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fern17's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mariongivhan's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I love the Queens of Crime, but must admit that Allingham presents her mystery in ways that are a little tricky for me to understand. Granted in this book Campion is quite lost himself, but I still found it difficult to keep up with the revelations and clues, and I didn’t find the end very satisfying because of this. HOWEVER, that could just be me, and it was still a fun adventure of a book.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/day-949-traitors-purse/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/day-949-traitors-purse/
stapilus's review against another edition
5.0
This wasn't at all what I expected out of a golden-era-mystery set in the English countryside featuring a fairly conventional police detective. It was altogether different: Starts out with the detective waking up with a bad case of amnesia, including a less of memory of who he is and what he's been working on, but learning quickly that it had to do with something critical involving national security. Since the year was 1940, that meant the significance could be considerable.
From there we follow this character (the detective is Albert Campion) as he tries to piece together who he is, what he was doing and racing to avert a wartime catastrophe.
It's altogether different from any English mystery I've read from the 20's to 40's period, and unusually well-written; in many places it has even now a very modern feel, while still maintaining and enveloping atmosphere a reader can sink into.
The characters too, even in the limitations of the way the story was structured, were developed with sharpness and a fullness that has held up well.
Among older mysteries - if you're in the mood for such - this holds up unusually well.
From there we follow this character (the detective is Albert Campion) as he tries to piece together who he is, what he was doing and racing to avert a wartime catastrophe.
It's altogether different from any English mystery I've read from the 20's to 40's period, and unusually well-written; in many places it has even now a very modern feel, while still maintaining and enveloping atmosphere a reader can sink into.
The characters too, even in the limitations of the way the story was structured, were developed with sharpness and a fullness that has held up well.
Among older mysteries - if you're in the mood for such - this holds up unusually well.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A fine book, but I've always kind of hated the lost-memory bit, especially in a main character and narrator. I like this book a lot once I've gotten past that foible of mine, but I re-read it a lot less than most of the other Campion novels.
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
...And Allingham changes style again. Three years after her last Campion adventure, she's completely given up the ghost of the upper-class murder mystery that informed most of the 1930s; now, she's devoted herself completely to the World War II spy thriller. This isn't the light, Golden Age romp we got ten years earlier with Mystery Mile at all. This is serious business, made all the more urgent by starting in media res. Albert Campion wakes up in hospital with a head injury and amnesia, and from there on, the action never really lets up. Allingham uses that to her benefit, especially in the final third of the book, where there is so much exposition - and, frankly, Campion leaps to so many deductions - that you really have to be moving at speed to accept it. Is it entertaining? Well, yes, it's practically a Hitchcock film (think Foreign Correspondent or Sabotage), and it's immensely readable. Does it make sense? Well, that's debatable. It doesn't feel much like anything that came before, and if it weren't for the cast of secondary characters - Oates, Amanda, and most especially a fun little entrance by Lugg - you might wonder if the book was originally written for Campion at all. Still, full credit to Allingham for trying something new. It will be interesting to see if she continues in this darker, more cynical vein from here on out, and whether or not Campion will regain any of his former personality.
cardica's review
5.0
Coming in second place for your Murder Mystery World Tour’s 2022 recommendations is Traitor’s Purse by Margery Allingham. A spy novel, on the podium of a Detective Fiction show? A curious choice to be sure, but Traitor’s Purse is a powerful tale marking a moment in crime fiction history that echoes into modern classics. There’s enough Golden Age goodness to scratch your mystery itch, and the spy fiction speeds this novel through a string of stunning setpieces.
A young man awakes in the dark halls of a hospital on the edges of the Second World War. He doesn’t know his name, he doesn’t know why he’s there, and he hurts. A conversation down the hall talks of a murdered police officer, and the man presumes he has a date with the hangman for related reasons. A fire alarm, a disguised escape, and a parked car, lead into a chase. The chase leads the man to somewhere he does not know, but somewhere he does know he needs to go. Albert Campion, eleven novels deep into his series, has forgotten himself. You’re immediately swept up into the snappy sprint Allingham has written her protagonist into; an immersive uncertainty as his body goes one way and his mind another. Upon meeting series regular Lady Amanda, the pieces slowly start to settle back in place as he realises this woman must be his wife, but he’s not yet quite sure why.
You’re kept at exactly the same reach from the plot as Campion, his seeming amnesia turning the spy on the spot between the information he should know and the thus-contextless new information he keeps being inexplicably given. Apparently, Campion had intended to rendezvous with Amanda for a dinner with The Masters of Bridge. That dinner was midway through an investigation involving local police, the freshly-murdered man from our opening car chase, and the bombastic Lee Aubrey. What was that investigation about? Whom is being investigated? Is our pair of eyes…actually Albert Campion? There is absolutely no time for our pair of eyes to consider any of these, so the investigation goes on, and Campion it is.
