Murder Must Advertise

By Dorothy L. Sayers

Mad Men weren’t the first advertisers with dark secrets.
 
When an advertising copywriter is murdered under suspicious circumstances, Lord Peter Wimsey must go undercover to solve the case; by day, as a respected member of an advertising agency, and by night, as a wild bohemian. When he starts to sniff out evidence of a cocaine ring connected to the murder, things become rather more dangerous than Lord Peter bargained for.
 
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9780771060465

Dorothy L. Sayers

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.

Reviews for Murder Must Advertise

[alanteder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wimsey UndercoverReview of the Hodder & Stoughton paperback (2016) reissue of the Victor Gollancz "Murder Must Advertise" (1933) originalThere is a lot of fun to be had in this 1930's Golden Age mystery set in an advertising agency. Dorothy Sayers had the full background experience to write this as she herself had worked as an advertising copywriter for many years and builds an office full of quirky character types from it.She puts her amateur detective character Lord Peter Wimsey into the mix playing his own invented cousin Death (pronounced as two syllables: De-ath) Bredon who joins the firm as a fledgling copywriter while secretly working to solve the mystery behind the death of his predecessor. On the way there are office secrets & politics, the charming recruitment of an office delivery boy as junior detective, some experimental stream of consciousness writing, an wild party orgy, a drugs gang, several more murders, a cricket match and more advertising jingles than you could ever imagine.

[phyllis2779 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Previously read years ago but I purchased a Kindle copy because I remember it fondly.

[kaulsu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The idea behind the mystery was interesting, but the book bogged down often in just way too much detail. I’m sure readers from ex-British colonial countries (as well, of course, U. K.) probably enjoyed the long play-by-play chapter about a match. I suppose I’m lucky it wasn’t a 5-day event.

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I usually enjoy Sayers, and maybe I shouldn't have read this immediately after "Busman's Honeymoon" which was amazing. All the details of operations at a 1930s London advertising agency seemed to date the work. Usually, the period details seem like fun background for the main story, but in this one, I just felt tired out. Also, a major revelation comes during an incredibly long, detailed description of a cricket match, which again was tiresome to me, although it wouldn't necessarily seem so to another reader. A good solid working out of the story and motivations, but nothing special considering the author's other works.

[cissa_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my favorite Wimsey novel that does not include Harriet.While the world of advertising 100 years ago is somewhat dated to our eyes- it's also amazing how fresh it is! Sayers has a lot of fun with the ridiculous elements of the industry.And, of course, there's a murder. And Lord Peter must go undercover as his wastrel distant relation, and get all caught up in things that are well below His Lordship's dignity- though Peter seems to be having a grand time.I'd put it right up there with "Gaudy Night" as among Sayer's best.

[judithproctor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely one of my favourite Sayer's novels.The atmosphere of the advertising agency is perfectly captured. Reading this for about the third time, I caught something I'd previously missed - a passing reference to the 'Mustard Club' which was a real advertising campaign that Sayers herself worked on.

[comixminx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Old fave, re-read.

[chrisriesbeck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Classic Sayers. The mystery is nothing exciting, the backbone is a disappointingly standard hunt to discover the workings of a drug smuggling ring, and, for us Americans, the cricket game goes on for way too long near the end. But the witty dialog is there, things move at a fine pace, and the take on advertising and its role in society is as relevant as ever, even though the media have changed.

[riverwillow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, as Lord Peter goes undercover at an ad agency to investigate the mystery of why one of the copywriters fell to his death on a spiral iron staircase. Dorothy L. Sayers has a lot of fun with her subject and her setting, one she would have known well from her own career in advertising, as she contrasts this with the empty world of the bright young things. Superb.

[majorbabs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My alltime favorite British mystery. What Sayers (who worked in an ad agency) had to say about this form of communication is still right on target today. Witty and fun.

[ragwaine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Whimsy is great, not just a murder, probably better on tape because of accents.

[cameling_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a delightful romp with Lord Peter Wimsey, a detective who goes undercover into Pym's Publicity to find out what, if anything underhand is going on in that most upstanding and reputable advertising agency that could have caused the death of not just one but 5 individuals.It's as delightful and cosy a read as others in the series, and this doesn't fail to entertain.

[lara335 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Insight into the world and ethics of an advertising agency, with a murder mystery thrown in. Sayers ruminates interestingly on the purpose and desirability of advertising - as pertinent today as when it was written. Could have done without the l-o-n-g cricket match description though.

