"Buried for Pleasure"

This week's review on the Classic Mysteries podcast is of a book which is a combination of a well-plotted, fairly-clued mystery - and a raucous political satire. It's "Buried for Pleasure," by Edmund Crispin, featuring the exploits of Crispin's detective, Gervase Fen, a Professor of English at Oxford and - for the moment, at least - an independent candidate for a seat in the British Parliament.

The mystery stems from the death of a woman, who has been sent a box of poisoned chocolates. She is the first - but will not be the only - victim, but the investigation of the murder will provide a useful distracton for Fen, whose political campaign really stems more from boredom than from any deeply-held political convictions. While the satire obviously is aimed at British political styles and institutions, I suspect many modern readers, 60 years after this book's first publication, will find there are wonderful echoes of today's politics. Don't miss Fen's final political speech, the night before the election, when he has decided he really does not want to win. It's brilliant.

You can listen to my full audio review here. And, if you enjoy the book, or if you don't, why not come back here and tell me about it in the comments?