide on the guilt of one of their own and appear in full regalia. At the last moment, Lord Peter appears as a witness with the exonerating letter that he brought from America by plane.

filming

In 1972, a BBC miniseries based on the novel appeared with Ian Carmichael in the lead role of Peter.

book

• Dorothy L. Sayers: Discreet Witnesses (Lord Peter's Most Serious Case). Scherz Verlag, 1954.
• Dorothy L. Sayers: Discreet Witness. Wunderlich, 1979.