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Lord Peter Wimsey #10, 11, 12, 13
The Lord Peter Wimsey Collection 3: Murder Must Advertise / The Nine Tailors / Gaudy Night / Busman's Honeymoon
No mystery can stump the British aristocrat and sleuth—in these four novels in the beloved series from “one of the greatest mystery story writers” (Los Angeles Times).
A gentleman needs hobbies. For Lord Peter Wimsey—a Great War veteran with a touch of shell shock—collecting rare books, sampling fine wines, and catching criminals are all most pleasant diversions. In these Golden Age whodunits, “Lord Peter can hardly be spared from the ranks of the great detectives of the printed page” (The New York Times).
Murder Must Advertise: The iron staircase at Pym’s Publicity is a deathtrap, so no one in the advertising agency is surprised when Victor Dean tumbles down it, cracking his skull. His replacement arrives just a few days later—a green copywriter named Death Bredon. Though he displays a surprising talent for selling margarine, alarm clocks, and nerve tonics, Bredon is not really there to write copy. He is, in fact, Lord Peter Wimsey, come in search of the man who pushed Dean.
The Nine Tailors: During their stay in the countryside, Lord Peter and his manservant Bunter encounter hospitality, dinner, and an invitation from the local rector to go bell ringing to welcome the New Year. They also encounter murder, a mutilated corpse, and a decades-old jewel theft for which locals continue to die. In this land where bells toll for the dead, the ancient chimes never seem to stop.
Gaudy Night: When mystery novelist and acquitted murder suspect Harriet Vane returns to Oxford for her college reunion, she finds that her troubles are far greater than a damaged reputation. The first poison-pen letter calls her a “dirty murderess,” and those that follow are no kinder. As the threats become more frightening, she calls on Wimsey for help. Among the dons of Oxford lurks a killer, but it will take more than a superior education to outwit the gentleman sleuth and his ladylove.
Busman’s Holiday: A murderer kills the mood for newlyweds Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane on their honeymoon, when they discover the house’s caretaker bludgeoned to death in the manor’s basement. In a house full of suspects, the only thing harder than finding the killer will be finding time to be alone.
A gentleman needs hobbies. For Lord Peter Wimsey—a Great War veteran with a touch of shell shock—collecting rare books, sampling fine wines, and catching criminals are all most pleasant diversions. In these Golden Age whodunits, “Lord Peter can hardly be spared from the ranks of the great detectives of the printed page” (The New York Times).
Murder Must Advertise: The iron staircase at Pym’s Publicity is a deathtrap, so no one in the advertising agency is surprised when Victor Dean tumbles down it, cracking his skull. His replacement arrives just a few days later—a green copywriter named Death Bredon. Though he displays a surprising talent for selling margarine, alarm clocks, and nerve tonics, Bredon is not really there to write copy. He is, in fact, Lord Peter Wimsey, come in search of the man who pushed Dean.
The Nine Tailors: During their stay in the countryside, Lord Peter and his manservant Bunter encounter hospitality, dinner, and an invitation from the local rector to go bell ringing to welcome the New Year. They also encounter murder, a mutilated corpse, and a decades-old jewel theft for which locals continue to die. In this land where bells toll for the dead, the ancient chimes never seem to stop.
Gaudy Night: When mystery novelist and acquitted murder suspect Harriet Vane returns to Oxford for her college reunion, she finds that her troubles are far greater than a damaged reputation. The first poison-pen letter calls her a “dirty murderess,” and those that follow are no kinder. As the threats become more frightening, she calls on Wimsey for help. Among the dons of Oxford lurks a killer, but it will take more than a superior education to outwit the gentleman sleuth and his ladylove.
Busman’s Holiday: A murderer kills the mood for newlyweds Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane on their honeymoon, when they discover the house’s caretaker bludgeoned to death in the manor’s basement. In a house full of suspects, the only thing harder than finding the killer will be finding time to be alone.
- GenresMystery
1717 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2004
440 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy L. Sayers
703 books2,993 followersThe detective stories of well-known British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers mostly feature the amateur investigator Lord Peter Wimsey; she also translated the
Divine Comedy
of Dante Alighieri.
This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.
Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.
Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 9, 2023
The best of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey's mysteries
This box set of four Peter Wimsey are the best ones I've read by her. Each is different and excellent in its own way. Murder Must Advertise has Lord Peter going underground and infiltrating an ad agency to solve a murder. Happily, he discovers a hidden genius for advertising, while at the same time loathing its use
The Nine Tailors is set in a rural England and includes some very charming side characters and refers to the nine, huge bells that are part of the old, grand, village church. An old robbery impacts the town when a murder occurs and Peter does some bell-ringing.
Gaudy Night is about Harriet Vane and her old college. Peter isn't in it until the end, when he helps her find out who has been sending nasty letters and damaging school property. This book is a prelude to Busman's Honeymoon which celebrates the couple's love and honeymoon in Harriet's childhood home. Peter bought it for Harriet,, but there's an expected gift found in the basement--the corpse of the former owner.
This box set of four Peter Wimsey are the best ones I've read by her. Each is different and excellent in its own way. Murder Must Advertise has Lord Peter going underground and infiltrating an ad agency to solve a murder. Happily, he discovers a hidden genius for advertising, while at the same time loathing its use
The Nine Tailors is set in a rural England and includes some very charming side characters and refers to the nine, huge bells that are part of the old, grand, village church. An old robbery impacts the town when a murder occurs and Peter does some bell-ringing.
Gaudy Night is about Harriet Vane and her old college. Peter isn't in it until the end, when he helps her find out who has been sending nasty letters and damaging school property. This book is a prelude to Busman's Honeymoon which celebrates the couple's love and honeymoon in Harriet's childhood home. Peter bought it for Harriet,, but there's an expected gift found in the basement--the corpse of the former owner.
February 16, 2020
Not something I expect to say about any book, but, there were way too many details. I found myself constantly skipping over several paragraphs and occasionally entire pages at a time because the writing had gone off on some tangent that had nothing to do with the plot. I have no interest in the latest marketing campaign for “product x” and a play by play description of a cricket game is even more boring than watching a live game. I understand that the story is around 100 years old and British so some of the terms are unusual and I had no problem with that, however there were entire phrases in Latin and my Kindle does not translate Latin. I was familiar with both the writer, Dorothy L. Sayers, and the character Lord Peter Wimsey, but perhaps I had previously read revised editions? I struggled through to the end, and it was a struggle, but I would not recommend this collection to anyone that is not intimately familiar with the time period and location of the stories.
December 1, 2024
Mystery upon Mystery, one of my Favorites
Dorothy Sayers is one of the best mystery writers on earth. She wrote with such fire, and fear and death was part of her writing. If she hadn't written these great books, we would never know of the pain of Peter Wimsey as he was committed to their solving. No mystery writers compares. Sorry Agatha Christey, but Dorothy brings out the essence of the great solver Lord Peter and opens a world not often seen in the light of the best mysteries and the pain their solving causes a man who values life and truth. What would the world be without Lord Peter Wimsey? A bit more sordid and less enjoyable, reminding is of our humanity and our selfishness as we see the murderer and are grateful that there aren't more and that we had the chance to go along on some of the best mysteries and many more innocents would have died in his time, because nobody other than this great little man cared more for saving the innocent from being falsely accused and cried over each criminal who refused to repent. Her books remind us how easily we might join the ranks of the guilty if only something, maybe God or maybe what caring he put in us to get the right killer and how easily the innocent are to being hung for no reason but that someone had worked hard to protect the innocent and that much harder to prove that the guilty are so often unrepentant even to the end. Great writer!
Dorothy Sayers is one of the best mystery writers on earth. She wrote with such fire, and fear and death was part of her writing. If she hadn't written these great books, we would never know of the pain of Peter Wimsey as he was committed to their solving. No mystery writers compares. Sorry Agatha Christey, but Dorothy brings out the essence of the great solver Lord Peter and opens a world not often seen in the light of the best mysteries and the pain their solving causes a man who values life and truth. What would the world be without Lord Peter Wimsey? A bit more sordid and less enjoyable, reminding is of our humanity and our selfishness as we see the murderer and are grateful that there aren't more and that we had the chance to go along on some of the best mysteries and many more innocents would have died in his time, because nobody other than this great little man cared more for saving the innocent from being falsely accused and cried over each criminal who refused to repent. Her books remind us how easily we might join the ranks of the guilty if only something, maybe God or maybe what caring he put in us to get the right killer and how easily the innocent are to being hung for no reason but that someone had worked hard to protect the innocent and that much harder to prove that the guilty are so often unrepentant even to the end. Great writer!
