The only problem I've ever had with Edmund Crispin's books is that he didn't write more. This is another funny mystery by a master of the form. Highly recommended.

Lovely literary novel of the golden age of detective stories. An intelligent and satisfying read, which for me required use of the dictionary, which I especially like

Love Lies Bleeding lies outside the conventional Golden Age but follows many of its conventions. The reader, happily nestled in a cozy setting (a mildly parodic English public school), encounters a murder scene littered with incomprehensible clues, a rather affected amateur detective – Oxford don Gervase Fen, who drives a very fast car – intrepid schoolgirls and a long-lost Shakespeare manuscript.
Unhappily – it made me unhappy, anyway – Fen refuses to discuss his observations or deductions except to suggest that the police and presumably the reader should have made them already. It’s description, dialogue and car chases all the way down.
Only when the unrecognizable body of the villain has been hauled from his wrecked car, does Fen explain exactly what we should already have noticed and deduced. He does this for a very long time.
Overall, I can’t give this one more than a ho-hum rating. Fine to occupy the mind during a not-too-uncomfortable plane trip, say.
Longer thoughts posted on my blog, https://thursdaynightwrites.com/2018/10/06/you-want-me-to-explain/

Full review on Amazon under my name. I found this book annoyingly pretentious. No mystery should require the detective to describe in detail to another character what has happened and who committed the crime, etc. This goes on for many pages with a very convoluted plot. Some of the characters are interesting and the devise of a missing Shakespeare play is a good plot feature. But, I cannot recommend this book.

Net Galley will not allow me access on my desktop, so I cannot add my Amazon review link.

A golden age look at a UK boys school. I was going to jot down some of the words the author used which I had never heard before but just found them amusing and got the jest from the sentence. What we have is 3 murders and a kidnapping which we have to wait a while to find out why. Keep track of all the characters for Fen does a great job of explaining all at the end of the book. On to the next Fen.

I enjoy a murder mystery set in Oxford, since I was raised reading "Inspector Morse" novels by Colin Dexter. The story is captivating and engaging, while it also injects witty and humorous moments, which do not distract from the story. I found it relatively easy to understand and not as complex in its plot and characters, as one would find in a Colin Dexter novel, but it's not fair to compare the two.

Overall, I was impressed by Edmund Crispin's "Love Lies Bleeding" and would recommend this novel as an entertaining read, especially on cold, Winter's night, next to a cozy, warm fire.

Love Lies Bleeding has Edmund Crispin’s Oxford don, Gervase Fen, coming to Castrevenford School for speech day and getting involved in three murders and the disappearance of a rather racy young lady, as you do.

I did enjoy the book. The pace is good, contrasting the rather sleepy atmosphere of a school at the end of the summer term with the rapid succession of murders and the requisite speedy investigation. However, Fen can be aggravating, stating that the solution remained obvious in Chapter 11. Thanks to his arrogance, he risks the lives of himself and a young woman. I accept that it was in the interests of the plot that he should do so (this is fiction, after all!) but it doesn’t make one sympathise with the character. And if the reader doesn’t sympathise with the main protagonist, there is a danger of the book becoming tedious.

This is a very erudite and self-knowing book. There is one point where a female student says to Fen “I’ve […] followed all your cases.”, to which Fen replies “That’s more than Crispin’s readers manage to do.” My gut reaction was to laugh, but then I wondered how many novels after Tristram Shandy in the 1760s up to Love Lies Bleeding in 1948 broke the fourth wall in that blatant manner? I suspect the answer is very very few indeed. One could describe that sentence as brave or cocky, but it was certainly unusual.

It is also an exciting book… for most of the way. The reader should be warned that Fen’s explanation of who did what to whom, when and how, takes more than one chapter. How the (a?) murderer arranged his alibi stretches one’s belief (and patience) beyond breaking-point. I’m reducing the book’s rating by a star simply because of the length of the explanation. At the end of it, I felt like imitating Kenneth Williams in the hospital-based Carry On film and shouting “What’s the bleeding time?”.

#LoveLiesBleeding #NetGalley

This book was truly enjoyable. The prose. The plot. The characters. Such fun! This is my first Fen book, and it has me wanting to go back to read more. The basic plot involves three murders and a disappearance - and Crispin did a wonderful job bringing all of them together to a satisfying conclusion. I think Mr. Merrythought is my favorite character - eccentric and a bit dangerous. :)

I first read Edmund Crispin years ago when I was reading my way through classic mystery writers. At the time, I found his books charming, witty, erudite. I felt the intellectual and literary breadth of the books lifted then to the top level of British mystery novelists of the Golden Age, right alongside Dorothy Sayers. I do admit that reading Crispin's books made me feel smarter. So it was with a little apprehension that I started re-reading Love Lies Bleeding. And this time, I found the book charming, witty, and erudite. The tale of Gervase Fen (surely one of the most eccentric and lovable sleuths of the Golden Age of Mystery) solving murders at a boys' Public School that revolve around a stolen Shakespeare manuscript of an unknown Shakespeare play was full of red herrings, delightful characters (human and canine), logical deductions and car chases. Fen and Crispin do make the reader feel a little behind the curve when Crispin announces early on that he knows who the murderer is but since he seems to be Holmesian, we believe him. I did find that his lengthy elaborate explanation with its remarkable leaps of logic,a bit much, but the charm of the novel got me through it all. An added benefit of reading the book on a Kindle allowed me to check my understanding of many of the antiquated and academic words Crispin employs and to feel intellectually gratified when I discovered I had understood (the context of the words was a great help). I found the humor and the charm of the book (and Crispin is very funny at times) truly delightful, overshadowing the mystery plot, which was a little too convoluted. i am looking forward to re-reading more of Crispin.

This is a delightful classic British mystery. The protagonist, Gervase Fen is an English professor with more intuition and deductive powers than your average professor. Fen, however, is most definitely not your average professor. He is literate, clever and amusing, and as a character, he stands head and shoulders above most other characters in the world of detective fiction.

Crispin's writing is full of unusual words, literary references and tongue in cheek humor. This book is much better than your average modern mystery. I enjoyed it very much, but I don't consider it one of Crispin's best. It was somewhat convoluted and probably longer than it needed to be. Despite that, I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys a well written, clean, cozy style mystery.

I did really like the book. It was well written with good characterizations. The plot was complicated. My only complaint was that it bogged down in conversations between characters at times and especially at the end with mystery reveal. All in all, however, I would recommend the book and I want to read more Edmund Crispin books.

I enjoy the Gervase Fen series of mysteries. This is one of my favorites. Why are the headmasters at a boy's school being knocked off? And not just headmasters! There's another murder tossed in for good measure. This is a classic "Set in an English village" whodunit with the murders centered in a boys' school. Edmund Crispin writes a very well-developed story with likeable characters. What I admire about Mr. Crispin, and I've probably said this in other reviews, is that you can see his characters come to life. He gives just the right amount of background and physical description without using it as "filler" which bogs down the story. This is a page-turner and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Edmund Crispin's mysteries are a delight to read, although have the dictionary handy. His vocabulary is extensive and typical of mid 20th century Britain private schools. The murders are cozy, the characters chatty, and Professor Fen, our detective, wraps it all up with a detailed explanation.

Wonderful book. Humourous, erudite, an enticing plot. And rich in vocabulary. Muderous ideas in academia. Gervase Fen is the thinking man’s (or woman’s) detective. And there is an old, tired, loveable bloodhound who rises to the occasion. Great fun. Not to be missed.

If you've a fan of murder mysteries, this classic British crime book will certainly keep you guessing and entertained. In a span of 24 hours, two professors are shot, an old lady is bludgeoned to death with a poker, and a teenaged girl goes missing. Luckily, Gervase Fen, the crime-solving Oxford don, is there to assist the overwhelmed local police. This is beautifully written, fast paced, and despite the body count contains some humorous scenes. The teens are likeable and show lots of grit and ingenuity. The slowest part is Fen's summation at the end describing how he solved the crimes.

Gervase Fen is invited to speak at a boys’ school, but gets involved in a mystery involving the disappearance of a girl and, of course, murder. Great characters (including a periodically homicidal dog named Merryweather), lots of wit and humorous farce, albeit mixed with tragedy, and satisfyingly intelligent wordsmithing. Highly recommended.

Another of the great classic mystery writers, Edmund Crispin is a delight to read. With a witty and clever detective in Gervase Fen, this book captures the essence of Oxford in the 1940s while spinning a complex tale of murderous intent. Mystery and intrigue are tempered by a wry sense of humor and deftly depicted (and highly eccentric) characters. Also recommended in the Gervase Fen series of mysteries: The Moving Toyshop.

Love the Gervase Fen books! These books are set in and around Oxford; it's enjoyable to read about the buildings, the towns, and the people. Gervase is a bit unconventional, which makes him an interesting foil with other more staid characters. Granted, sometimes it's sometimes a bit of a stretch to see how he solves various "locked-room" type mysteries, but still highly recommend for lovers of golden age mystery.

This is a wonderful classic mystery. Gervase Fen arrives at the English boys' school, Castrevenford, to fill in as speaker for Speech Day. Earlier, the Headmaster had been visited by the Head of the girls' school because one of her girls, Brenda, was clearly upset about something that had happened after rehearsal the previous evening, but wasn't talking. Brenda then disappears. Then, two faculty members at Castrevenford are found murdered the previous night, one in his own study and the other in the faculty lounge. The local policeman, Stagge arrives, but Fen appears to be better at investigation. The tale really becomes complicated when a young man walking in the countryside hears a scream, investigates, finds a dead elderly woman on the floor, and then is knocked out himself. When he revives, he walks to the nearest house and calls the police. At first, there doesn't seem to be any motive for any of the murders, and they don't even appear to be connected. However, this last murder finally reveals the motive and connections. Fen also realizes there is more than one murderer. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot, and an exciting danger when Fen goes seeking Brenda with one of Brenda's friends. All in all, this is an enjoyable book.

Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A wordy and clever story first published in 1948 with a vocabulary that will send you to the dictionary every other page.

It's been years since I read an Edmund Crispin mystery so when NetGalley offered this title, I volunteered. His slueth is Gervase Fen, an eccentric English professor at Oxford.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The headmaster sighed. It was, he recognized, a plaintive and unmanly noise, but for the moment he was quite unable to suppress it."

THE STORY: Gervase Fen has been invited to Castrevenford Boy's School to present the prizes on Speech Day. Instead he finds himself embroiled in the murder of two schoolmasters and the disappearance of a young woman. Throw in a long-lost possible script of Love's Labor's Won and letters written by Shakespeare and there you have it.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Readers either love or hate these mysteries. How often have you come across the following words in a mystery: nugatory, hebetude, chiaroscuro, vitiate, stertorously, irrefragable, etc.) or come across them in any written thing? Keeping a dictionary nearby is recommended or, like me, you can intuit the meaning from the way the words are used.

Interestingly enough the mystery is solved about 80% of the way through the story. After that Gervase spends the rest of the book explaining everything to the headmaster.

BOTTOM LINE: This classic mystery of the Golden Age might not appeal to modern readers. The pace is slower and the language is difficult. On the other hand, a number of reviewers seem to love the old mysteries. This is an outstanding example.

Title: Love Lies Bleeding
Author: Edmund Crispin
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Ipso Books
No. of Pages: 276
Copyright: March 21, 2017 (Originally published in 1948)
ISBN-10: 1911295314
ISBN-13: 978-1911295310

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by Ipso Press and Net Galley for an honest review.

EDMUND CRISPIN was the pen name of Robert Bruce Montgomery (1921-1978), an English crime writer and composer.