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Rating: 
Summary: MURDER CAN BE HILARIOUS
Review: Carr is well-known for regularly introducing comedy scenes in his novels. Nobody forgot the gun-party in "The Case of the Constant Suicides", for an exemple. But with this completely mad novel, where anybody can happen (and happens), he gives us a good laugh-in and one of his masterpieces. Humor and nonsense harmoniously cohabite with one of his best plots. Carr rules!
Rating:
Summary: MURDER CAN BE HILARIOUS
Review: Carr is well-known for regularly introducing comedy scenes in his novels. Nobody forgot the gun-party in "The Case of the Constant Suicides", for an exemple. But with this completely mad novel, where anybody can happen (and happens), he gives us a good laugh-in and one of his masterpieces. Humor and nonsense harmoniously cohabite with one of his best plots. Carr rules!
Rating: 
Summary: A simple farce in barely legible English
Review: I just can't believe I had the patience to finish 3/4 of the book. This farce, guest starring Dr. Fell in less than 1/10 of its length, has none whatsoever Dr. Fell atmosphere. If there is any mystery in it, it would be the murder of a woman, whose body was subsequently disappeared, and the loss of a valuable emerald in accident. The former stresses its perplexity in the doubtful existence of the victim, however, this very fact also subtly, yet obviously, supplies the identities of the victim and her murderer. The latter is of no importance, it mainly severs as the cause of the farce and the whereabout of the stone is self evident when 2 were found.If its simple plot makes readers frustrated, the worst is that the book is barely more than 50% in legible English, which really makes me "stark, raving mad". I don't object at all if a writer feels like to make fun of people speaking strange accent, but it is really immoral to amuse him/herself at readers' expense. A book is not a movie, it is pardonable to speak English with accent in a movie since even some big stars' English is not perfect, but for god's sake don't spell the words according to non-perfect pronouciation in a book. It doesn't make any sense to waste readers' time to figure out what all those words really are. And excuse my slow-wittedness, I really failed to recognize some of them.
Rating:
Summary: Out of this world comedy
Review: The Blind Barber is a hilarious transatlantic comedy, with a murder mystery slipped in to add contrast. It might not have been as funny without the juxtaposition of seriousness in the form of murder, but there are truly hilarious scenes nonetheless, at the memory of which I still burst out laughing even several years after reading the book. It is, of course, intelligent comedy, with episodes involving such activities as squirting bug spray not only in the captain's eyes, but throughout his entire state room as well. And you'll never forget the story of the horse (if you can read it through the Norwiegian accent), or the captain's elephant. My advice is, buy it. Or better yet, buy two copies (one for home and one for the office).
Rating:
Summary: Gideon Fell fans stay away
Review: This books mindless "mystery" and painful attempts at farce seem pathetic compared to Carr's other smart Gideon Fell mysteries. The characters are as flat and wooden as they are thinly developed and the plot is as forgetable as any movie of the week. I also believe that the true crime is putting Gideon Fell in maybe 5% of a Gideon Fell mystery. Unforgivable. This story seems like it was to never actually meant to be a Fell mystery and his character was tacked on when perhaps it was thought that this book would not pass muster on its own. ( it doesn't) Enter at your own risk. Better yet read The Mystery of the Green Capsule or the Three Coffins instead for a couple of great Gideon Fell mysteries.
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