The scene [of The Case of the Gilded Fly] is war-time Oxford, and … concerns the activities of a repertory company…. The final sentence of the opening chapter tells the reader what will happen before October 18th: by that day, out of the eleven characters …, three "having fordone themselves, desperately are dead." A good beginning, with promising development; the characters are lively and credible. The murderer's motive seems plausible; his methods rather dubious. Professor Fen, one hopes, will be heard of again: unlike so many amateurs, he is never a bore.

John Hampson, "Books of the Day: 'The Case of the Gilded Fly'," in The Spectator (© 1944 by The Spectator; reprinted by permission of The Spectator), Vol. 172, No. 6039, March 24, 1944, p. 276.