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The Case of the Gilded Fly
Gervase Fen #1
Edmund Crispin
1944 · Mystery
How it reads
The Case of the Gilded Fly is mystery (comic academic mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a big city setting, in the historical past, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are art and creativity, secrets and justice. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.
It opens a series. The ending resolves happily. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something funny
- you want an escape
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something melancholy, dark or tense
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- mystery
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- debut
- Setting: place
- big city
- Setting: time
- historical
- Mood / feeling
- funny
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- light and escapist
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, one viewpoint
- Publication era
- classic
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- first in a series
- Themes
- art and creativity, secrets, justice
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Curses!Aaron ElkinsShares: mystery, funny mood, light and escapist tone, moderate pace
The Return of Sherlock HolmesArthur Conan DoyleShares: mystery, light and escapist tone, moderate pace, resolved and happy ending- The Bookshop MurderMerryn AllinghamShares: mystery, light and escapist tone, moderate pace, resolved and happy ending
- Haunted Nantucket: Lin Coffin Mysteries Books 1-3 (A Lin Coffin Mystery)J.A. WhitingShares: mystery, light and escapist tone, moderate pace, resolved and happy ending
- Do Your WorstRosie DananShares: funny mood, light and escapist tone, moderate pace, resolved and happy ending
- Meddling KidsEdgar CanteroShares: mystery, funny mood, light and escapist tone, resolved and happy ending
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