Love Lies Bleeding

Castrevenford School is preparing for Speech Day. However, the night before the big day, two members of staff are murdered. The Headmaster turns to Fen to investigate. While disentangling the facts of the case, Fen is forced to deal with student love affairs, a kidnapping and a lost Shakespearean manuscript.

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As inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse - discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin. Crime fiction at its quirky best.


Castrevenford school is preparing for Speech Day and English professor and amateur sleuth Gervase Fen is called upon to present the prizes. However, the night before the big day, strange events take place that leave two members of staff dead. The Headmaster turns to Professor Fen to investigate the murders.


While disentangling the facts of the case, Mr Fen is forced to deal with student love affairs, a kidnapping and a lost Shakespearean manuscript. By turns hilarious and chilling, Love Lies Bleeding is a classic of the detective genre.


Erudite, eccentric and entirely delightful - Before Morse, Oxford's murders were solved by Gervase Fen, the most unpredictable detective in classic crime fiction.


REVIEWS


"A distinguished piece of detective fiction, constructed with real intelligence"


-Daily Mail


"A master of the whodunit…he combines a flawless plot, witty dialogue, and a touch of hilarity"


-New York Times


"Master of fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek mystery novels, a blend of John Dickson Carr, Michael Innes, M.R. James, and the Marx Brothers"


-Anthony Boucher


"Never has Mr Crispin been in such good form"


-Observer


"All his work had a high-spiritedness rare and welcome in the crime story"


-Julian Symons