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A review by christinecc
Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Good god, Crispin really slides through this one with charming comedy and nary a hint of logic. The mystery is balderdash (sorry, sir, but it's true), and all the characters are silly finger-puppets except for three: Gervase Fen (everyone's favorite bratty Don turned amateur detective), Geoffrey Vintner (a composer and Gervase's long-suffering friend; also believes that every woman is out to entrap him into marriage when, in fact, not a single woman has ever wanted to go on so much as a second date with him) (the author said so, not me), and Fielding (a hapless helping hand who wants to contribute to the war effort).
The dangerous moments simultaneously conjure up tension and impeccable comedic timing, so hats off to Crispin for that. Unfortunately, Crispin makes better use of his writing skills in his other books, namely the first of this series (The Case of the Gilded Fly) and the book after this one (The Moving Toyshop).
Recommended if you're a skeptical completionist who, like me, thinks you should ignore people's kind warnings to steer clear of this book (but nooooo, you just had to spend weeks plowing through this nonsensical mystery out of sheer pig-headedness). Don't be like me, readers. Go find the good books. They're out there somewhere.
The dangerous moments simultaneously conjure up tension and impeccable comedic timing, so hats off to Crispin for that. Unfortunately, Crispin makes better use of his writing skills in his other books, namely the first of this series (The Case of the Gilded Fly) and the book after this one (The Moving Toyshop).
Recommended if you're a skeptical completionist who, like me, thinks you should ignore people's kind warnings to steer clear of this book (but nooooo, you just had to spend weeks plowing through this nonsensical mystery out of sheer pig-headedness). Don't be like me, readers. Go find the good books. They're out there somewhere.