David Williams (1926-2003) was an English author who wrote two mystery series, one about London-based investment banker Mark Treasure, Chief Executive of Greenwood, Phipps, and the other about Welsh Inspector Merlin Parry. St. Martin’s Press published some of the Treasure books but not all of the series titles were released in the U.S., making them hard to find. None of the Parry books were published in the U.S. The lack of distribution in this country likely explains why so few mystery readers are familiar with Williams’ work.
I have read four or five of the 17 Mark Treasure books and have enjoyed all of them, although the mystery is better handled in some than others. My latest read in the series is Advertise for Treasure (Collins Crime, 1984; St. Martin’s Press, 1984). Rorch, Timms and Bander, a young and moderately successful advertising firm, has received a buyout offer from Howard J. Crabtree, Inc., a larger and more established New York advertising corporation. Since Greenwood, Phipps provided start-up funding for RTB, the CEO Roger Rorch informed the bank of the offer and asked for their advice.
Rorch is opposed to his company becoming a subsidiary, his colleagues are happy to take their share of the payment and leave the rat race behind. Family members and clients of RTB have strong feelings about the merger. Major players at Crabtree also have an investment in the merger, some for and some against. Rorch is the main focus of the discussions, as he is the primary holdout. All of which becomes moot when Rorch is found dead at the foot of the fire escape stairs in his apartment building.
His death is far too convenient for too many people for police not to consider the possibility of murder, and Treasure becomes deeply involved in the investigation.
Since reading Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers dozens of years ago, I have been enthralled by the combination of homicide and the cutthroat world of advertising. The Pitch by Kerry Hilton (independently published, 2023), despite its desperate need for proofreading, is a very good contemporary story about the ruthlessly competitive industry. Then a couple of older mysteries, Murder a la Mode by Eleanore Kelly Sellars (Dodd, Mead, 1941) and The Case of the Advertised Murders by Minna Feibleman Bardon (Hillman-Curl, 1939), deal with the advertising side of business. I am sure there are others. I am surprised that it is not a more commonly used setting.
Mark Treasure bears a strong resemblance to John Putnam Thatcher, executive vice-president of the Sloan Guaranty Trust on Wall Street, the protagonist of two dozen mysteries written by economist Mary Jane Latsis (1917-1997) and lawyer Martha Henissart (1929-2024) under the name Emma Lathen. The Lathen mysteries were wildly popular in their day and are still spoken of with reverence by mystery afficionados, which makes the lack of reader familiarity with the similar Williams mysteries puzzling. Both have original protagonists and offer insight into various industries along with solid writing and subtle humor.
Advertise for Treasure has more than one surprise including the resolution. I found the number of characters hard to keep track of at times, although the many agendas at play added to the realism of the plot. The plot includes a great twist on the setting of the time of the crime based on the broken clock trope. It was shortlisted for the CWA 1984 Gold Dagger Award.
The mystery expert William F. Deeck (1927-2004) liked the Treasure series and reviewed two of them on the Mystery File blog in 2017: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=47625 .