quietjenn's review against another edition
3.0
Ah, Fen. I've missed you. Not quite sure why I waited so long to get back to you. If you like your vintage mysteries with a dash of absurdity and humor, Crispin isn't a bad way to go. Swan Song wasn't *quite* as rollicking as a book whose descriptions begins with "Hurrah!" ought to be, but still lots of fun and it goes down quickly. Also, it's very twisty, in a good way. It's not necessary to have read the earlier books to enjoy it, although if you have, some of the bits will be even funnier.
mizpurplest's review against another edition
3.0
I was fairly excited to read this book, having just really enjoyed another Edmund Crispin novel. Unfortunately, I rapidly discovered I was actually just rereading the same book.
I knew that the setting would be the same, and that the theme would be theater people, but I was unprepared for just how similar the two books were.
- The first few chapters focus on how much everyone hates one particular character.
- The hated character dies suspiciously.
- Everyone has a motive; no one has an alibi. Several people announce that they had considered killing the dead person themselves.
- The police think it is suicide; Gervese Fen thinks it is murder. Everyone tells Fen he should leave well enough alone because the world is better off without the dead person.
- Fen spends quite a while with a moral dilemma; meanwhile, two couples fall in love and become engaged.
- One member of the newly engaged couples is also murdered. Everyone is surprised and alarmed.
- By the end, the murderer(s) is dead, saving Fen from his dilemma.
I liked the first one enough to give Crispin another shot, so I've got one more book to read. If this one has the same plot, I give up.
I knew that the setting would be the same, and that the theme would be theater people, but I was unprepared for just how similar the two books were.
- The first few chapters focus on how much everyone hates one particular character.
- The hated character dies suspiciously.
- Everyone has a motive; no one has an alibi. Several people announce that they had considered killing the dead person themselves.
- The police think it is suicide; Gervese Fen thinks it is murder. Everyone tells Fen he should leave well enough alone because the world is better off without the dead person.
- Fen spends quite a while with a moral dilemma; meanwhile, two couples fall in love and become engaged.
- One member of the newly engaged couples is also murdered. Everyone is surprised and alarmed.
- By the end, the murderer(s) is dead, saving Fen from his dilemma.
I liked the first one enough to give Crispin another shot, so I've got one more book to read. If this one has the same plot, I give up.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
I do love me an academic mystery. And Edmund Crispin's delightful series starring Gervase Fen--the Oxford don and quirky amateur detective--is a marvelous example of academic mysteries done right. There is witty, sparkling dialogue. There is intellectual name-dropping--"There goes C. S. Lewis," said Fen suddenly. "It must be Tuesday." There is unashamed references to fellow Golden Age sleuths (H.M., Mrs. Bradley and Albert Campion). There is the entertainingly mad brother of the deceased. There is brilliant humor--it's worth the price of admission just for the description of Fen driving his sporty little red car, "Lily Christine." Oh...and, incidentally, a cleverly constructed "impossible" crime. Impossible, that is, if it's murder and not suicide.
Swan Song gives us murder at the opera. An Oxford opera house is putting on a production of Die Meistersinger and while the star of the show, Edwin Shorthouse, may sing like an angel most everyone who knew him thought his origins were from a much warmer climate. His drunken advances to every available (or even unavailable female) doesn't do anything for his popularity with the ladies...or their male friends and spouses. And his insistence on misunderstanding direction hasn't won him any points with the conductor. So, it's no surprise that few tears are shed when Shorthouse is found swinging at the end of a hangman's noose in his dressing room late one night. The trouble is that while there are plenty people with motive, there just doesn't seem to be any way that someone could have murdered him. The police are prepared to accept a case of suicide. But a stubborn coroner's jury will have it as murder. And then there are attacks on the wife of one of the other singers. A second member of the cast will die and a third will be attacked before Fen will reveal how a man can be murdered by hanging with no one else in the room--and how revenge can extend beyond the grave.
This is great fun and Crispin's writing is a delight. Very reminiscent of Dorothy L. Sayers--which probably explains why I like it so much. Four stars.
