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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Barely any
A shooting death investigated; entirely offstage and classic in treatment
Language
Barely any
Polished, period-appropriate language with no profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Romantic undercurrents among the theatrical troupe; chaste
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking in an Oxford setting
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
The puzzle of the locked room provides intellectual rather than emotional tension
What this book is about
When a deeply disliked actress is shot dead in her locked room at an Oxford hotel, the eccentric Professor of English Literature Gervase Fen takes it upon himself to investigate. Witty, erudite, and unashamedly theatrical, the first Gervase Fen mystery established Edmund Crispin as a master of the classic English detective novel — the tradition of Sayers and Allingham given a distinctly playful, self-aware spin.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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