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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
A suspicious death at a film studio; depicted without graphic content
Language
None
Clean period language; no strong profanity
Sexual Content
None
Romantic entanglements discussed as motive; no explicit content
Substance Use
None
Mild social drinking typical of the era
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
Light whodunit tension; no severe psychological themes
What this book is about
The sixth Gervase Fen mystery (published in the US as Sudden Vengeance) takes the eccentric Oxford don to a British film studio where a young actress has fallen—or been pushed—to her death. Fen's investigation reveals a tangle of professional jealousies, romantic entanglements, and buried secrets among the studio's colorful inhabitants. Crispin brings his usual literary wit and comic flair to the Hollywood-adjacent setting, producing a mystery that simultaneously affectionately parodies and celebrates the British film industry of the late 1940s.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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