The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin

Readers of classic mysteries love a mystery set in Oxford and a murder in the theater, and this book contains both.  A cast of professional London actors are gathering in Oxford to perform the premier performance of the play Metromania by noted dramatist Robert Warner. Edmund Crispin cleverly presents the major characters in this novel as they ride the trains from London to Oxford. On board is Gervaise Fen, professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University: Fen would much rather be solving mysteries than criticising literature. Also there is Sir Richard Freeman, Chief Constable of Oxford, who would rather be criticising literature than solving mysteries. Others on the train include Robert Warner and his actress companion Rachel West, Yseut Haskell, a mediocre actress and an annoying personality, and her sister Helen Haskell, a good actress and a pleasant person.

Also on the train,  Donald Fellows, an organist at Oxford who was much absorbed in his music and in his interest in Yseut Haskell. Also, there was Nicholas Barclay who was one of my favorite characters. He had started studying literature at Oxford, realized that there was no end of the criticism of literature, and abandoned his studies in order to read Shakespeare. He had read so much Shakespeare that he managed to memorize a great deal of it. It was now possible for him to simply "sit and think Shakespeare to the annoyance of his friends who regarded this as the limit of idleness". Also arriving was Nigel Blake, a journalist and an Oxford graduate who was using his vacation to visit Oxford again, and to see Metromania and Helen Haskell with whom he had fallen in love although he had only seen her perform on the stage. Readers will view a great deal of the action in the book through Nigel's eyes.

The rehearsals of the play started, there was a party which all the characters attended, and some managed to get others annoyed. Then there was the murder which appeared to be impossible. Poor Inspector  Cordery wanted to call it suicide. Cordery had a somewhat limited imagination, a strict sense of morality,  and was bested by the Oxford intellects. Gervaise Fen, however, was sure it was murder and was sure who had done it shortly after it occurred, but Fen needed more time to put all of the pieces together which he would do quite efficiently.

The method of committing the murder is a bit hard to believe as is the motive of the murderer. However, If you like your crimes clever, your characters educated and witty, and a bit of humor to top things off this is the book for you. This was Edmund Crispin's first mystery novel and was written in 1944. Crispin is the pen name for Bruce Montgomery who was an Oxford graduate, organist, and  composer of music.  Gervaise Fen is a delightful character who is clever, erudite, and given to clever sayings and an occasional Latin quote.

The Case of the Seven Sneezes by Anthony Boucher

In 1915, Horace Brainard married Catherine Herndon. Dr. Hugh Arnold was the best man. Slim and sexy movie actress Stella Paris was the maid of honor. Lucas Quincey was an usher, and Alys Trent was the flower girl. The wedding was attended by James Herndon, the bride's brother, and by their friend Martha Stanhope who was murdered the next day. This murder still remains unsolved in the year 1940. Martha's brother Jay had died shortly before the wedding in the Lusitania sinking.

In 1940, Horace Brainard planned a celebration of the 25th year of his marriage at his house on Blackman's Island.  Horace has become a pompous and insulting person; Catherine is rather nondescript.  The party will be attended by Lucas Quincey who is now wealthy, Stella Paris who now weighs 200 pounds which she gained after retirement from the screen,  James Herndon  who has achieved nothing in life, and whose main passion is his collection of pipes, and Dr.Hugh Arnold who seems to be quite unmoved by any of the violent events. Alys Trent will also be there; she has changed from being a sweet flower girl to being an alcoholic nymphomaniac. Also attending will be Janet Brainard, the daughter of Horace and Catherine, who is the editor of a puzzle magazine, and Tom Quincy who is Lucas' nephew.

Another person attending will be the red-haired private detective Fergus O'Breen. Brainard did not invite Fergus and resents his presence. O'Breen came at the request of Stella Paris who suspected that something was going to go wrong at this celebration, especially since her cat had just been murdered. Two cats had been murdered before the death of Martha Stanhope.

The weekend starts off badly. The island handyman Corcoran was attacked and someone tried to cut his throat with a rather dull knife. Corcoran did survive the attack, but could not identify his attacker. Then Jesus Ramirez, who piloted the boat which brought the guests to the island was knocked out, and his boat was sent off leaving the guests stranded on the island. The suitcase which O'Breen had brought which contained his crime scene investigation tools was stolen.

After a rather unpleasant anniversary dinner, Lucas Quincey was murdered in the night, and other attacks upon members of the party were made. The members of the anniversary are left, stranded, and fearing for their lives while Fergus struggles to find the murderer of Lucas and a solution of the murder of Martha Stanhope before anyone else dies.

Anthony Boucher was a writer of mystery and science fiction. He was also a noted mystery critic, and was the reviewer of mystery novels for the New York Times and other publications. His contributions to mystery writing have been honored through the naming of the Bouchercom mystery convention and the Anthony Award. The Case of the Seven Sneezes was published in 1942. It is currently not in print, but used copies are available.