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Summary: Advertisement Reads:
Review: SHOCKINGLY GOOD TALE! I enjoyed this Wimsey novel to its fullest, with its quirky and witty humor. The little references to other literary characters and tales is a delight for those who know them, and the witticisms ae absolutely smashing! You just can't put it down! Wimsey is at his peak, making a spectacular mark in the mystery genre. The cricket match has to be one of my favorite parts in the entire book--but of course, I cannot spoil the fun and tell you what happens, now, can I? I shall have to leave it all up to you to decide.I simply loved this one by Sayers; it sparkles of wit and creative writing. Her different perspectives of Wimsey from three different people's POVs is just too entertaining! You'll love this book from beginning to end!
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Summary: Easily one of Sayers' best!
Review: The puzzle is clever, the satire is biting, and the jazz underworld atmosphere is fascinating. I just wasn't sure if I was going to survive that cricket match!
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Summary: Sayers at her best
Review: This has to be my favorite Dorothy L. Sayers mystery. It is Sayers at her most witty and amusing. She has cleverly weaved several threads of storyline into one perfect book, building up the suspense into a neat ending. She manages to make Lord Peter Wimsey still human and realistic, despite being amazingly good at everything he turns his hand to. There are lots of great twists on words and phrases, which make the book fun to read more than once, less for the murder mystery than for the savouring of all the little details and dialogues. Enjoy!
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Summary: A good bit of fun and truly "Wimsical"
Review: This is my all-time favorite Lord Peter Wimsey mystery so far. It's incredibly funny, and satisfyingly twisty, with so many red herrings that I'd considered and discarded the villain because he seemed to simple... It's set at an advertising agency, where a young copywriter has met his untimely demise in an (apparent) accident. But the head of the agency is suspicious of fowl play, and thus Lord Peter is brought in to investigate. The dialogue sparkles and the whole thing, especially all of the goings-on at the ad agency, is as endlessly amusing as a good gossip session. I've learned from other reviews that this was not considered by Sayers, or by her critics, to be her most literary achievement, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it rather welcome after the more serious Nine Tailors. I would agree with other reviewers that it's maybe not the best Sayers mystery to start with, but it's an excellent one and should be utterly enjoyable to those who can stomach delightful humor and extremely serious murder in the same volume.
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Summary: Lord Peter at his most whimsical!
Review: This is one of my three favorite Lord Peter Wimsey novels (the other two are Clouds of Witness and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club), and it's my favorite of the "later period" (1930s) stories (in some part because it doesn't feature Wimsey's paramour, Harriet Vane, whom I often found rather dull). This book is Wimsey at his most whimsical, though because it is to some degree an extreme example of Wimsey's character, it's probably best enjoyed by people who have read the earlier books. Sayers apparently worked in the advertising business herself for some years, and in this story Wimsey goes undercover as "Death Bredon" (his middle names) at Pym's Publicity to investigate the death of a copy-writer who fell down a spiral staircase. As a result, Sayers pokes all kinds of fun at the advertising business, as well as drawing an enlightening sketch of what that business is like. More than one person who's read this novel has commented to me that it seems that advertising hasn't changed much in the last seventy years! The victim himself had been running with a fast, drug-taking crowd, which Wimsey infiltrates to tragicomic effect, and when his contacts with this ne'er-do-well group meet his upper-class family later on, he's put in the surreal position of... well, read the novel; the ultimate payoff of this thread is one of the funniest moments in the whole series! The book also includes a chapter featuring everyone's favorite incomprehensible English sport: A Cricket match, which as it turns out fits right in with the rest of the book in both style and outcome. The mystery itself is about average for Wimsey's adventures, and is a bit more hard-core than we'd usually expect. But that aside, this is a funny, flamboyant, and educational novel, perhaps the most rewarding overall of all of Lord Peter's stories.
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Summary: Lord Peter at his most whimsical!
Review: This is one of my three favorite Lord Peter Wimsey novels (the other two are Clouds of Witness and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club), and it's my favorite of the "later period" (1930s) stories (in some part because it doesn't feature Wimsey's paramour, Harriet Vane, whom I often found rather dull). This book is Wimsey at his most whimsical, though because it is to some degree an extreme example of Wimsey's character, it's probably best enjoyed by people who have read the earlier books. Sayers apparently worked in the advertising business herself for some years, and in this story Wimsey goes undercover as "Death Bredon" (his middle names) at Pym's Publicity to investigate the death of a copy-writer who fell down a spiral staircase. As a result, Sayers pokes all kinds of fun at the advertising business, as well as drawing an enlightening sketch of what that business is like. More than one person who's read this novel has commented to me that it seems that advertising hasn't changed much in the last seventy years! The victim himself had been running with a fast, drug-taking crowd, which Wimsey infiltrates to tragicomic effect, and when his contacts with this ne'er-do-well group meet his upper-class family later on, he's put in the surreal position of... well, read the novel; the ultimate payoff of this thread is one of the funniest moments in the whole series! The book also includes a chapter featuring everyone's favorite incomprehensible English sport: A Cricket match, which as it turns out fits right in with the rest of the book in both style and outcome. The mystery itself is about average for Wimsey's adventures, and is a bit more hard-core than we'd usually expect. But that aside, this is a funny, flamboyant, and educational novel, perhaps the most rewarding overall of all of Lord Peter's stories.
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Summary: Vintage Sayers, a great intro to the Peter Wimsey books
Review: This is the best Wimsey book not featuring sometime-fellow-sleuth Harriet Vane which Sayers ever wrote. Not terribly serious, but great entertainment. I've read this book 6 times because it's just so much fun. Written in 1933, IMHO Sayers' prime, Wimsey is far more human and less of a caricature than in the early books, but much less goopy than in her latest books. The dialogue is a treat, even minor characters are exquisitely drawn, and the in-jokes at the advertising biz (Sayers worked as a copywriter herself for a while) are utterly hilarious. Plus, there's a puzzling, neatly-solved mystery. And even though I don't play cricket and don't understand the game, I adored the pivotal cricket game scene: Sayers at her best. My only complaint is the total absence of the delightful Bunter. THis is definitely the book to read first if you'r e interested in Sayers. Then read the Strong Poison-Have His Carcase-Gaudy Night trilogy. These are, IMHO, her four best books, and of the four, Murder Must Advertise is definitely the most charming and light-hearted.
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Summary: Sayers Best Murder
Review: Tightly written and featuring Sayers' gentlemanly sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey at his self-mocking best, Murder Must Advertise is generally regarded as Sayers' finest work in the genre. Several of Sayers murder mysteries--most notably Gaudy Night--achieve much of their effect via unusual settings and atmosphere, and Murder Must Advertise presents us with a mystery set in a 1930s advertising agency, a circumstance that not only gives the reader insight into a world that the author knew first-hand, but allows Sayers to satirize the business of advertising itself. Charming, witty, peopled with interesting characters doing interesting things, and thoroughly fun to read.
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Summary: Sayers Best Murder
Review: Tightly written and featuring Sayers' gentlemanly sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey at his self-mocking best, Murder Must Advertise is generally regarded as Sayers' finest work in the genre. Several of Sayers murder mysteries--most notably Gaudy Night--achieve much of their effect via unusual settings and atmosphere, and Murder Must Advertise presents us with a mystery set in a 1930s advertising agency, a circumstance that not only gives the reader insight into a world that the author knew first-hand, but allows Sayers to satirize the business of advertising itself. Charming, witty, peopled with interesting characters doing interesting things, and thoroughly fun to read.
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Summary: Whimsical murder mystery at its best
Review: Victor Dean worked at an advertising agency in London. Then Victor Dean died at an advertising agency in London. Accident? Murder? That's what Lord Peter Wimsey is asked to find out. Shortly after Dean's death, he is replaced by copywriter Death Bredon. That's pronounced "Deeth", by the way. Bredon soon gets down to the business of writing copy ads. We find out that Victor Dean fell down a steep flight of stairs, that he had fought with various members of the ad agency, that when you are advertising for margerine you shouldn't mention butter, and that if you write 'from' instead of 'with' you will cause your client a great deal of anguish. We also discover that something fishy is going on at Pym's Advertising Agency, which somehow ties in with London's thriving cocaine smuggling industry. Soon we're wrapped up in advertising slogans, tea and cake costs, catapult snatching, Whiffling Round Britain, Harlequins in trees, cricket games, and that unfortunate incident where Mr. Death Bredon runs into Lord Peter Wimsey. This is one of Dorothy Sayer's most entertaining, amusing mysteries featuring Peter Wimsey.
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