This 4th book in the Gideon Fell series is not typical of the handful of others I have read! It is, as Anthony Boucher says in his introduction, a farce - indeed a plot that would be suitable for Wodehouse or a Marx Brothers movie! Wrapped in this comedy is a murder mystery which is very clever. So why only 3 and half stars? For me, it came down to the fact that despite all the antics, Carr never succeeded in making me laugh. Perhaps it is in the writing style or perhaps it was just my mood but while my brain could see the humor, it just didn't strike my funny bone. And that is odd because it is exactly the sort of shenanigans that do make me laugh in a Wodehouse book...

Carr very effectively used the humor to distract the reader (and most of the characters) from concentrating too hard on the murder. Morgan does try to do so but his companions keep pulling his attention away to deal with their craziness. Even so, I doubt that I would have been able to figure it out! Fell, of course, makes it all sound obvious once he expounds the solution. ( )

Anthony Boucher finds this as funny as Car/Carter Dickson's Henry Merrivale stories, but I do not. It concerns a murderous manic on an Atlantic liner in the 1930s and is too grim for my taste. ( )

A farce with some really chilling bits thrown in, Carr really knew how to blend horror and comedy. I’d also classify Carr as a ‘fair play’ mystery author: You have to pay attention, but he doesn’t cheat. Much. The farcical elements prevail in this book and take up most of it, but when dark deeds are done they are sinister ebon.

I’ve noticed that a lot of mysteries written in the 30s have strong cinematic elements, this one included. Who can’t read how the murderer accomplished the deed in Marsh’s ‘A Man Lay Dead’ and not see it as one would see a film sequence, and be utterly chilled by it? Although on reflection mysteries depend on strong descriptive passages that evoke powerful images and feelings, and this applies to many that were written before the movies as it does to the mysteries of the 30s. The 30s mysteries seem to have scenes that can be confined to a frame, at least more neatly. It’s late and I might be rambling; Sherlock Holmes’ adventures almost play out as mind movies so I may be totally off base. I wonder what it is about the 30s mysteries and how they remind me so much of film scenes?

‘The Blind Barber’ is a treat, be good to yourself and read it. Some cold and rainy night, by a fire, alone in the house, miles from anyone...

"The Blind Barber" started out very well. A group of people, including Henry Morgan, the well-known detective fiction writer of previous books in this series, are on an ocean liner returning to England. One of the people, Curtis Warren, is carrying some reels of film that if found would put some members of the US government in a predicament -- and right away he's given a cosh on the head and a few reels are stolen. Then while Warren and his friends are in the cabin next door, waiting for the attacker to return for the rest, a woman calls out to him and the friends go out in the hall to check it out. They find a woman, badly injured and take her in the cabin. They go to get help and return...but she's gone and the bed has been remade. On top of everything else, an emerald elephant of great value goes missing. So with all of this crime going on, the story should have been very interesting.

However, this series of mysteries rapidly devolved into something a bit farcical and silly. It is not until the ship reaches England that Dr. Gideon Fell is brought into the picture -- and then he is able to do his magic.

I didn't really care much for this book, but it started out well and I was sucked in right away. It goes very well until the last few chapters. I didn't care about any of the characters, really -- they seemed to be just silly and unmemorable.

Would I recommend it? Probably not, even though it got sterling ratings on Amazon (but there again, I'm usually among the lone fish swimming upstream there). You can skip this one if you're reading the series and probably not miss much. ( )

Slight, but funny, mystery/farce. ( )