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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This Campion is very different from the Campion in the last book I read. This so annoyed me it coloured the whole plot. Might have been a four star otherwise.
I enjoyed this mystery. It’s different from some in that you know early on who the murderer is, but the rest of the book is devoted to finding out why and trying to prevent him from murdering again. Based on my enjoyment of this book, I will read more Margery Allingham when I’m looking for light reading. I am not likely to reread this one, though...it doesn’t have that kind of value.
Unlike the first Allingham I read (Sweet Danger), this is a bit more of a traditional detective story. The plot concerns the sudden death by stabbing with ornate/crafted scissors at an opportunistic moment when the electricity meter runs out. The room is full, but there are no witnesses. A sudden confession appears to resolve matters, however Albert Campion is unconvinced.
I ripped through this, ignoring the parts which would never be included today. Having recently viewed some old cine footage of the author it’s clear she lived in a different world, and I’m happy to leave it that way!
I ripped through this, ignoring the parts which would never be included today. Having recently viewed some old cine footage of the author it’s clear she lived in a different world, and I’m happy to leave it that way!
A lovely palette cleanser. Clean old-school mystery. A little dated. Some subtle shuddery racism from the 30’s. But the plot is superb.
Another good series that I'm following, and I found I preferred this one to most of the others. What I liked less about the others is the frequent description of our Campion as vacuous-looking. It's an affectation of course, and fools a lot of people, and therefore most useful, but she (Allingham) does rather tend to highlight it frequently. In this book, however, he never resorted to that and instead played it straight.
Clever story, definite a thing of its time (1930s) but the fun characters and little twists and turns make it a very good read.
Clever story, definite a thing of its time (1930s) but the fun characters and little twists and turns make it a very good read.
I do have a fondness for mysteries involving art. In Death of a Ghost, a young artist is killed at the showing of a painting, not his painting, one of his mentor’s, Lafcadio. Lafcadio, before he died, left instructions to have one of his paintings that he had boxed up shown each year beginning several years after his death, and his wishes have been faithfully carried out by his widow- quite a strong woman by the way, the kind of woman who takes everything life throws at her, straightens her shoulders, and carries on. Campion, luckily, was at the party/showing, so even though he didn’t actually witness the murder, as a friend of the family he takes an interest in the mystery.
There is a lot of art talk in this one, which I find fascinating. I even took a picture of at least one page and sent it to Amber, since the description of the area where the paint was mixed just struck me as so similar to the studios now.
I don’t know if this is really a mystery or more of a thriller. We, along with Campion and Oates from Scotland Yard, know who the killer is fairly quickly. Proving it is an altogether different matter, especially when the motive is unclear. And the villain is very intelligent. We get an especially good scene where the killer pretty much has Campion at his mercy as they travel across London. Happily, Campion is not as vacuous as he sometimes makes himself seem.
This was a really enjoyable book. I love these “Golden Age” mysteries. It’s a clever puzzle with memorable characters. I didn’t particularly like the very, very end, but that’s a minor quibble.
There is a lot of art talk in this one, which I find fascinating. I even took a picture of at least one page and sent it to Amber, since the description of the area where the paint was mixed just struck me as so similar to the studios now.
I don’t know if this is really a mystery or more of a thriller. We, along with Campion and Oates from Scotland Yard, know who the killer is fairly quickly. Proving it is an altogether different matter, especially when the motive is unclear. And the villain is very intelligent. We get an especially good scene where the killer pretty much has Campion at his mercy as they travel across London. Happily, Campion is not as vacuous as he sometimes makes himself seem.
This was a really enjoyable book. I love these “Golden Age” mysteries. It’s a clever puzzle with memorable characters. I didn’t particularly like the very, very end, but that’s a minor quibble.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This installment of the Campion series is unlike any of the previous books. On one level it's a much more traditional murder mystery. However Allingham has played with the format, such that most of the people involved, including the police, are sure "whodunnit" fairly early on. But the how and the why and the proof are much harder to obtain.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced