The Moving Toyshop: The intriguing, suspenseful, gripping, dark, humorous and cosy cozy classic detective fiction novel adored by Golden Age crime and modern mystery fans alike (A Gervase Fen Mystery)

As inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse - discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin. Crime fiction at its quirkiest and best. Richard Cadogan, poet and would-be bon vivant, arrives for what he thinks will be a relaxing holiday in the city of dreaming spires. Late one night, however, he discovers the dead body of an elderly woman lying in a toyshop and is coshed on the head. When he comes to, he finds that the toyshop has disappeared and been replaced with a grocery store. The police are understandably skeptical of this tale but Richard's former schoolmate, Gervase Fen (Oxford professor and amateur detective), knows that truth is stranger than fiction (in fiction, at least). Soon the intrepid duo are careening around town in hot pursuit of clues but just when they think they understand what has happened, the disappearing-toyshop mystery takes a sharp turn… Erudite, eccentric and entirely delightful – Before Morse, Oxford's murders were solved by Gervase Fen, the most unpredictable detective in classic crime fiction. In this top-notch traditional mystery, Crispin masterfully combines elements of cosy thrillers and procedural detective work. The sleuthing duo of Richard and Gervase bring a unique charm to the genre, making The Moving Toyshop a must-read for fans of classic crime fiction. For fans of Josephine Tey (The Man In The Queue), Dorothy L. Sayers (THE NINE TAILORS), Margery Allingham (Police at the Funeral), Ethel Lina White (The Lady Vanishes), and Jill Paton Walsh (A Presumption of Death).