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The Moving Toyshop (Gervase Fen, #3)

Edmund Crispin

Start date: May 14, 2022

Finish date: June 6, 2022

Discussion: Buddy reads

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What Members Thought

Jan 23, 2023 John rated it really liked it

Shelves: edmund-crispin

Always nice to find a new author and a series of books to dive into. Fen an Oxford Don who investigates murders. This one was over a complicated will, a disappearing toy shop and a body. Cadogan a poet is bored and comes to Oxford for adventure and gets it in spades.

Amusing,well written, far fetched and highly entertaining.

14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2021 Rosario added it

Shelves: dnf

I bought this because I read somewhere that Agatha Christie was a friend of Crispin's and really liked his books. I'm always on the lookout for more Golden Age-type mysteries!

It started well. I was intrigued by the idea of this moving toyshop, and what the hell might have happened there. But it all went downhill from there. Crispin is nowhere near as funny as he thinks he is, his female characters are crap, and his male characters are obnoxious. They're very callous and go around sowing chaos a ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2020 Jazz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, mystery-british, golden-age-mystery-pre-1950

I tried reading this 35 years ago, but couldn’t get through it. So thought I’d try it again, hoping I would have developed a taste for it in maturity. I managed to finish it this time at least. The humor is quite broad bordering on farcical at times. I found those scenes quite amusing, but the mystery itself stretched the bounds of credulity. Great characterizations and descriptions, but left me wanting a little more sense. I’ve heard thIs referred to as Crispin’s masterpiece, but surely that ca ...more

1 like · Like · see review