Murder Must Advertise, by Dorothy L. Sayers

I just finished Murder Must Advertise, by Dorothy L. Sayers. This one's the 8th in the Wimsey series. I've got only 3 left now :-(

When advertising executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the stairs at Pym's Publicity, Lord Peter Wimsey is asked to investigate. It seems that, before he died, Dean had begun a letter to Mr. Pym suggesting some very unethical dealings at the posh London ad agency. Wimsey goes undercover and discovers that Dean was part of the fast crowd at Pym's, a group taken to partying and doing drugs. Wimsey and his brother-in-law, Chief-Inspector Parker, rush to discover who is running London's cocaine trade and how Pym's fits into the picture--all before Wimsey's cover is blown.

Reading this series so close together has allowed me to appreciate the evolution in Sayers' craft. I did enjoy the first ones very much, but these last ones, with the exception of Five Red Herrings, have actually been tremendously better. Murder Must Advertise gets an A-.

This time the whodunnit is not the most important thing. The focus is on life in an advertising firm in the thirties, and this was so funny and interesting that I wouldn't actually have minded if the whodunnit had been lacking altogether.

I did feel, though, that Peter was a bit more distant from the reader here than in other books, and again, I missed Harriet. I think my favourite books are those where these two work together. The dynamics of their relationship are delicious. Well, what do you want? I'm a romance reader, after all! Oh, there actually was a little mention to Harriet here, not by name, but just a throwaway line stating that Peter had a date that night with a woman who showed no signs of yielding. That was it, but it was pretty clear.

I adore these books. I hope I can make the three I have left last, but I don't really have much hope.