Unnatural Death

Unnatural Death is a mystery novel by the English writer Dorothy L. Sayers, published in 1927. It is her third book featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and it appeared in the United States under the title The Dawson Pedigree.

The story begins with a conversation in a restaurant. Wimsey, his friend Detective Inspector Charles Parker and a doctor are talking, and the doctor mentions a patient of his, Miss Agatha Dawson, who was dying of cancer in the care of her great-niece and who died abruptly with no obvious cause. Miss Dawson had a strong objection to making a will, on the understanding that her only known relative would inherit regardless.

Wimsey finds the case interesting precisely because there is nothing to it, and he begins looking into it privately. He engages a private investigator, Miss Katharine Climpson, to make enquiries, and the trail leads to two former maids who had been dismissed shortly before the death and to a banknote that turns up in an unexpected place. Parker remains sceptical of the whole enterprise for longer than Wimsey does.