Holy Disorders

Book excerpt: This 1945 classic British mystery from “a master of the whodunnit . . . combines a flawless plot, witty dialogue and a touch of surreal hilarity” (The New York Times Book Review). On holiday in the town of Tolnbridge with his butterfly net in hand, Prof. Gervase Fen, Oxford don of English Literature, is all set for a good frolic when he learns that the cathedral organist has been murdered. With Scotland Yard unable to make sense of the crime, Fen stands ready to step in. Whether he’s chasing butterflies or catching criminals, it’s all the same to this amateur sleuth with a penchant for literary allusions and an uncanny knack for solving the unsolvable: like why a small-town church musician would be mixed up with a local coven of witches—or a spy ring of Nazi sympathizers? Finding the answers provides endless amusement for Fen—and for readers as well—in this golden age English detective novel from Edmund Crispin, “an absolute must for devotees of cultivated crime fiction.” —Kirkus Reviews Praise for the mysteries of Edmund Crispin “A marvellous comic sense.” —P. D. James, New York Times–bestselling author of the Inspector Adam Dalgliesh series “Master of fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek mystery novels, a blend of John Dickson Carr, Michael Innes, M.R. James, and the Marx Brothers.” —Anthony Boucher, author of the Fergus O’Breen series “One of the most literate mystery writers of the twentieth century.” —The Boston Globe “Beneath a formidable exterior he had unsuspected depths of frivolity.” —Philip Larkin, author of A Girl in Winter “One of the last exponents of the classical English detective story.” —The Times (London)