January 30, 2021
This set contains four classic stories involving Lord Peter Wimsey, which I had read with pleasure several years ago: Murder Must Advertise; The Nine Tailors; Gaudy Night (featuring Harriet Vane at Oxford); and Busman's Honeymoon (Harriet and Peter finally get married).
I was surprised to find I was a bit disappointed with Murder Must Advertise and Gaudy Night, but I loved The Nine Tailors and found Busman's Honeymoon had an interesting reflection on the PTSD suffered by World War I veterans. Although awareness of PTSD (identified by that name as opposed to "shell shock" or other common terms) really emerged in the wake of the Vietnam War, I know that several authors did write about it with understanding and sympathy (the ones I have encountered included Dorothy Sayers, here, and Elizabeth Goudge, which might seem unusual in women writers).
As always, however, Dorothy Sayers provides a lot of depth, humor, and detail, which is very rewarding to the readers of mysteries. It is no wonder her works maintain their popularity.
I was surprised to find I was a bit disappointed with Murder Must Advertise and Gaudy Night, but I loved The Nine Tailors and found Busman's Honeymoon had an interesting reflection on the PTSD suffered by World War I veterans. Although awareness of PTSD (identified by that name as opposed to "shell shock" or other common terms) really emerged in the wake of the Vietnam War, I know that several authors did write about it with understanding and sympathy (the ones I have encountered included Dorothy Sayers, here, and Elizabeth Goudge, which might seem unusual in women writers).
As always, however, Dorothy Sayers provides a lot of depth, humor, and detail, which is very rewarding to the readers of mysteries. It is no wonder her works maintain their popularity.
September 14, 2021
I read only The Busman's Honeymoon, not this Kindle collection, but I can't find a listing for that so I'm making do.
Dorothy Sayer's writing is an absolute pleasure to read. The plot is good - a newly married couple find a dead body in the basement of their new country house on their wedding night - and the characters are well drawn. But if you need your mysteries to be page-turners, this is probably not the one for you. It's one of those quiet British mysteries that some of us find appealing for their language, the quaint settings, the quirky characters, and all the tangled rules of manners and comportment. Very enjoyable reading!
Dorothy Sayer's writing is an absolute pleasure to read. The plot is good - a newly married couple find a dead body in the basement of their new country house on their wedding night - and the characters are well drawn. But if you need your mysteries to be page-turners, this is probably not the one for you. It's one of those quiet British mysteries that some of us find appealing for their language, the quaint settings, the quirky characters, and all the tangled rules of manners and comportment. Very enjoyable reading!
March 27, 2023
Such a joy to read these books. All different settings, and all with Lord Peter at the helm, weaving his way back and forth to London or remote villages. It is so gratifying to see the return of Harriet Vane who deserves her own series. I feel she is based on Dorothy L. Sayers herself. The plots are twisted and complex and it is hard to see what lies ahead or who is the perpetrator of the crimes. Masterful writing.
January 27, 2023
Good until Harriet Vane arrived
Sickening. All about Harriet Vane and the love she has graciously allowed Peter to make to her and her profound importance and the spell she has over Peter. The mystery comprises,less than 20% of the story. What a disappointment after so many other good stories by the author.
Sickening. All about Harriet Vane and the love she has graciously allowed Peter to make to her and her profound importance and the spell she has over Peter. The mystery comprises,less than 20% of the story. What a disappointment after so many other good stories by the author.
April 26, 2025
Pulls the Reader In
Bunter may be the star of this show, keeping Lord Peter on the rails. But then himself emerges, monocle and all, with wit and game face. A nearly perfect mystery series, intelligent and well dressed.
Bunter may be the star of this show, keeping Lord Peter on the rails. But then himself emerges, monocle and all, with wit and game face. A nearly perfect mystery series, intelligent and well dressed.
June 2, 2020
Great fun
Dated, and I don’t know French, but good mysteries. I could enjoy more of Lord Peter and Lady Whimsey’s stories.
Dated, and I don’t know French, but good mysteries. I could enjoy more of Lord Peter and Lady Whimsey’s stories.
August 22, 2023
great mysteries,
The best of the type, well thought out and captivating. I have many suppositions but no idea of who really committed the crime until the conclusion.
The best of the type, well thought out and captivating. I have many suppositions but no idea of who really committed the crime until the conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews