Clouds of Witness cover art

Clouds of Witness

Lord Peter Wimsey Book 2

Preview

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Clouds of Witness

By: Dorothy L. Sayers
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey. His second appearance is a thrilling quest to save his own brother - the Duke of Denver - from the hangman.

The Duke of Denver, accused of murder, stands trial for his life in the House of Lords. Naturally, his brother Lord Peter Wimsey is investigating the crime - this is a family affair. The murder took place at the duke's shooting lodge and Lord Peter's sister was engaged to marry the dead man.

But why does the duke refuse to co-operate with the investigation? Can he really be guilty, or is he covering up for someone?

©1926 The Trustees of Anthony Fleming (deceased) (P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton
Classics Cosy Historical Traditional Detectives Mystery Fiction Detective Exciting

Listeners also enjoyed...

Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection Volume 1 cover art
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Dramatised) cover art
Murder Must Advertise (Dramatised) cover art
A Man Lay Dead cover art
The Crime at Black Dudley cover art
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Unabridged) cover art
The Legendary Women Detectives: 6 Classic Novelets cover art
Inspector Alan Grant: The Full Collection cover art
Death of an Author cover art
At First Light cover art
The White Priory Murders cover art
The Complete Sherlock Holmes cover art
The Secret of Chimneys cover art
The Ultimate Sherlock Holmes Collection cover art
Wicked Spirits: Mysteries, Spine Chillers and Lost Tales of the Supernatural cover art
The Christmas Card Crime cover art

Critic reviews

"She brought to the detective novel originality, intelligence, energy and wit." (P. D. James)
"D. L. Sayers is one of the best detective story writers." (E. C. Bentley, Daily Telegraph)
"I admire her novels . . . she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail" (Ruth Rendell)

What listeners say about Clouds of Witness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    92
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    39
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    96
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

god the woman is a bore when she shows off

However she was good at the twists and turns of a plot. Her characters are of her day. They are real and solid if you can make the step into a very different world that would now only be recognised by the likes oof Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, if you can get over the slightly annoying narration

I like this story for its background more than its plot - it is not as satisfying a mystery as some of the others, and has quite a few coincidental red herring - but it brings Peter somewhat closer to his family and sets up future plot lines nicely. As mentioned by other reviewers, the narration is rather irritating, I agree entirely with their comments so won't repeat them. However I'd say that I got used to the style after a while so it became less grating. Though the downright errors still did annoy (eg mispronunciations which would take just a little research to have got right, and saying "first" instead of "fist", and "word" instead of "Lord"). Saying all that, I would probably have overlooked these if it weren't for the price tag of over £20.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Clouds of Witness

This is the first Lord Peter Wimpsy stories which are great detective stories, brilliantly read by Jane MaDowell

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointing characterisation

I was a little disappointed by the performance of the reader which brought little life to the familiar characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narrator Lets it Down

What did you like best about Clouds of Witness? What did you like least?

The twisting plot is interesting and you learn more of the history of the main character.

Any additional comments?

Like other reviewers, I really felt that the narrator was not the best choice for this book. The range of characters are not well demonstrated by the required dialects, or indeed changes in voice.

Maybe because this was written in a different era, but I found the story a bit boring in places, although the overall outcome was interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What you expect from as classic

This is a well produced and delivered piece of a classic Peter Wimsey. Always charming. Old style values and setting. Not too taxing. A pleasurable listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The narrators reading of the phonetically writtenYorkshire accents made me cringe

It’s a great story and on the whole I like this narrator. But she reads the Yorkshire accents (rendered phonetically in the book) as though she’s sight reading and has never heard a Yorkshire accent. I could barely follow the thread of the story at that point - and took to shouting the correct pronunciations at the speaker. This didn’t totally ruin the fabulous story but be warned!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not the best reading

A classic crime story of the golden Age, but I did not take to the reading, lovely as the voice of the reader is. There were strange changes in emphasis mid-sentence causing the flow of the narrative to be spoilt. which is a shame. Also I may be old-fashioned but I think a male reader would have been better given the hero of the tale.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptionally good story

I really enjoyed this, even the ludicrous northern accents!! Can't wait for the next one, "Unnatural Death".

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Of its time, but why that narrator?

Marvellous story of its time but the narrator let it down big time ... She speaks French well but that's as far as it goes.
Several barely indistinguishable voices and the worst intonation I have ever heard. I will be avoiding anything else read by her.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful