Holy Disorders (A Gervase Fen Mystery)
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By Edmund Crispin
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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 quirkiest and best.
Holy Disorders takes Oxford don and part time detective Gervase Fen to the town of Tolnbridge, where he is happily bounding around with a butterfly net until the cathedral organist is murdered, giving Fen the chance to play sleuth. The man didn’t have an enemy in the world, and even his music was inoffensive: could he have fallen foul of a nest of German spies or of the local coven of witches, ominously rumored to have been practicing since the 17th century? TweetReviews
Geoffrey Vintner, a famous organist, is summoned by his friend, Gervase Fen to play at Tolnbridge Cathedral because the resident organist has been attacked in the locked, empty cathedral. A bit later the man is murdered while in hospital and Fen, an amateur detective, along with Vintner and the local police Inspector start to investigate. Vintner was warned off going to Tolnbridge, so they presume something is hidden in the organ loft. Later, another member of the clergy is killed in the cathedral in similar circumstances and after many twists and false trails the perpetrators and the reason for the murders is uncovered. It's a serious and well thought-out plot but the writing is certainly not serious. The author, Edmund Crispin, read modern languages at Oxford and his characters, Fen and Vintner, delight in making private jokes, some of which are now quite hard to fathom! It might not be the easiest book to read but I think that's part of its charm. If you enjoy reading classic crime novels give this a go.
Review by Mo, Oundle Crime
