Dorothy Sayers, Murder Must Advertise

I have been rediscovering my love for great mystery stories over the past few years. Great mysteries like those of Arthur Conan Doyle, or even the Hardy Boys, make for great reading, and sparked my love for reading years ago. And I have now embared on a new author, Dorothy Sayers. Very much in the vane of P. D. James, Sayers leads us on an interesting study of details and personalities, all the while building a dynamic and interesting main character, Lord Peter Whimsey.

In Murder Must Advertise, Whimsey is called in to investigate a questionable death at Pym's Publicity, a prominent London advertising agency. Victor Dean, one of the copywriters falls down a particularly precarious set of stairs. And most people assume the death to simply be an accident, but the owner of the agency, Mr. Pym, calls in Whimsey to investigate the circumstances anyway. To undertake his investigation, Whimsey goes undercover as a new copywrighter, Death Bredon. In his new role, he is able to get an inside look on the people at Pyms. He is also able to hear first hand accounts of where people were and what they saw on the day of Victor's death. He rather quickly concludes that the death was no accident. His investigation uncovers a series of strange relationships, including a number of indicators that lead him to believe a major drug-smuggling ring is being directed from Pyms.

A last-minute change in one of the weekly ad headlines in a local paper causes quite a stir at the agency, more of a stir than is justified by the change alone, which was justified. There seem to be some other currents running below the surface. And Bredon/Whimsey, with the help of his brother-in-law, Inspector Parker, follows a series of murders back to their source.

Sayers writes a good mystery. Her characters are believable, and her plots are just intricate enough. And her reflections on the deeper issues surrounding her plots, such as in this case a very interesting look at the ethics and practice of advertising, add an attractive depth to her writing.