This is Lord Peter Wimsey at his most sparkling when he is requested to investigate a death at an advertising agency. In order to do his investigation, he goes to work there undercover. ( )

A sprawling spider-web of a mystery that begins by encasing you in layers of murkiness.
Who? What? Why? For the longest time you can't even get a grip on what exactly the problem seems to be.
Seemingly erratic behavior by Lord Peter leads to eventual elucidation. This is a clever book and it tells a complex story.
And, as an intriguing bonus, it's set in a 1930s advertising agency so sharply detailed that it comes as no surprise that Dorothy Sayers is speaking from her own job experience. There's a lot of interesting stuff here, but (and maybe this is just me) I found it too long this time through.
Also, the resolution is pretty sad ( )

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In this addition to the Lord Peter series we find the protagonist working undercover at an advertising agency. The reader not only gets a thoroughly entertaining story but also an insider's look at the advertising industry of the 1920s. Included is a secondary plot involving illicit drug culture and smuggling which I found interesting. While I remembered some details from my last read, 35 or so years ago, I still enjoyed the characters and the plot. Definitely recommended, even as a standalone.

With an overly complicated vocabulary and a too large cast of characters, this book was entirely to confusion to be regarded as an easy read (as I coincidentally acquired an copy meant for educational language lessons). With too many characters constantly jumping in and out of the frame it falls short as a book which one can follow and enjoy to its fullest. As a visual media it could have rather blossomed better as the storyline in itself is rather fascinating, but falls short in book format. ( )