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nikkivrc's review against another edition
3.0
Not nearly as funny as The Moving Toyshop, but it was fine.
autumnalia's review against another edition
5.0
Features a long-lost Shakespeare play! Booknerd heaven.
christinecc's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Likely not the strongest of the series, but certainly a fun time. especially if you love British humor, British boarding schools, and mysteries in the countryside.
Gervase Fen is our lanky, self-absorbed detective whose real job is being a don at Oxford University. He drives a bratty car nicknamed Lily Christine, he's trying to write a mystery novel set in the Catskills, and also no one wants to hear about his novel set in the Catskills. So instead, he's helping out a friend by acting as the keynote speaker for a boarding school's Speech Day (or maybe you know it as Prize Day).
When a local schoolgirl encounters something frightening and, later, when two murders come to light, Fen does his friend yet another favor by helping the local police solve the growing list of mysteries.
What I really like about the series is its great mix of lighthearted humor. Fen is certainly smug in a fun way, and he is still somewhat flighty, but not as much as in the earlier books. Ten canonical years have passed since his second adventure, the famous "Moving Toyshop" story, and Fen now realizes that detection requires caution. Fen has also become more conscious of the lives at stake when a murderer is on the loose, and it's so much fun to see him show concern and even fear when facing down danger.
All in all, this is a solid and very fun installment in the Gervase Fen series, and I particularly loved the supporting cast of students, townspeople, and professors all milling around the school at the end of term.
Recommended for fans of British humor, British mysteries, and campus novels. Honestly, don't hesitate to read the others in the series or start with this one (although it's hard to beat "The Moving Toyshop" or, if you're a theatre/opera/music fan, "Swan Song").
Gervase Fen is our lanky, self-absorbed detective whose real job is being a don at Oxford University. He drives a bratty car nicknamed Lily Christine, he's trying to write a mystery novel set in the Catskills, and also no one wants to hear about his novel set in the Catskills. So instead, he's helping out a friend by acting as the keynote speaker for a boarding school's Speech Day (or maybe you know it as Prize Day).
When a local schoolgirl encounters something frightening and, later, when two murders come to light, Fen does his friend yet another favor by helping the local police solve the growing list of mysteries.
What I really like about the series is its great mix of lighthearted humor. Fen is certainly smug in a fun way, and he is still somewhat flighty, but not as much as in the earlier books. Ten canonical years have passed since his second adventure, the famous "Moving Toyshop" story, and Fen now realizes that detection requires caution. Fen has also become more conscious of the lives at stake when a murderer is on the loose, and it's so much fun to see him show concern and even fear when facing down danger.
All in all, this is a solid and very fun installment in the Gervase Fen series, and I particularly loved the supporting cast of students, townspeople, and professors all milling around the school at the end of term.
Recommended for fans of British humor, British mysteries, and campus novels. Honestly, don't hesitate to read the others in the series or start with this one (although it's hard to beat "The Moving Toyshop" or, if you're a theatre/opera/music fan, "Swan Song").
flowerbob's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
smcleish's review against another edition
3.0
Originally published on my blog here& in August 2000.
We used to have Speech Days at the school which I attended, days on which prizes were given out and the boys and parents had to endure some of the most boring speeches imaginable. (The one in my final year, which I did not attend because of university entrance interviews, was easily the most lively: the headmaster unexpectedly declared that with government interference it was no longer possible for the school to offer a good education, and effectively resigned.) At Castrevenford, where this novel is set, the event is just as dull, and also contains a play and a sports demonstration.
Speech day in the year in which Gervase Fen, Professor of English at Oxford and amateur detective, gave the prizes was of course (this being a crime novel) distinguished by the murder of two teachers at the school and the disappearance of a pupil from the girls' school connected to Castrevenford. (One of the dead teachers is named Love; hence - partly - the title of the novel.)
Love Lies Bleeding is typical of Crispin's detective novels, with a complex puzzle combined with knowing and ironic use of the conventions of the genre. (This goes right up to the point of declaring that events chronicled would not make a good detective novel.) To some readers, Fen may seem rather tiresome, and he is certainly unbelievably secretive. His refusal to tell the police what he has worked out almost allows the murderer to escape, and it has no motive other than his own vanity. (The real reason, of course, is to inform the reader that they now have the clues needed to work out the solution without giving it away before the very end of the novel.) Nevertheless, the novels have a unique place in the genre and a charm of their own which makes them well worth reading.
We used to have Speech Days at the school which I attended, days on which prizes were given out and the boys and parents had to endure some of the most boring speeches imaginable. (The one in my final year, which I did not attend because of university entrance interviews, was easily the most lively: the headmaster unexpectedly declared that with government interference it was no longer possible for the school to offer a good education, and effectively resigned.) At Castrevenford, where this novel is set, the event is just as dull, and also contains a play and a sports demonstration.
Speech day in the year in which Gervase Fen, Professor of English at Oxford and amateur detective, gave the prizes was of course (this being a crime novel) distinguished by the murder of two teachers at the school and the disappearance of a pupil from the girls' school connected to Castrevenford. (One of the dead teachers is named Love; hence - partly - the title of the novel.)
Love Lies Bleeding is typical of Crispin's detective novels, with a complex puzzle combined with knowing and ironic use of the conventions of the genre. (This goes right up to the point of declaring that events chronicled would not make a good detective novel.) To some readers, Fen may seem rather tiresome, and he is certainly unbelievably secretive. His refusal to tell the police what he has worked out almost allows the murderer to escape, and it has no motive other than his own vanity. (The real reason, of course, is to inform the reader that they now have the clues needed to work out the solution without giving it away before the very end of the novel.) Nevertheless, the novels have a unique place in the genre and a charm of their own which makes them well worth reading.
balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Such an inventive and well-constructed book. Some of the conclusion did seem very obvious, but only when it was revealed; before that, I was enraptured, and made no guesses as to what had happened, as I ordinarily do. A very enjoyable piece of crime fiction; an absorbing, intelligent, and surprisingly quick read.
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