A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH

New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. First Printing, First Edition Thus. . Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. Dorothy L. Sayers, one of the great authors of the 1920s-30s Golden Age of Detectives fiction, left an unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey mystery -- "Thrones, Dominations" -- at her death in 1957. In 1998, Walsh, a Booker Prize finalist for "Knowledge of Angels" as well as the author of several mystery novels, finished Sayers' work successfully with high praise from critics and reviewers. In 2002, Walsh wrote "A Presumption of Death," based on Sayers' "Wimsey Papers," a mystery set in 1940 at the start of the Blitz in London with Wimsey and Vane coping with the city's wartime conditions. First edition thus, first printing of first U.S. edition. About 5 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches, 378 pages including acknowledgments and permissions at the end. Bound in black, paper-covered boards with gold lettering and St. Martin's logo on spine. Dustjacket's front panel shows red and tan lettering and an illustration by Chris Spollen showing a silhouetted English countryside with woman in foreground, trees and a church behind the woman and pair of airplanes, which appear to be British Spitfires, overhead. The illustration is repeated on the spine and back panel. Back panel has blurbs of praise for "Thrones and Domination" from Joyce Carol Oates, Ruth Rendell and others. Boards and text are in excellent condition with no noticeable damage or flaws. Not ex-library, not remaindered. Dustjacket is also near perfect with perhaps a touch of shelf wear. A very collectable copy.