[intemerata · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My second-favourite Wimsey story (after Gaudy Night), mostly because both Sayers and Lord Peter seem to be having so much fun in the advertising agency.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading this novel I get why people praise Dorothy Sayers not just as some clever puzzle-maker, creator of a classic detective or a mere mystery writer, but as a fine novelist who wrote works that can be called literature. In this story, after a half-finished letter implying corruption is found among the effects of a seeming accident victim, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover in an advertising agency to investigate. Dorothy Sayers herself worked as a copy-writer in an advertising agency, and it shows in the details of the workings of the agency and the theme throughout of the ethical complexities, nay, more like the ethical shortcomings, of the business: "Of course there is some truth in advertising. There's yeast in bread, but you can't make bread with yeast alone. Truth in advertising," announced Lord Peter sententiously, "is like leaven, which a woman hid in three measures of meal. It provides a suitable quantity of gas, with which to blow out a mass of crude misrepresentation into a form that the public can swallow."There are also the running themes of class distinctions based on education and the futility of the drug war. The book seems quite relevant still today. There's also a sophisticated style apparent at times--even some passages that use the stream-of-consciousness technique. For all that I don't want you to think this makes for dry reading. As with all of Sayers' books, there's plenty of wit and humor to be found. Particularly striking in that regard is the boy Ginger Joe, who aspires to be a detective and the incident with Mr Copley, where his view of himself as savior of the firm is punctured the next day. Sayers paints a deliciously comic yet insightful picture of office politics among a murder investigation. Unfortunately, as is often the case with the Sayers books I've read, not everything comes across as credible (the identical cousins subplot made me raise my eyebrows almost to my hairline), but this one did have a clever resolution. Not so much as to who--Sayers tips her hat to that fairly early--as to how. A clever, enjoyable, and thoughtful novel.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sayers is a uniquely literate mystery novelist who blends a fast-moving plot with romance and humor. Lord Peter is a wonderfully affable detective!

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My overall favorite among the Wimsey novels despite strong competition from Clouds of Witness among others. The advertising agency dialog (based, I gather on Sayers' own experience) is brilliantly done, and the plotline is very clever, while the villain is, in his own way, admirable. The cricket match scene is also delightful. This edition has a picture of hero from the TV version on the cover. I thought at the time that he looked far too old and unglamorous --I could not imagine him impressing Diane de Mommerie. Still, I noticed this time rereading the opening that Death Bredon is described as "as well-preserved forty" so perhaps the TV version was not as unsuitable as I thought. I still feel Death's actions and the reactions of women to him --not just Diane but Pamela Dean --suggest someone much more exciting. (Pamela's tentative attractive to Death is beautifully understated, as is the act that she only accepts another man's proposal at the moment when it appears Death has been arrested for murder.)

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lord Peter Wimsey, using his middle names (Death Bredon), takes a job at an advertising agency after one of the copy-writers (Victor Dean) is killed in a suspicious fall down an iron staircase at work. The dead man's sister finds a letter to the owner of the agency (Mr Pym), written by her brother, suggesting that something criminal is going on there and Mr Pym asks Wimsey to investigate. Naturally Wimsey turns out to have a flair for copy-writing and fits right in. His investigations link up with a cocaine supply ring and the murder of Victor Dean become a bit of a side issue.As ever, some bits were better than others. The work of an advertising agency was throughly explained and generally interesting, as were the various musings on the nature of advertising generally (e.g. the rich just buy whatever they want when they want - advertising is aimed at those who strive). I loved the chapter where Wimsey gets carried away at the firm cricket match and hits the ball all over the place and more or less blows his cover. On the other hand, the sections with Dian de Momerie were unpleasant (and Wimsey was very unpleasant to her) and there were rather too many staff members at Pym's to keep on top of. I'm not a big fan of the "offering the baddie a way out that doesn't involve the publicity of a trial" conclusion either. Also, (next to) no Harriet, although Lady Mary's scenes were a nice touch and she was instrumental in resolving matters.

[lynsey2-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun, entertaining read but never really grabbed my full attention.

[thesmellofbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I understand that Sayers herself worked in an advertising agency. It isn't surprising, given the detail and feeling for the place shown here. What is wonderful is that this takes place in the '30's, and the workings of a then-modern ad agency are fascinating from this distance. A touch of tightening might have benefitted the book but it is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it--language, wit, situation, whimsey, Wimsey, and all.

[worrellw_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like the main character, Lord Peter Wimsey. I got lost in the description of the cricket match although I was able to follow what was a good thing and what was bad. And who could not be entertained by a line like "What-ho! That absolutely whangs the nail over the crumpet."?

[laurierking · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful language, gloriously ridiculous plots, and the first to bring the emotional life of her characters into the fore of the mystery. (Even though she did insist on apologizing for it.)

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite Lord Peter novels without Harriet. Peter is almost a superhero. A provacative statement about the world of advertising and its uses and abuses. A new worker by the name of Bredon is hired soon after the death of an employee and he seems uncommonly nosey. Not content to leave well enough alone, he keeps bringing up the death and probing into other's affairs. He may be a shady character as well. He seems to hang out with the wrong sort of people in the evenings and bears an uncanny likeness to a notorious peer of the realm.

[smiley_13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lord Peter does impersonations. One of Sayers' best Lord Peter Wimsey books. Clever murder plot that holds together until about 50 pages to go. Sly and witty commentary on advertising. Enjoyable.

[wendyrey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well crafted detective novel.Set mainly in a 1930's advertising agency where some of the staff are heavily involved in cocaine smuggling and dealing. (and you thought that was a modern thing)Excellent read.

[cmbohn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lord Peter Wimsey investigates the death of a advertising man.

[kadri-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To this Lord Peter fan, this is perhaps one of the best in the series - Sayers at her gently sarcastic best. The ducal family figures less in it than in some others.

[mmyoung_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the middle of what might almost seem a playful romp is a rather modern and chilling description of the pressures of the middle-class trying to keep up with the class and social aspirations. And then, if you look closely, underneath everything is a surprisingly noirish story.

[jthierer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good British mystery. The main character was likable without being preternaturally smart. My only complaint was the drawn out cricket match that I just couldn't follow.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my favourite Wimsey's. Love the colour of the advertising agency and the bright young things. And the human sympathy to the murderer - Sayers is no snob.