Reviews

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers

sara_evaney's review against another edition

1.0

This was soooo boring! I was promised an undercover detective story with high stakes since five people are supposed to die before the mystery is uncovered.
What I got was a whole lot of office gossip that had nothing to do with the story. Some guys talking about parrots and dogs and an entire cricket game. And yes, some people died in a very underwhelming way after like 290 pages.
There were a million characters who were all exactly the same, I didn’t care about the victim and therefore also not for the murder to be solved. The detecting was done behind closed doors and we were just told the results in like 2 chapters that were remotely interesting. Everything else could have just been cut.

proust_mobile's review against another edition

4.5

This one's for the real Wimsey-heads. It feels like a conscious return to the outright comedy of the first two novels in the series, and a lot of the humor could be lost on readers not already familiar with Lord Peter. But as a fan, this novel is such a gift. It's got a barely incognito detective getting too invested in his fake job, heapfulls of ridiculous workplace politics, the entire advertising industry treated as farce, and the kind of slapstick murder that the book reassures you that you do not have to feel sad about. Sayers even dips her toes into noir for the first (only?) time with a plot about seedy drug runners and reckless socialites. An unexpectedly chilling ending caps off this excellent entry in the series.

bareruinedchoirs's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

eleaax's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

nat3780's review

4.0

I bought this on a whim at a thrift store, a while back. I've never read anything by Sayers before, and I haven't read much in the mystery genre, so this was a new experience for me in many ways.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was smart, funny and engaging. I'll be looking into reading more books of this type (and by this author) in the future.

katewutz's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

abrswf's review against another edition

4.0

It’s Sayers and Wimsey, so of course I liked this book, but it’s a weak entry in the series, as the murder at issue is mostly an afterthought, there’s very little Bunter and no Harriet Vane, the all knowing drug merchants in the background were unconvincing, and the advertising milieu is very dated. Sayers herself worked in an ad agency, and much of this book felt very like inside baseball — obscure and uninteresting to most of the rest of us.

coops456's review

4.0

Intrigue in the world of advertising! With Lord Peter taking on the guise of his disreputable cousin Death Bredon, there is little of the normal Wimsey/Bunter domesticity and no appearance by Harriet Vane.

talina's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

I particularly enjoy the look into the advertising world that comes with this book. It's amusing to see Lord Peter in an office setting, which contrasts with the dark underworld of crime that he is simultaneously investigating. I enjoy the characters a lot in this one. It's one of my favorite Sayers novels.