Sir Ecgbert Tode of Tode Hall has survived to a grand old age - much to the despair of his younger wife, Emma. But at ninety-three he has, at last, shuffled off the mortal coil.
Emma, Lady Tode, thoroughly fed up with being a dutiful Lady of the Manor, wants to leave the country to spend her remaining years in Capri. Unfortunately her three tiresome children are either unwilling or unable (too mad, too lefty or too happy in Australia) to take on management of their large and important home, so the mantle passes to a distant relative and his glamorous wife.
Not long after the new owners take over, Lady Tode is found dead in the mausoleum. Accident? Or is there more going on behind the scenes of Tode Hall than an outsider would ever guess....?
In the traditions of two great but very different British writers, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, Waugh's hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery comes complete with stiff upper lips, even stiffer drinks, and any stiffs that might embarrass the family getting smartly brushed under the carpet...
Gorgeous cover but this isn't like either Agatha Christie or PG Wodehouse as promised in the blurb: it's closer to contemporary chick lit where an ill-assorted family group try to revive an old country house. There is a death but it's well into the book and there's no real investigation or mystery. The 'foolish chumps' trope might have worked better if all the characters hadn't been quite so vile. Gertrude Tode perks things up a bit when she appears but the rest falls flat - and the pointed names (Mrs Danvers, A Prance Through the Music of Time, Todes of Tode Hall, Brideshead) seem a bit aimless. Sorry, but the silliness just didn't work for me, I'm afraid :)
What you assume is going to happen is some kind of Agatha Christie-esque investigation, what with her name being mentioned in the blurb, and Poirot being mentioned more than twice in the content of the book. Alas, no.
Instead there’s just a rambling story involving nymphomaniac gentry, posh people getting sloshed, staff glaring at the new owners with unconcealed contempt, and a ghost with awesome dress sense. You know when you’re at a party, and you’re the only sober person? Everyone else is absolutely plastered, finding themselves utterly hilarious and you’re just there, in the corner, waiting for it all to end.
I’m sorry to say that’s how this book made me feel.
The attempts at satire were just far too much, it was overwhelming and about as funny as shingles. The characters were all unlikable, and very poorly developed. Given how often we were told the existing staff hated India, or how horrible Lady Tode was, we were never shown any reasons as to why these two facts were the case.
I have no doubt there is an audience for this book, who will enjoy it for the silly story it is.
However, I am not that audience. It will be easier to pitch it to the right readers if the blurb left out Agatha Christie, and the cover, which evokes a 1920’s feel, actually reflected the fact the book was set in the present.
I definitely found it all very misleading and confusing.
Thank you to the publisher, and Netgalley, who provided me with a ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is seriously, embarrassingly awful. The novel would never have been published by any self-respecting mainstream publisher had it not been authored by a Waugh. Daisy’s grandpapa Evelyn and father Auberon — both brilliant writers — or, for that matter, her talented great-uncle Alec (The Loom of Youth) — would be turning in their graves.
Nothing works — the idiotic over-the-top comedy, bookish references, inspirations, evocations, puns, various sillinesses, in-jokes (viz. Brideshead, the Mitfords, Powell’s Dance, Asterix, Tintin, Milne’s Toad of Toad Hall, Lawrence’s Mellors et al). This is an unbearably unsubtle, wince-making, over-egged mishmash that wears its ‘literariness’ heavily and becomes progressively worse as it unfolds. Daisy tries hard to emulate Evelyn Waugh’s anarchic comedy but fails miserably.
One of the reviewers — mainly pals of Daisy’s, one imagines, interspersed with impressionable semi-literates from publications like the Metro — dares make comparisons with Agatha Christie and Julian Fellowes — which is extremely unfair to either of these wonderful writers. Oh and the book is nothing like Wodehouse — another insult.
NB For truly funny, genuinely sophisticated comedy of manners and country-house mores read Fellowes’s Snobs.
I have been a fan of Daisy Waugh for a few years now and THIS is her most fun to date. She has the most brilliant ear and eye for the absurd. I loved it! I only put it down when a fit of laughter made it impossible to read. Easily as funny as PG Wodehouse and as far as I'm concerned, In the Crypt had me guessing who'd dunnit as much as any Agatha Christie I've read. When's the next one out? I can't wait.
After Sir Ecgbert Tode passes away his wife decides she doesn't want the responsibility of Tode Hall any longer and puts a distant relative in charge. When Lady Tode's body is found, suspicion falls on the staff and family. This was daft in parts, quite entertaining, with lots of literary references, but, ultimately, it fell a bit flat for me and I was slightly disappointed. Loved the art deco design for the cover though.
Endlich hat der alte Sir Ecgbert Tode das Zeitliche gesegnet und seine zwanzig Jahre jüngere Witwe, will endlich in ihr Haus auf Capri ziehen. Doch leider wird aus den Plänen nichts, denn der Sensemann steht schon bereit, auch sie in die Gruft zu befördern.
Ich bin völlig anderen Erwartungen an das Buch gegangen, denn ich hatte bei dem Cover an einen eher historischen Krimi mit gemütlicher Herrenhaus-Atmosphäre gedacht. Das Herrenhaus gibt es, aber das ist eine moderne Touristenattraktion, die durch einen Film berühmt wurde. Ich war nicht auf den Humor und die skurrile Familie gefasst. Anfangs war ich auch von den Wortspielereien Ecgbert-Egbert und um den Namen Tode ein wenig verwirrt und genervt, doch dann entwickelte sich der Krimi und ich habe ihn dann doch gerne gelesen, besonders der übersinnliche Twist hat mir gut gefallen.
Excellent cover art and blurb led me to expect a light hearted inter-war mystery, or possibly a modern-day pastiche. Instead I got a deeply irritating mess absent any believable characters, funniness or mystery, and a sense that the author couldn't decide if she wanted to write a mystery novel, a ghost story, or a Tom Holt style absurd comedy and so failed at all three.
Shame, as there were a couple of scenes that showed Waugh can actually write.
What fun!It has been a while since a book has made me cry with LAUGHTER! Daisy Waugh has a brilliant knack for drawing characters who are simultaneously ludicrous and completely recognisable. I certainly saw myself in Mr Egbert ...
In the Crypt With a Candlestick av Daisy Waugh var både märklig, klämkäck och lite för mycket: ändå gillade jag den? Jag ska ärligt erkänna att jag var mer än orolig när bokens snittbetyg på Goodreads är 2,9 - det är rätt lågt. Och även om blurben på omslaget skvallrar om murder mystery så skulle jag vilja hävda att den som förväntar sig för mycket av den varan kommer bli besviken. Det är så ä mycket annat som trängs mellan sidorna att mordmysteriet hamnar i skymundan. Istället får vi bekanta oss med tjusiga spökdamer, galna arvtagare, maffiaindragna butlers, otrohetsskandaler och hemligheter bland människorna som bor i den stora herrgården Tode Hall, och jag förstår att det inte är för alla. Betyget skvallrar om det. Men här och nu var det helt rätt för mig.
Jag gillar jargongen i boken, trots att jag inte trodde jag skulle göra det. Kände mig tveksam i början men efter några kapitel kom jag in i det, och till sist kändes språket istället självklart. Alla karaktärerna är dragna till sin spets men jag tycker det fungerar. Det är fjantigt, men kärleksfullt. Hade jag läst den här boken på en annan plats i livet är jag inte säker på att det hade fungerat lika bra. För visst är det så, vissa böcker passar vid särskilda tillfällen, men kanske skulle skära sig totalt vid ett annat? Jag är glad att jag läste In The Crypt With a Candlestick vid en tidpunkt i livet när jag kunde uppskatta den. Det är alltid roligast att gilla böcker och exakt nu var det här läsglädje för mig.
***Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
Well. I'm struggling for what to say about this. The blurb says it's Agatha Christie crossed with Wodehouse, but I actually think it owes a lot to Waugh's own family heritage - and it's trying to be Brideshead Revisted crossed with the satire of Vile Bodies, but funny. I'm not sure it works. Despite what the cover might suggest, it's set in the modern day, and there is a a lot of set up to get to before you get to the murder, there's not much actual detecting and I'm not sure the ending works. The shifting It has its moments, but ultimately, it doesn't really fit into any of the genres it's trying to, but doesn't satisfactorily break out of them either - so I don't think it works as any of them. Mostly it just made me want to read Vile Bodies again.
