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sandylc's review
funny
slow-paced
3.0
Much of the sparkle of the (much) earlier books is missing from the final book in the series, but then the author died the next year so he may not have been at his best. There is still a lot of humor and I always like Crispin's ignoring of the wall between author and reader (do you know who did it? Fen: no. you must, the book is almost over!). Fen leaves most of the investigating to the police in this book. He, like Crispin, has grown older.
cimorene1558's review
4.0
Not actually a very good book, but one of those books that makes me laugh out loud so hysterically that people have been known to bang on my door and make sure I'm okay (when I was living in communal situations).
shellystilger's review against another edition
2.0
Having enjoyed other Gervase Fen books, I was disappointed with this one. Just can't get past the generational sexism here.
aphraclare'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
kmg365's review against another edition
3.0
Slapstick veneer on a fairly traditional mystery. This is the only one of the Gervase Fen series that I've read. From perusing other reviews, I gather that the earlier volumes are substantially different in tone and characterization.
fbone's review against another edition
4.0
Crispin after a 20 year break still had his excellent writing style. This comical mystery was typical of him. The plot was impossible but his wit and word play make up for it. He referenced earlier books and one time referred to himself. It took me a few chapters to get used to him writing in his then present day of 1970s. He managed to retain the charm of the 1930s placing the setting in a small village in Devon. Not his best but still hits it for me.
slferg's review against another edition
4.0
I love Edmund Crispin's books. I don't think I had read this one before, Gervase Fen was rather detached in this one except for giving the detective the clue he needed to solve it. He was quite amusing in his pondering of the book he was writing on novelists. He wasn't terribly excited about it and not at all thrilled with some of the books and authors. His occasional comments from left field were hilarious.
This is the only writer I have read where I keep having to look up words. I read this on my nook and many of the words were NOT in the included dictionary. But the references to classical literature were quite interesting.
There has been a murder in the district before Fen comes there to work on a book he is under contract to write about 20th century novelists. Then while he is in residence, a similar murder occurs in which he has a hand as an unsuspecting dupe. When he complains of the butcher's brawn, Mrs Clotworthy gives him her recipe for brawn and leaves a pig's head for him on her porch. He picks it up and ends up carrying it with him most of the day, but when he comes to check - it's not a pig's head, but a man's. In fact, it's probably the head of the man found dead in the tent at the church fete. The Rector is a hoot, he is so unexpected. The Major also adds his two bits to the entertainment as well as Thouless who is unhappily composing music for monster movies. Then, a journalist is added into the mix to hang around and provide some more diversion.
This is the only writer I have read where I keep having to look up words. I read this on my nook and many of the words were NOT in the included dictionary. But the references to classical literature were quite interesting.
There has been a murder in the district before Fen comes there to work on a book he is under contract to write about 20th century novelists. Then while he is in residence, a similar murder occurs in which he has a hand as an unsuspecting dupe. When he complains of the butcher's brawn, Mrs Clotworthy gives him her recipe for brawn and leaves a pig's head for him on her porch. He picks it up and ends up carrying it with him most of the day, but when he comes to check - it's not a pig's head, but a man's. In fact, it's probably the head of the man found dead in the tent at the church fete. The Rector is a hoot, he is so unexpected. The Major also adds his two bits to the entertainment as well as Thouless who is unhappily composing music for monster movies. Then, a journalist is added into the mix to hang around and provide some more diversion.
sathyasekar's review against another edition
4.0
This may be called "A comedy of murders in an English country setting". I find it difficult to put a finger on the genre for this book. There are murders in there, but the book isn't about them. The book combines P.G.Wodehouse with Dorothy Sayers with Thomas Hardy..a mix of the best and you get this wonderful colourful book. I enjoyed it thoroughly and laughed out loud of at various points of the book. Three characters are probably representations of the different types of characters you see in a rural setting and they all come to life in Crispin's able hands. Fen is very incidental to the book and has little part to play in the mystery itself but he becomes part of the colourful set of characters. Great fun!!
fbone's review
4.0
Crispin after a 20 year break still had his excellent writing style. This comical mystery was typical of him. The plot was impossible but his wit and word play make up for it. He referenced earlier books and one time referred to himself. It took me a few chapters to get used to him writing in his then present day of 1970s. He managed to retain the charm of the 1930s placing the setting in a small village in Devon. Not his best but still hits it for me.
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