LOVE LIES BLEEDING by Edmund Crispin

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.

My Current Kindle Reading List

Coming out of my reading slump, I have a long list of titles I have promised to read. These are Net Galley picks that reside on my Kindle.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING by Edmund Crispin (3/21/17) Originally published in 1948.
THE SHADOW LAND by Elizabeth Kostova (4/11/17)
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by Elizabeth Stout (4/25/17)
GRIEF COTTAGE by Gail Godwin (6/6/17)
WATCH ME DISAPPEAR by Janelle Brown (7/11/17)
GLASS HOUSES by Louise Penny (8/29/17)
THE STOLEN MARRIAGE by Diane Chamberlain (10/3/17)

I pledge to start at the beginning of this list and finally catch up. Did I mention there are other books waiting to be read? Real physical copies I have amassed, but I am taking small, hopefully manageable chunks. 

FALLING IN LOVE (2015)

Falling in Love by Donna Leon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Coming full circle, Falling in Love features opera singer Flavia Petrelli who appeared in book one of this twenty-four book series. What readers appreciate in Donna Leon's series is the character of Commissario Guido Brunetti and his relationship with his family, colleagues, and Venice.

Flavia is back in Venice to sing the lead role in Tosca but someone is sending her flowers. Too many flowers. That have shown up in too many places.

I don't know much about opera but I do understand performing and a bit about singing so I found the story engaging.

An earlier review of another title in the series, A Sea of Troubles (2001) was also lukewarm.

THE CRIME AT BLACK DUDLEY (1929)

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm ashamed to say that I have never read Margery Allingham before being offered the chance by NetGalley. Like my father, I seem to have a preference for British mysteries; and like my father, as he aged, I prefer the older titles with less detailed violence, sex, and language.

OPENING LINE: "The view from the narrow window was dreary and inexpressively lonely." This sets the atmosphere perfectly for what is to follow.

A weekend party at a rural estate is ruined when the host's uncle is murdered during a party game. The uncle had criminal connections and something he had that they want is missing. Who took it? The bad guys refuse to let anyone leave until that item is returned.

There are a lot of interesting characters to suspect among the guests, servants, and gang members. The plot has been described as haphazard but there's no problem following the story. The location allows for secret panels and passageways, which are great fun. This is certainly a classic mystery.

Apparently Allingham expected Dr. George Abbershaw would be her sleuth in this first book in the series, but it was the unusual and mysterious young man called Albert Campion, who captured readers and led to his promotion as hero of the series.

According to Mike Ripley "11 of her classic novels [will be} reissued this year and a further nine in 2016."

Bottom Line: If you love Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie, you MUST READ Margery Allingham. These three are often referred to as the three queens of British Golden Age detective fiction.

Title: The Crime at Black Dudley

Author: Margery Allingham

Series: Albert Campion (Book #1)

Genre: Classic British Mystery

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Published: May 6, 2015 (Ebook)

ISBN-13: 9781448214211

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: NetGalley

Disclaimer: An advanced copy of The Crime at Black Dudley was provided to me by Bloomsbury/Net Galley for review purposes.

Margery Louise Allingham was an English writer of detective fiction, best remembered for her "golden age" stories featuring gentleman sleuth Albert Campion. (Wikipedia)