Words can't begin to describe how funny Daisy's new book is. I have ordered a copy for all my friends and siblings. I know Christmas is over BUT this book is such guaranteed fun, there is no time like January to read it. Clever, subtle, funny and gripping. Thank you Daisy. You have right cheered me up
A perfectly light and entertaining novel but not much substance or character depth, it's described as an Agathie Christie type novel, and apart from one of the characters reading Agathie Christie on a train this novel didn't actually have a murder mystery feel to it.
The characters felt vapid, a lot of them were awful and unlikable. I don't know if this was done purposefully or not, if on purpose then bravo it was well done. There were a few of the mystery elements that weren't tied up for me, towards the end it just sort of unravelled and ta-da there you have who-done-it. The details were a bit lacking.
The other thing that really got to me was the way the actual characters talked: circs, TBH, xmas, probs - seriously if you are super posh would you talk like that.
However it is a light easy to read book and if you are looking for some escapism from what is going on in the world today it's perfect for that.
I’m not sure what to say about this book except that it was a mess. I think the characters were supposed to be quirky but they were just embarrassing. The dialogue which, I think was supposed to be witty, was just disjointed and ridiculous. Every so often, there would be a scene with sexual tidbits thrown in and all of a sudden characters would use the word f*ck a lot which made absolutely no sense. It was like the author just decided to add it, never mind that the swear words or sex scenes just made the book more awkward. Of course, a ghost was thrown in for good measure but even that didn’t work out well. All the characters were flat and I couldn’t stand the lot of them. Don’t be fooled. This is not anything remotely like an Agatha Christie or Wodehouse novel.
Funny, sharp, entertaining and unputdownable - I loved every page of Daisy Waugh's new book. It's a proper Who Done It with excellent jokes. I laughed out loud a lot! I would recommend to anyone who has a sense of humour. An excellent read!
I really wanted to like this book that promised a Christie and Wodehouse style thriller and had a blurb that was intriguing. But everything fell flat for me. The characters, the setting and the story. I guess, this just isn't for me since a lot of people seem to have noticed stuff I missed.
You know the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover'? Yeah, I judged this book a lot by its cover, and sadly, I got nothing that I expected. This cover caught my eye in the secondhand bookshop, the description looked promising, as well as comparing this book to Agatha Christie's mysteries. In the end, I was hoping for some Agatha Christie x Knives Out mystery, probably set up in the 1920s' (as the cover suggests, again). Unfortunately, this book was nothing like it... The plot was almost non-existent, characters unlikeable, the murder happened almost halfway into the book, but nobody seemed to care, and the investigation was more like 'evidence conveniently came to the main character (if one existed to begin with)'. And when a GHOST appeared, I just rolled my eyes. I could have DNFed this book (and I probably should have), however, I was still expecting SOMETHING interesting to happen. I want to say it was predictable, but it was not, mainly because the author gave no clues about the murder. In the end, when the puzzle pieces fell into place, I couldn't see the whole picture. It was more like, "Oh well, it happened, everyone knows everything, I guess." While reading the second half of the book, I was expecting so much more than it was given. I can see the vision, what could have been done with the plot and all the murder mystery, but I guess the author didn't want to take that road and instead chose funny (which was not really funny) and relatable (debatable) content, which resulted in me giving this book only one star. Oh, and the crypt was mentioned just a few times in the book, and no one spent a considerable amount of time there, so the title is also beautiful, but misleading.
A very outrageous and over the top Cluedo style murder mystery weekend. The characters of Tode Hall could all have done it. Lady Tode’s death is thought an accident but over a murder mystery weekend the truth is found with help from resident ghost Geraldine, Lady Tode’s mother. This is a fun tongue in cheek story with eccentric characters to enjoy. I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the cover art, copy, and title are selling a different experience than what you actually get with In the Crypt with a Candlestick. To be fair, what you get is a complete mess, so I assume marketing did their best.
The opening is actually quite good. That and a couple mildly amusing scenes stretch this review to two stars. Unfortunately, that opening will be the last time we see three of the five characters it introduces. We then meet Alice, the new Agatha Christie loving manager of Tode Hall and expect that she will be soon solving a murder mystery. Actually, there will be a murder, but Alice is largely going to ignore it. She has numerous conversations with a ghost instead, but they really add nothing to the plot or advancement if the novel. We're told that India and Lady Tode didn't get along but we only see them together once, and given no real explanation for their animosity until quite late in the game. We get an extended scene of India leading a painfully bad staff meeting, but her poor staff relations go nowhere. None of these and other missed opportunities play like clever subversion of expectations, they're just sloppy.
I’m so disappointed in this book as I was beyond excited to read it, the cover is stunning and I was so intrigued by the blurb.
I thought this book was going to be following clues and solving a murder as the reviews mentioned it was a murder mystery and recommended it to fans of Agatha Christie. Even the title “In the Crypt with a Candlestick” reminded me of Cluedo!
However, it seemed as though it was a mash-up of murder mystery (with no clues to follow), a ghost story and trying to be comedic - it just didn’t work for me.
None of the characters were likeable or close to being realistic and they weren’t fleshed out throughout the book leaving no development. There were also instances where the audience is repeatedly told that members of staff in the house hated a new arrival but didn’t ever show or discuss the reasons why they felt that way.
I found it to be a bit disjointed and even found the ending to be underwhelming - the only time I’ll pick this up again is to look at the pretty cover!
Well, this was a fun one, and I hear it is the first in a new series. No, I don't usually like stories with ghosts, but when the apparition in question is funny, I can handle that. Here's my full review. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2021/10/0...
Nothing at all like P. G. Wodehouse or Agatha Christie (not even close!), this was rather a damp squib for me.
It started off all right, but.. went steadily downhill from there. Character development was poor and it was all a bit disjointed. India was one of the most awful (in a silly way) characters I have encountered in a long time - frankly, I would have pushed her over the balcony myself. and the literary references scattered throughout seemed out of place in what was more a farce than a mystery.
I would consider reading a book with only Mad Ecgbert and Alice, with the odd appearance from Geraldine, but that's about it. One thing though, a truly spectacular cover indeed! Now that is very Hercule Poirot.
Many thanks to Edelweiss, the author and publisher for my ARC.
This tries so hard to be an Agatha Christie and fails. There are many conventions which just jump out as blatant rip-offs of her Poirot tropes. Most of them are obvious. The story has no real coherent plot. You have no idea who the ‘central’ character of the story is, I.e. the Poirot, or the Marple. There are multitudes of characters that are introduced for no reason. They have no bearing on the story whatsoever. The main crime in the novel as advertised on the blurb hardly takes a front seat. Last, but by no means least, is the grammar. I have never read a novel with so many flagrant breaches of writing conventions. Why are there so many sentences that span 5 lines? Why are there multiple points of parenthesis? Why are there so many contractions used in the main body that are supposed to be used in text messages???? It was easy to read, I’ll give it that. I also liked the whole ‘Lord of the Manor’-esque setting.
Without a doubt the strangest book I’ve read. The first few chapters had me laughing out loud, but from then onwards it became more and more ludicrous - murder, random parties and ..... ghosts?? Very odd, less of a murder mystery and more ‘let’s follow these characters regular lives without making a massive deal about the fact that someone was killed and then quickly reveal the killer in the last page’. Entertaining, but a strange read😂
An English Manor House crime caper. I think this is worthy of 3 1/2 stars since I had to keep turning the pages. Lady Tode leaves the management of Tode manor to her nephew and his wife with very mixed results. Funny and Outrageous with a ghostly visitor. I enjoyed it.
Don‘t know why others dislike this book so much. Or why they think to compare it to Evelyn Waugh (I know they’re related but that doesn’t really matter). It was a fun and easy read with lots of witty dialogue. Also loved the way she described the crazy gentry. Will definitely read the second book.
This was so incredibly dull, it took me 4 whole days to finish reading when it shouldn't have taken more than 4 hours. I would've DNF-ed but was unfortunately dealing with a particularly pesky attack of sunk cost fallacy.
I'm not quite sure what to make of this, I want to say light-hearted but it may just have been silly. The beginning was distinctly average as was the end but the middle was okay. Overall I guess I've read worse (I did at least finish it) so if it's a choice of this or nothing then give this a go, however if you've got another option I wouldn't waste your time on this.