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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
An engaging story with memorable characters and a fast-paced story.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another fascinating and clever Albert Campion mystery. This one is set in the art world - with a death at the first showing of a new work by a painter who left a painting to be unveiled ever year for a set period after his death. Then a member of the painter's extended household is killed. Soon Albert Campion knows who did it - but he can't prove it. And soon the murderer knows too - and will try and remove Campion as well.
Inventive, intricate and clever - and excellent golden age story.
Inventive, intricate and clever - and excellent golden age story.
Campion is good friends with the widow of a famous painter. Every year she hosts a big party and unveils one of his works, which has been kept under wraps since the artist's death. At this year's party, the painting is upstaged by the dead man with a dagger in his chest.
CMB
CMB
Another excellent Campion mystery. An art gala turns deadly when the lights go out and an unassuming young artist is murdered. Who could the culprit be? The young man's jealous fiancee seems like the most likely suspect, but Mr. Campion is convinced that there is more to this strange death than a lover's spat. The climax of this novel is a bit over-the-top (something I've come to expect from Allingham -- she relishes a good bit of melodrama), but it's good fun and the mystery is satisfying.
There were times that my attention strayed while I was reading, but I won't hold that against the book, plot, or characters. I merely chose to read in when I was busy and distracted.
Still, a good book. Campion isn't as silly as he was in previous books, so it isn't as amusing as the other books have been. The mystery isn't much of a mystery at all, since about half way through the book you're told who the killer is.
Then it becomes a story of how he has to find a way to prove that this person is the killer. The ending was a little abrupt, I think, but not bad.
Still, a good book. Campion isn't as silly as he was in previous books, so it isn't as amusing as the other books have been. The mystery isn't much of a mystery at all, since about half way through the book you're told who the killer is.
Then it becomes a story of how he has to find a way to prove that this person is the killer. The ending was a little abrupt, I think, but not bad.
An absolutely fabulous story that was captured perfectly in the BBC series.
Albert Campion is attending the unveiling of a new painting. Actually, the painting is very old but it has never been seen before. When the artist died, he left twelve paintings with the instructions that his family should wait ten years and then start having grAnd parties to show off one painting a year.
This year, though someone dies. And, per mystery convention, there are plenty of people with motives. The answer is somewhat obscured but it's a great addition to the Campion canon.
Albert Campion is attending the unveiling of a new painting. Actually, the painting is very old but it has never been seen before. When the artist died, he left twelve paintings with the instructions that his family should wait ten years and then start having grAnd parties to show off one painting a year.
This year, though someone dies. And, per mystery convention, there are plenty of people with motives. The answer is somewhat obscured but it's a great addition to the Campion canon.
I enjoyed that Allingham tweaked the usual plot structure of her book and revealed the murderer early on in the story. It then became more about how Campion was able to prove who the killer was rather than it being the standard magically-revealed-in-the-final-chapter resolution. This made Campion seem more human and likable.
i read this a couple months ago and i already remember next to nothing about it, it was pretty predictable and my copy is pretty thats all i know
I was don't think I quite grasped everything that was supposed to be 'implied' by characters during the narrative (possibly because it's been almost a century since the book was written?), and the ending was pretty disappointing after a strangely paced plot. A decent bedtime read though since it was readable enough and required little intellectual or emotional commitment.