Death and decapitation seem to go hand in hand in the Devon village of Aller. When the first victim's head is sent floating down the river, the village's rural calm is shattered. Soon the corpses are multiplying, and the entire community is involved in the hunt for the murderer. Whilst many chase false trails, it is left to Gervase Fen, Oxford don and amateur criminologist, to uncover the sordid truth. Equal parts compelling, witty and ingenuous, this novel is a classic example of great British detective fiction. First published in 1977, Glimpses of the Moon was Edmund Crispin's ninth and final novel.

Author Biography

Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (usually credited as Bruce Montgomery) (2 October 1921 - 15 September 1978), an English crime writer and composer. Montgomery wrote nine detective novels and two collections of short stories under the pseudonym Edmund Crispin (taken from a character in Michael Innes's Hamlet, Revenge!). The stories feature Oxford don Gervase Fen, who is an eccentric, sometimes absent-minded Professor of English at the university. Crispin's whodunit novels have complex plots and fantastic, somewhat unbelievable solutions. They are written in a humorous, literary and sometimes farcical style and contain frequent references to English literature, poetry, and music. They are also among the few mystery novels to break the fourth wall occasionally and speak directly to the audience. The Times chose Edmund Crispin as one of their '50 Greatest Crime Writers'.