Love Lies Bleeding (1948)
‘Oh, Gervase, if you must write a detective-story—and far too many dons write them as it is—why not use the events of the week-end?’
‘My dear fellow, no one could possibly make a detective story out of them…’
This is another masterpiece by Crispin, who has by now adopted his own style—the prose more sophisticated and serious than before, fewer references to other writers of detective stories, and an interest in rural life—here, depicted to a marvel, as is the school setting. The plot is first-class: complicated twists and turns without incoherency, interesting clues, and a surprising killer with a very ingenious (and very apt, considering the setting) alibi. Characters—and dogs (with homicidal tendencies)—are excellent, the scene in the woods is tense and atmospheric without being either hammy or melodramatic, and the Shakespeare manuscript, Love's Labours Won, is handled in an original way. Unfortunately, well, let's just say—Love’s Labours Lost.
Fen, writing a detective story, happens to be both presenting prizes at the Speech Day, and a friend of the Headmaster. Crispin's tendency for Fen stumbling into crimes is getting more and more far-fetched—but, as Crispin pointed out in The Moving Toyshop, Fen is a fictional character.