Title: Four complete Lord Peter Wimsey novels
First published: 1982
Description: Contains the following complete, unabridged Lord Peter Wimsey murder mysteries:

 1. Whose Body
 2. Clouds of Witness
 3. Murder Must Advertise
 4. Gaudy Night

Whose Body, while not the first of the Lord Peter Wimsey murder mysteries, is still among the earliest, and is an excellent starting place for newcomers to the series.

Clouds of Witness features Lord Peter pursuing his detective avocation in the middle of his own ancestral family home, amid all of the tangled loyalties inherent in a case where one of his own siblings is being tried for murder -- and another is among the chief suspects!

Murder Must Advertise, set in the middle of the period in which Lord Peter is courting the love of his life, nonetheless hardly mentions her, as Lord Peter goes undercover and incognito, working a job in an advertising agency where a suspicious death has taken place.  At that time, there was as yet no clue that before the case wassolved, it would lead to drug dealing rings, adultery, fascinating insights on an increasingly marketing-driven economy...  ...and Lord Peter Wimsey in one of his most fascinating guises yet:  the mysterious sinister harlequin of a dope addict‘s dreams.

Gaudy Night, the denouement of Lord Peter‘s romance with Harriet Vane, is noteworthy for the relative absence of the titled sleuth, as the majority of the investigation is pursued by his beloved detective novelist, in the context of her alma mater, a fictitious women‘s college at Oxford University.  Set against the rising tensions of of pre-World-War-II Europe, which necessitate Lord Peter‘s absence at the behest of the Foreign Office, much of the novel explores the entirely different internal and social tensions resulting from women‘s changing role in society, and the rising class of educated professional women, seeking fulfilment beyond the traditional boundaries of hearth, home, and motherhood.  The psychological exploration this entails is mirrored in the final resolution of Harriet Vane‘s own feelings about Lord Peter, and women‘s relationships in general, as directly involved in the unfolding of a first class mystery, full of intrigue, suspicion, and a plethora of plausible suspects.  Lord Peter‘s role in the mystery‘s final resolution builds upon, and perfectly complements, the insightful investigation pursued in his absence.  One of Sayers‘ best novels, this top-notch mystery may be read for its puzzles, or its psychological and social commentary, and be equally rewarding in either capacity.
Subjects: English Detective and mystery stories, Fiction, Lord Wimsey, Peter (Fictitious character), “Vane, Harriet (Fictitious character), Private investigators
Places: England, London (England)
People: Lord Peter Wimsey, Harriet Vane
Time periods: 1920-1935
LC classification: PR6037.A95 A6 1982