Lord Peter Wimsey, famous amateur detective, ends up in Fenchurch St. Paul when his car suffers a broken axle. While there, he gets to know the locals and even partakes in a bell ringing event. Bell ringing is a big deal in parts of Britain and the title of this book refers to a bell being rung nine times to announce the death of a man (not a woman or a child). While there, a local woman, Lady Thorpe, dies. Wimsey also hears about a robbery of an expensive necklace that caused the Thorn family much distress when it was revealed that their butler, Deacon, was involved. Deacon went to prison, along with his accomplice, Cranton and the Thorpes had to pay the woman whose necklace was stolen because she carried no insurance on it. The necklace was never recovered and it is assumed it was hidden in Fenchurch St. Paul by Cranton and/or Deacon.
Wimsey's car is soon fixed and he is once again on his way. But a few months later Lord Thorpe also passes away. He had requested to buried in his wife's grave and when the dirt was removed from the grave, the body of a man was discovered to be in it on top of Lady Thorpe's coffin. The body's face is mashed in and the hands cut off and missing. Due to his passing acquaintance with the Thorpes, Wimsey is back in Fenchurch St. Paul to attend the funeral. But this unexpected body of course needs to be investigated and Wimsey is welcome by the local officials to help. He soon figures out that the dead man was held captive in the church bell tower.
Such care was taken to hid the dead man's identity. But discovering who he was is key to figuring out why he died. And it also may lead to tracking down the missing necklace. Which would be good news to the remaining Thorpe, a teenage girl, whose family finances were devastated by having to reimburse the owner of the necklace for its loss.
This was an OK story. The main problem is the bells. The author really liked writing about those bells and how they are rung in a mathematical progression. For example:
"'The ninth lead should bring Queen's change—let me see, let me see—51732468, 15734286—that's the first thirds and fourths all right—51372468, 15374286—and that's the first fourths and thirds—13547826—ah! here is the trouble! The eighth should be at home. What has happened?—To be sure! What a beetle-headed cuckoo I am! He has forgotten to make the bob. She can't come home till she's called.' He ran a red-ink line down the page and started to write figures furiously. 'There! 51372468, 15374286—and now she comes home like a bird!—13572468. That's better. Now it should come round at the second repeat. I will just check it. Second to fifth, third to second—yes, yes—that brings 15263748, with Tittums at the end of the second course, and repeated once again brings it round. I will just jot down the lead-ends for him to check it by. Second to third, third to fifth, fourth to second, fifth to seventh, sixth to fourth, seventh to eighth, eighth to sixth for the plain lead. Then the bob. Plain, bob, bob, three plain and a bob.'"
This is just nuts. And annoying to read. Especially for those of us who don't know what change-ringing is. But Sayers did and I guess she loved it.
Another thing that I didn't care for was how she [spoiler] brings a dead person back to life, in effect. We are told over and over that this person is dead, proven to be dead, in fact, no question about it. Dead, dead, dead. Not so dead, it turns out.
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