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fernandie's review against another edition
4.0
Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Beware of Trains by Edmund Crispin. This is a collection of short stories--with all but two of the sixteen featuring that delightful Oxford don, Gervase Fen. It would be difficult to give you a run-down without spoiling the stories. Let me just say that they are almost all extraordinarily good. We have everything from the story of the missing train conductor to the affair of the disappearing car, black necktie and abortive theft. There's the ex-army man who takes pot-shots at Inspector Humbleby and the drowned man who lost everything but his boots and the locked room that wasn't. And more. And all of them told in the fabulously witty Crispin style. I'm so very glad that I chose it as my last read of 2011. Four stars.
And a favorite quote:
"Discretion," said Fen with great complacency, "is my middle name." "I dare say. But very few people use their middle names." [Inspector Humbleby}
~from the short story "Within the Gates"
And a favorite quote:
"Discretion," said Fen with great complacency, "is my middle name." "I dare say. But very few people use their middle names." [Inspector Humbleby}
~from the short story "Within the Gates"
dan78's review
4.0
Brilliant selection of short stories! Really enjoyed the variety of them and also it shows a mystery can last only 7 or 8 pages rather than 700 or 800 pages :)
Prompted to dig out more Crispin books!
Prompted to dig out more Crispin books!
kenzieleckie_'s review against another edition
I found the language quite difficult to understand and it didn’t flow easily. Just my personal though but was hard to get into.
melissadeemcdaniel's review
3.0
With few exceptions, Gervaise Fen is an oddly unexceptional personality. He has none of the quirks of a Poirot or a Wimsey. His personality doesn’t obtrude. The mysteries in “Beware of the Trains” are cerebral. We have all the facts; if we are too stupid or oblivious not to solve the mystery at the same rate as Fen, well, that only says something about us!
I’m a big fan of Golden Age mysteries, and “Beware of the Train” is not a disappointment.
I’m a big fan of Golden Age mysteries, and “Beware of the Train” is not a disappointment.
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