Robert Amiss is asked by Lord Papworth to manage the journal The Wrangler in order to try and streamline things and cut costs. Currently the journal is losing Papworth a great deal of money but he feels a duty to keep it going. Robert soon finds there are savings to be made without upsetting any of the staff who all appear to think they are living in a more gentlemanly age. When a member of staff is found dead with his head in a bowl of punch following one of The Wrangler’s regular parties Roberts wonders whether he was murdered. Shortly afterwards the editor, Willie Lambie Crump is found dead too and Robert finds himself sitting in the editor’s chair with Baroness Jack Troutbeck at her outspoken best providing him with copy.I loved this satirical portrait of a political magazine with its many eccentric characters with their posturing and their strongly held views. My favourite were the two warring fact checkers and the receptionist who converts to Islam and insists on being addressed as Fatima. I enjoyed reading about the minefields of political correctness which Robert had to negotiate.This book is part of a well written series of murder mysteries which each satirise a particular aspect of The Establishment with amusing results. There are deeper aspects to all the books and this one is no exception. Matters of conscience and the difficulty of living up to ones principles present problems for the characters even while hilarious incidents are keeping the reader entertained. This is the second time I have read this book and it stands up very well to a second reading.
This is a great entry in the Robert Amiss series by Edwards. Robert goes to work as a sort of cost-analysis person at a very Tory publication, and of course a couple of murders ensue. Baroness Troutbeck has a smaller role in this than in some of the other entries, and I think that improves the book. She is such a huge character that she overwhelms the reader very quickly. We get to know Robert a bit better, and he doesn't seem quite the fatuous but likeable buffoon he has sometimes seemed before. Those flashes of intelligence seen in other entries are brought to the fore here. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to all fans of Sayers. One scene in this book is screamingly funny. By the way, does anyone know what "pseud" means in current British slang? I'm presuming it means pseudo-intellectual, but I could be completely off-base.
