The Attenbury Emeralds: Return to Golden Age Glamour in this Enthralling Gem of a Mystery

We've jumped to 1951. The world is changing, class barriers are being broken down and Peter and Harriet's son goes to school with Bunter's son, who is probably even brighter than Peter's son. Told partially as Peter and Bunter relating the events of 1921 to Harriet and partially in the present day, the story revolves around the Attenbury Emeralds. Back in 1921 Peter was a guest at the Attenbury's country house to celebrate their daughter's engagement. On the night when the engagement was due to be announced the famous Attenbury Emeralds go missing and only Lord Peter can find out where they went. Thirty years later the new Lord Attenbury comes to Peter for help, he has tried to retrieve the Attenbury Emerald from the bank to pay death duties, only to be told that it is not entirely clear whether the stone held by the bank actually belongs to Lord Attenbury. Since this book was published over a decade ago I have no scruples about expressing my issues with the plot, although I will put it in spoilers.(view spoiler) Also, what I really loved about the original books was the glimpses of that period between the wars, frankly the 1950s has never appealed to me as an era in the UK and there are some terrible blows to the Wimsey family in this book, some losses that I felt almost like the death of one of my own family.

While it's lovely to catch up with the characters and the Wimsey family story is charming, the mystery drags - especially in the middle.

An enjoyable read.