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Dorothy L. Sayers
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Murder Must Advertise: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) Paperback – December 2, 2014

by Dorothy L. Sayers (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,059 ratings
See all formats and editions
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The great Dorothy L. Sayers's classic tale of murder and scandal at a chic London advertising agency, featuring the dashing and brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey.

When executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the iron staircase at Pym's Publicity, a posh London ad agency, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to investigate. Before his tragic demise, the victim had tried to warn Mr. Pym, the firm's owner, about some scandalous behavior involving his employees.

Posing as a new copywriter, Wimsey discovers that Dean was part of an unsavory crowd at Pym's whose recreational habits link them to the criminal underworld. With time running out and the body count rising, Wimsey must rush to find the truth before his identity is discovered and a determined killer strikes again.

Previous page
  1. Book 10 of 15
    The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Paperbacks
  5. Publication date
    December 2, 2014
  6. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0062341650
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0062341655
  9. Lexile measure
    860L
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the greatest mystery story writers of the twentieth century.” — Los Angeles Times

“The Wimsey books are literate and delightful mysteries.” — Chicago Tribune

“She brought to the detective novel originality, intelligence, energy and wit.” — P.D. James

“I admire her novels ... she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail.” — Ruth Rendell

From the Back Cover

Dorothy L. Sayers classic tale of murder and scandal at a chic London advertising agency, featuring the dashing and brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey

When executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the iron staircase at Pym's Publicity, a posh London ad agency, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to investigate. Before his tragic demise, the victim had tried to warn Mr. Pym, the firm's owner, about some scandalous behavior involving his employees.

Posing as a new copywriter, Wimsey discovers that Dean was part of an unsavory crowd at Pym's whose recreational habits link them to the criminal underworld. With time running out and the body count rising, Wimsey must rush to find the truth before his identity is discovered and a determined killer strikes again.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Paperbacks (December 2, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062341650
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062341655
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 860L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,059 ratings

About the author

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Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy L. Sayers

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Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) was a playwright, scholar, and acclaimed author of mysteries, best known for her books starring the gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

Born in Oxford, England, Sayers, whose father was a reverend, grew up in the Bluntisham rectory and won a scholarship to Oxford University where she studied modern languages and worked at the publishing house Blackwell's, which published her first book of poetry in 1916.

Years later, working as an advertising copywriter, Sayers began work on Whose Body?, a mystery novel featuring dapper detective Lord Peter Wimsey. Over the next two decades, Sayers published ten more Wimsey novels and several short stories, crafting a character whose complexity was unusual for the mystery novels of the time.

In 1936, Sayers brought Lord Peter Wimsey to the stage in a production of Busman's Honeymoon, a story which she would publish as a novel the following year. The play was so successful that she gave up mystery writing to focus on the stage, producing a series of religious works culminating in The Man Born to Be King (1941) a radio drama about the life of Jesus.

She also wrote theological essays and criticism during and after World War II, and in 1949 published the first volume of a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (which she considered to be her best work).

Dorothy Sayers died of a heart attack in 1957.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
3,059 global ratings
Stained and covered in food particles
1 Star
Stained and covered in food particles
I understand this is a used book but, it was covered in food particles and grease throughout the book. I am not a germaphobe but this is disgusting. I was so embarrassed when I opened it to read on the plane
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Top reviews from the United States

