# Mr. Parker — Whose Body? character guide

> Mr. Parker in Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Parker, Detective Parker

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

A Scotland Yard detective of upholsterer stock who bears up under aristocratic carpets and cigar ash, methodically assembling facts while his titled friend skips ahead.

## Who they are

Parker is the professional policeman in the partnership, a man of patient method who takes statements, measures footprints, and reasons from evidence rather than intuition. He moves awkwardly among the great, conscious of the price of the carpet he is spilling ash on, yet he is the one who coolly reconstructs the murdered man's class and habits from a single bath. His steady, unglamorous labour gives the investigation its spine, and his friendship with Wimsey its friction.

## Relationships

### [Lord Peter Wimsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/lord_peter_wimsey)

_friendship_

Close friends and amateur detective partners, with Parker often assisting Wimsey in investigations.

### [Sir Julian Freke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/sir_julian_freke)

_professional_

Parker, a police detective, interacts with Sir Julian Freke as a suspect and professional acquaintance during the murder investigation.

### [Sir Reuben Levy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/sir_reuben_levy)

_professional_

Parker investigates Sir Reuben Levy's case as a police detective, gathering evidence about his death.

### [Bunter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/bunter)

_friendship_

Bunter and Parker share a cordial, cooperative relationship, often working together to assist Lord Peter.

### [Lord Peter Wimsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/lord_peter_wimsey)

_friendship_

Close friends and amateur detective partners, with Parker often assisting Wimsey in investigations.

### [Lord Peter Wimsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/lord_peter_wimsey)

_friendship_

Close friends and amateur detective partners, with Parker often assisting Wimsey in investigations.

### [Sir Julian Freke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/sir_julian_freke)

_professional_

Parker, a police detective, interacts with Sir Julian Freke as a suspect and professional acquaintance during the murder investigation.

### [Sir Reuben Levy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/sir_reuben_levy)

_professional_

Parker investigates Sir Reuben Levy's case as a police detective, gathering evidence about his death.

### [Sir Julian Freke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/sir_julian_freke)

_professional_

Parker, a police detective, interacts with Sir Julian Freke as a suspect and professional acquaintance during the murder investigation.

### [Bunter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/bunter)

_friendship_

Bunter and Parker share a cordial, cooperative relationship, often working together to assist Lord Peter.

### [Bunter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/bunter)

_friendship_

Bunter and Parker share a cordial, cooperative relationship, often working together to assist Lord Peter.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/ii)

Visits Wimsey, discusses the disappearance of Sir Reuben Levy, and listens to Wimsey's detailed analysis of the body in the bath.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/iii)

Expected to join Lord Peter for breakfast in town.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/iv)

Searches the roofs of Queen Caroline Mansions for evidence, finds shreds of cloth, and later examines Sir Reuben Levy's papers.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/v)

Awakens to burnt porridge and a raw fog, then visits Lord Peter for breakfast. Later discusses the case and blackmail with Wimsey.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/vi)

Attends the inquest, secures a front seat next to the Dowager Duchess, and observes the proceedings.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/vii)

Engages in a philosophical debate with Wimsey, summarizes the inquest and medical evidence, and reveals his interview with Sir Julian Freke and discovery of Freke's stock dealings.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/ix)

Summoned to 110 Piccadilly, he receives instructions from Lord Peter to circulate the corpse description and to investigate St. Luke's Hospital.

### [The Net Closes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/x)

Assists in the investigation by interviewing Mr. Piggott and securing an exhumation order; dismisses Wimsey's warning about danger.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/xi)

Grudgingly handles the routine police work while Lord Peter pursues his own line of inquiry.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/xii)

Accompanies Wimsey at the exhumation, escorts Lady Levy to her car, and later reads Origen at Piccadilly.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/xiii)

Reads the confession with Lord Peter and comments on Freke's vanity.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/chapters/endnotes)

Noted for his private belief about the provenance of Lord Peter's Naples folio of Dante.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters/mr_parker
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/whose_body_se/characters