{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog at http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2012/04/swan-song-review.html. Please request permission to repost any portion. Thanks.}
chloeliana's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first Gervase Fen book and I rather enjoyed it. Mr. Fen doesn’t show up in the story until chapter 6, the first five chapters instead introduce us to Adam, a prime suspect, Eleanor, a crime writer married to Adam, and Edwin Shorthouse, a man who no one seems to like. It is the last who turns up dead, apparently of suicide, hanging in the theater in which he has caused so many problems.
tinywriter_'s review against another edition
4.0
Not as engrossing as The Moving Toyshop or Love Lies Bleeding, but Crispin still has his moments. Particularly when C.S. Lewis strolls into the local pub, and Fen muses 'Oh, it must be Tuesday'. It's these little real-life peculiarities, slipped so seamlessly into the narrative, that mark Cripin's ability to make the reader smile.
honeypossum_reads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
pugnax's review against another edition
4.0
The first one where I managed to guess which characters were upto what before the big reveal. However, that doesn't mean that this isn't any good. In fact the revelation in this one is quite a fiendishly complex feat, I think it had just suitably unhinged my brain enough to be on the same lines.
christinecc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Crispin did it again, guys. (And he broke the curse of the 50-50 awful-excellent book! Books 1 and 3 being super fun, and book 2 an UNBELIEVABLE mess of a book.)
I can't explain the cover because we really don't get any fancy opera attendance scenes. The star of this book is the backstage drama of rival singers, tense rehearsals, stolen makeup remover, and conductors on the verge of a mental breakdown (or a firing, whichever comes first).
The mystery begins when the star tenor (an out-and-out detestable person) is found dead, and anyone could have done it. Or was it a suicide? While the police pushes the suicide angle, Oxford don (and eternal clown) Gervase Fen investigates the evidence that doesn't fit that theory. But what is the murder is the end of it? Why should someone else die when the most hateful person backstage is gone?
I loved every minute of this book. It's funny, it's dark, it (as usual) breaks the fourth wall in delightful ways, and Gervase is incorrigible. He also shows a subtle amount of growth since his previous adventures, where his carelessness led to some tragic consequences. Gervase is more cautious here and also more considerate of others without giving up his vanity (of course).
When the sad moments hit, they hit hard, and when you read a funny passage, you can't help but laugh. I especially loved the backstage chaos after murder has ruined the rehearsal schedule but everyone still needs to show up for this German opera:
"in the orchestra-pit, a trombonist was doing a very creditable impression of a Spitfire diving, and a clarinetist was surreptitiously playing jazz."
"Rutherston gave a final impassioned address in which he begged the chorus to try and look like sixteenth-century Nurembergers instead of like an elementary eurhythmics class."
If you've been in any kind of theatre or orchestral performance, you know this vibe.
Recommended if you want to laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seat as the stakes get higher and Gervase never stops looking for the answer. I can't wait to try the next in the series.
I can't explain the cover because we really don't get any fancy opera attendance scenes. The star of this book is the backstage drama of rival singers, tense rehearsals, stolen makeup remover, and conductors on the verge of a mental breakdown (or a firing, whichever comes first).
The mystery begins when the star tenor (an out-and-out detestable person) is found dead, and anyone could have done it. Or was it a suicide? While the police pushes the suicide angle, Oxford don (and eternal clown) Gervase Fen investigates the evidence that doesn't fit that theory. But what is the murder is the end of it? Why should someone else die when the most hateful person backstage is gone?
I loved every minute of this book. It's funny, it's dark, it (as usual) breaks the fourth wall in delightful ways, and Gervase is incorrigible. He also shows a subtle amount of growth since his previous adventures, where his carelessness led to some tragic consequences. Gervase is more cautious here and also more considerate of others without giving up his vanity (of course).
When the sad moments hit, they hit hard, and when you read a funny passage, you can't help but laugh. I especially loved the backstage chaos after murder has ruined the rehearsal schedule but everyone still needs to show up for this German opera:
"in the orchestra-pit, a trombonist was doing a very creditable impression of a Spitfire diving, and a clarinetist was surreptitiously playing jazz."
"Rutherston gave a final impassioned address in which he begged the chorus to try and look like sixteenth-century Nurembergers instead of like an elementary eurhythmics class."
If you've been in any kind of theatre or orchestral performance, you know this vibe.
Recommended if you want to laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seat as the stakes get higher and Gervase never stops looking for the answer. I can't wait to try the next in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual assault