Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey Series), A Favorite!

This book really represents all the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries (though Gaudy Night is actually my favorite, you shouldn't just jump in here). So what you're really getting is a Lord Peter series review! Lucky you!
So the story is, Lord Peter is a wealthy British aristocrat with keen intelligence, a bumbling manner which hides his ruthlessness and a faithful manservant. So basically, he's the coolest. Jilted by his fiance (who isn't even in the stories, which is good, because who in their right mind would dump Lord Peter?), with a sense of public duty and a drive for truth Lord Peter investigates cases with aplomb and sophistication.

The good stuff: These books are full of fascinating ideas and interesting principles (which is pretty much a different way of saying the same thing). I've read them many times, and I still don't understand all of the things they're talking about, in a good way. And all the subject manner of the mysteries is not icky or anything.

The not so hot stuff: These books were written in the twenties and thirties for a twenties and thirties British audience. Even I (I consider myself to have a pretty good grasp on British culture, I mean, I watch BBC) sometimes have a hard time understanding quite what they are saying. Especially the references to literature! I've given up on those. Lord Peter isn't exactly a moral person, he admits freely to having several mistresses (in succession, not all at once).

Why I love it: the Lord Peter books are witty and amusing, with lots of memorable characters. The writing is delightful and full of my kind of humour (hehe). Lord Peter himself is fascinating, with strange combination of flippancy, urbanity, gravity and education. These delightful books are for any lover of British fiction, mysteries or aristocracy!