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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Light but fun. Four female Oxford undergraduates attempt to solve the murder of their unpopular college bursar. The mystery wasn’t very complicated but I enjoyed the portrayal of the undergraduates themselves. A light read.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
Really enjoyed this! I was particularly impressed by how effectively and efficiently Hay was able to bring the setting of Oxford to life, and how the dynamics of the main characters all felt tangible and real - as if you were slipping right into the midst of years-long friendships - without masses of exposition, and they all felt so real.
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A nice classic murder mystery from a lesser author during the golden age of British writers. It's neither gripping nor gory but it's a nice whodunit. Though I did kinda have a good guess by about halfway through. Glad to have spent time at Oxford so I could picture the action.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Very fun little murder mystery, classic example of it - not the most puzzling at all but satisfying in that & and I thought balanced the humour with the plot fairly well
A romp around Oxford; that's generally worth the price of the ticket for Golden Age fiction and it (for the most part) works here. The mystery is thin and not particularly perplexing, and there's plenty of weird British prejudices to go around so be prepared, but the read is a fun one. Not stellar but a nice read for a rainy day.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I actually figured this one out, for a change! So either I’m getting better at my sleuthing, or this one just wasn’t very clever. Not sure which!
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
I liked the flavor of this book from the 1930s, and I'll probably read the author's other book from the British Library Crime Classics series, but it wasn't spectacular and dragged in parts.
This engaging piece of detective fiction is rather like a cross between Agatha Christie and Angela Brazil. There is quite an element of jolly hockey-sticks in the characters of the college girls, which was a little wearying, to be honest, but the mystery is quite good. As it was written in the early 1930's it was interesting to compare Oxford jargon with that used 40 years later when I was an undergraduate: we still said The High and The Broad for High Street and Broad Street but never said the Corn or Gilers for Cornmarket and St Giles. However many of the social traits of Oxford still lingered into the 70's - I expect they have all disappeared now.