Frequent Hearses

A re-read, I find Crispin's Fen books interesting but there's a remoteness about the writing that makes me wonder if Crispin actually likes any of his characters, and there seems to be a deliberate use of arcane vocabulary that's a little off putting (it's not the era, many other earlier writers manage without bamboozling the reader with their cleverness). This one is no exception, beginning (almost) with the suicide of a film starlet, which leads to a series of murders. There's a fantastic scene in a maze (not, as Crispin calls it a labyrinth, labyrinths have one route through them, an odd slip up for the author), which to later readers calls to mind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire but I'm not sure it's enough to make one care too show more much. I'll continue with a re-read of others of his works. show less

Crispin did not get better with practice. He was already pretty good with his first novel, and he stayed that way, until the end. This book is set in a milieu with which he had become familiar, cinema. There are actors and actresses and a studio and its workings. Because Ngaio Marsh set many of her books in the theatre, there are weird echoes of her treatment of that milieu in this book. As ever, there is humour about trains and Fen exposes himself to danger. I think there were fewer funny interludes than in some of the previous books, or else, I did not find them so funny. The book was published in 1950, so rationing, of petrol and of food, are allowed to make an appearance. I looked up the definitions and etymologies of "paralogism" show more and "adumbrate" because of this book and was all the better for the experience. I also read the poem from which the book's title is taken, it's good in the way one would expect an Alexander Pope poem to be good. show less

Another snappy mystery featuring Gervase Fen, who's consulting at a film studio on a biography of Alexander Pope. When a young starlet kills herself, that seems sad but not mysterious. But then a camera man drops dead...
Lots of quotations and other fun references to look up. I don't know much about Pope.

I found this entry in the Gervase Fen series a little disappointing - Fen himself is absent for a good portion of the book. The mystery itself though is one of Crispin's usual quality. I suspected the guilty party early on but then was led astray by the cleverly done red herrings

After the first few over-wrought pages, Frequent Hearses is more sombre, intelligent, and entertaining than Crispin often managed. The mystery and its conclusion are less satisfying than the book's individual pages; but for reading pleasure beyond mere plot, this is a good one.

Humbleby is fun, but this not my favorite Fen - a bit dull

Gervase Fen becomes embroiled (in the sense of standing idly by and not doing much of anything during) a case of suicide and murder at the film studio where he's advising on a film about Pope. Not a very satisfying read, nor a very satisfying mystery, but Crsipin is still a delightful writer; I give him mad props (yo) for his use of the word "auscultation." Not recommended, except for Fen fans.