Book description
In the sleepy English village of Sanford Angelorum, Professor Gervase
Fen is taking a break from his books to run for Parliament. At first
glance, the village he's come to canvass appears perfectly peaceful,
but Fen soon discovers that appearances can be deceptive: someone in
the village has discovered a dark secret and is using it for
blackmail. Anyone who comes close to uncovering the blackmailer's
identity is swiftly dispatched.
As the joys of politics wear off, Fen sets his mind to the mystery
but finds himself caught up in a tangled tale of eccentric
psychiatrists, escaped lunatics, beautiful women and lost heirs.
Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Bruce Montgomery, an English
crime writer and composer. He graduated from St John's College, Oxford,
in 1943, with a BA in modern languages, having for two years been its
organist and choirmaster. From 1943 to 1945 he taught at Shrewsbury
School and in 1944 published the first of nine Gervase Fen novels,
The Case of the Gilded Fly
. He became a well respected reviewer of crime, writing for the
Sunday Times
from 1967 until his death in 1978. He also composed the music for many
of the
Carry On
films.