Rapatee
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024
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This is the first book I've read by Dorothy Sayers, but it will by no means be my last. Lord Peter Wimsey made a very good undercover detective in this book. I'm going to read other books in this series starting with the first one.
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Hungryhippo
4.0 out of 5 stars Good detective fiction with lots of disturbing racism thrown in
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2015
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I can't seem to stop reading the Lord Peter Wimsey stories and this is really the best of the non Harriet Vane stories. The supporting characters are well drawn, the story itself has a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and the writing has lots of timeless insights into the drug trade and advertising. But, and I find this to be the case with all of the Wimsey stories but especially the early ones, there is a lot of casual uncommented on racism. References to dangerous "Slit-eyed Chinamen", the n-word, and at best a benevolently condescending attitude to Jews are all on display throughout the stories. I know that Dorothy Sayers was a product of her time and her sentiments were widely shared by her contemporaries but it personally takes me out of the experience of the stories.
One person found this helpful
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Dr. Elizabeth Leeper
5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and enthralling
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
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If you are familiar with Peter Whimsy, you'll love this book. If you' re a newbie, this is an excellent introduct hiion to the incomparable Lord Peter Whimsy. Read and enjoy.
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Cydni Perkins
5.0 out of 5 stars This story is so much fun!
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2016
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As I was reading this book I kept thinking to myself, "Now Sayers has hit her stride. Now she's at the top of her game." I say that each time I read on of her books because they get better and better as the series progresses, but I always sincerely mean it. This book is awesome. So much fun. So much of that wry, dry British humor that I love. It's a really masterful bit of detective fiction in which we see our hero functioning as a working man rather than a man of leisure. I did have a bit of trouble following along with the cricket match at the end because I know very little about the game and I kept visualizing baseball, but that was only one chapter and it didn't really bother me. If you skim that part, be sure to at least read the last couple pages of the chapter because something important will happen at the conclusion of the game. The only thing I really disliked was that the villains are part of one of those incredibly deadly secret societies that were so popular in 1930's Britain, but I feel as if I couldn't have expected Sayers to avoid that plot device forever. It was too ubiquitous. Still, this story was so much fun to read that I would highly recommend it to fans of old fashioned detective fiction.
9 people found this helpful
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Duncan
3.0 out of 5 stars Wimsey Wins Again
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2012
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Dorothy Sayers enthusiasts will love this book. They will overlook the turgid pace of this 'police procedural' because they truly believe Ms. Sayers is a writer whose talent surpasses the genre. There are others who will have difficulty either staying awake or not skipping large chunks of text. There is no question that Ms. Sayers has talent and writes in an educated way. The main problem with the novel is not her sometimes florid prose. There are readers of the mystery or police procedural who see Dorothy Sayers as an immense talent.
Many others including this writer feel that her slow moving style detracts from the essential story. She can be pedantic, too conscious of her style, and often examines plot bylines that are of little interest to the reader. The character Lord Peter Wimsey, her protagonist, is well drawn and readers of this genre can easily suspend disbelief. This suspension of disbelief is necessary in the case of Wimsey, readers of mysteries do this with authors as diverse as Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin. The superman/woman character is a necessary to an effective police procedural. Poirot and Rebus prove that point. When Dorothy Sayers asks the reader to extend the suspension of disbelief to other characters many of them minor she goes to far. In doing so she loses readers.
Dorothy Sayers occupies a strong historical place in the 'police procedural' genre but so does Ed McBain. My personal view notwithstanding her work will continue to attract and fascinate a portion of readers of mysteries. Elizabeth George is often quoted concerning her desire to be mentioned in the same breath a Dorothy Sayers. George sells herself short.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Testimonial from a satisfied customer
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
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Murder Must Advertise is one of my favorite Dorothy Sayers' books. I reread
it every couple of years, not for the who-done-it, of course. It's a cynical, yet light-hearted look at the advertising profession from an insider's view. Ms. Sayers actually worked at an advertising firm before her writing took off.
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Bonnie
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2021
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E English mysteries are great fun. Witty andclever. Kinsey is a wonderful character. And the plot is engaging and fun
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jason Horn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great product!
Reviewed in Canada on February 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
GREAT PRODUCT!! I've bought some other Dorothy S. Sayers novels, and because a lot of her works are in the public domain, they were pretty cheap/budget copies. Missing page numbers. Pixelated images. An author photo of a completely different person.

BUT THIS copy is FANTASTIC!!! Quality binding. Great, new-book smell. Great price. Speedy delivery. What a wonderful purchase. I'm only 50 pages in, and I'm already hooked on the story.
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Tatiana
5.0 out of 5 stars Qualidade do papel poderia ser melhor.
Reviewed in Brazil on July 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Uma leitura prazerosa para fãs de mistérios. Livro britânico então a leitura fica menos fluida para quem está acostumado com livros em inglês americano. Já a qualidade do livro físico deixa a desejar, ele é leve mas o papel é bem ruim.
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Regina Gottwald
5.0 out of 5 stars Die beste Krimiautorin die ich kenne.
Reviewed in Germany on October 15, 2023
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Es ist meine persönliche Lieblingsgeschichte von der Sayers deshalb habe ich sie meiner Schwiegertochter zum Geburtstag geschenkt, in englisch ,weil sie lieber englisch als Deutsch liest.
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Mohit Nirula
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, if only to relive an era gone by...
Reviewed in India on April 17, 2021
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The plot is good, the characters are well defined, the pace is leisurely. It is the writing. It is sublime.
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april
5.0 out of 5 stars her best?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2020
Verified Purchase
well written, well paced, well plotted, brisk, witty, fun, with good setting, good characters, and no intruding, annoying love story...one small irritation, which the editors ought to have caught...the casual use of a racial epithet, as an aside, in a conversation...and sayers' own class prejudice comes across quite clearly in the depictions of the various characters...the central plot is quite flimsy, but once you get past that hurdle, it is a fun ride...
One person found this helpful
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