Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers

I did it again. I read a book through almost non-stop without bothering to look up the unfamiliar words.

What can I say? It is an extraordinary author who can keep me more interested in the story than in the words it is comprised of!

Who is this Mr. Death Bredon? Is it purely coincidence that he bears a striking resemblance to Lord Peter Wimsey? And why does he persist in asking so many questions about his predecessor at Pym’s Advertising Agency—the one who was recently fatally injured falling down that old iron staircase?

These are questions the gossips in the copywriter’s room begin to discuss as unusual things begin to happen in their busy little world.

Meanwhile, in another part of London, Chief Inspector Parker has his hands full with a puzzling case of drug smuggling. If only he could discover that elusive criminal mastermind behind it all.

Of course there’s a link between these riddles. It’s a mystery story, after all!

It’s easy for a young person like me to think of the 1920’s as some remote era completely different from our own. A colorful time, but one completely obscured in the mists of the past. It was almost surprising to realize as I read this story that people—and even advertising—haven’t really changed.

If I really wanted to understand this book, I’d read up on cricket.