Forgotten Book - The Five Red Herrings

After my visit to Galloway, it seems only right to devote today's retrospective to Dorothy L. Sayers' The Five Red Herrings, although it is very far from a forgotten book. Indeed, I doubt it has ever been out of print. The book was originally called Suspicious Characters in the US and sometimes the definite article is omitted from UK editions, as it was when the story was adapted for television by Anthony Steven almost half a century ago.  

Sayers agonised over the title - quite rightly, she cared about her titles and hers were usually memorable. She wanted to call this book Six Suspects, but someone beat her to it (long before Vikas Swarup wrote his bestseller with that title). In fact, I think she finished up with a very good title, whether or not you include the definite article. 

Her intention was to write a puzzle plot story, a whodunit with strong leanings towards the Freeman Wills Crofts style of mystery. While she was working on the book, she was in touch with Crofts - a fellow founder member of the Detection Club - and learned to her dismay that he was working on a book set partly in the same area of Scotland. This was Sir John Magill's Last Journey, which I reviewed here way back in 2010. The two stories are very different, however, and Sayers was determined to ensure that her publisher gave her a better map of the area than appeared in the Crofts title. She got her way, naturally.

The great strength of this novel lies in its evocation of the artists' colony and the way of life in what is still a relatively traditional community. Sayers took pains over the construction of her puzzle, as she took pains over all her creative endeavours, but I'm afraid it's not a compelling mystery. Constructing a whodunit wasn't her forte - she was a very, very different writer from her friend Agatha Christie. The TV version is in many respects an improvement on the book. Nevertheless, the story offers a wonderful illustration of her ability to conjure up a believable and compelling setting.