The energy that Allingham manages to extract from the ambiguity of Albert’s journey to solve both himself and his case is astonishing. Traitor’s Purse doesn’t rely on the same sort of life-threatening tension or smugly-confident superiority Spy Fiction tends to be known for, instead reaching for this ridiculously enjoyable middle ground where Campion feels so ordinary he might as well be you. There aren’t wildly catastrophic errors propelling disaster, or impossible Rube Goldberg machinations, just the regular decision making of a very confused person. You might find it disjointed at times, deliberately so, as you follow Campion through experiment after experiment, exploring the essence of his own essentiality to the escapade. The rhythm of the novel just wouldn’t feel right if it was on beat.
The drums Allingham has Campion playing against are, of course, Lady Amanda’s. The pair are betrothed, and Albert Campion is overcome with the sense that this is the way things should be. The trouble is, Amanda seems to be overcome by her host in the town of Bridge, that same Lee Aubrey. Try as he might to feel the flow of familiarity with Amanda, his responses do not match her calls. His journey to learn the song Amanda sings forms the spine of the novel behind the spy shenanigans. There are a few perplexing parts to this b-plot, but they don’t manage to detract from its strengths, solidifying Amanda as the novel’s rhythmic anchor.
All through the novel, the time-bomb tied to Campion’s chest is that someone might find out about his imposture. You know, from the moment he lies to Amanda about his composure, that Chekov’s proverbial bomb is rubbing its hands, waiting to explode. When it finally does, the novel follows the blastwave, Campion’s confusion steering along the shockwave, to glorious gratuity. It never quite drops its immaculate any-man confusion, but the scale gets silly. The beacons Allingham shines into the smoke to bring Campion home are heroic, heralding in the sneaky mystery bits that landed this novel on the show. The re-read of Traitor’s Purse might not reveal an all-time great murder mystery, but the foreshadowing drips from dialogue with all the fair-play finesse of Allingham’s detective-fiction peers from the Golden Age. That same disjoint that might make the novel feel meandering at first, bundles itself up so that no matter which meander you enjoyed most, you’ll be looking in the direction Allingham had planned to turn you all along.
Traitor’s Purse is not a perfect novel, and there’s plenty of picks to nit if you’re so inclined. The confidence with which Allingham charges full-ahead through her plot is all-encompassing. You aren’t worried about how wafer-thin the cheaper characters are. You aren’t worried about the obvious twists. You aren’t worried about the moral messes we walk past. Just like Campion’s body goes exactly where it needs, leaving the mind to wander, the novel plants its foot exactly where it means to and welcomes you to walk in stunned stride.
Traitor’s Purse by Margery Allingham takes out second place on your Murder Mystery World Tour’s 2022 recommendations. If you’re trying to find a selection of Campion novels to try the iconic spy on for size, this novel is an incredible entry point, especially given the way it weaves the sportsmanship of our beloved mystery world, in such a unique way. If you missed it, be sure to check out the review of decades-later novel ‘[b:Cargo Of Eagles|23351371|Cargo Of Eagles|Margery Allingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470022353l/23351371._SY75_.jpg|74134]’ from Campion’s series, which came in 12th on our list.
A young man awakes in the dark halls of a hospital on the edges of the Second World War. He doesn’t know his name, he doesn’t know why he’s there, and he hurts. A conversation down the hall talks of a murdered police officer, and the man presumes he has a date with the hangman for related reasons. A fire alarm, a disguised escape, and a parked car, lead into a chase. The chase leads the man to somewhere he does not know, but somewhere he does know he needs to go. Albert Campion, eleven novels deep into his series, has forgotten himself. You’re immediately swept up into the snappy sprint Allingham has written her protagonist into; an immersive uncertainty as his body goes one way and his mind another. Upon meeting series regular Lady Amanda, the pieces slowly start to settle back in place as he realises this woman must be his wife, but he’s not yet quite sure why.
You’re kept at exactly the same reach from the plot as Campion, his seeming amnesia turning the spy on the spot between the information he should know and the thus-contextless new information he keeps being inexplicably given. Apparently, Campion had intended to rendezvous with Amanda for a dinner with The Masters of Bridge. That dinner was midway through an investigation involving local police, the freshly-murdered man from our opening car chase, and the bombastic Lee Aubrey. What was that investigation about? Whom is being investigated? Is our pair of eyes…actually Albert Campion? There is absolutely no time for our pair of eyes to consider any of these, so the investigation goes on, and Campion it is.
The energy that Allingham manages to extract from the ambiguity of Albert’s journey to solve both himself and his case is astonishing. Traitor’s Purse doesn’t rely on the same sort of life-threatening tension or smugly-confident superiority Spy Fiction tends to be known for, instead reaching for this ridiculously enjoyable middle ground where Campion feels so ordinary he might as well be you. There aren’t wildly catastrophic errors propelling disaster, or impossible Rube Goldberg machinations, just the regular decision making of a very confused person. You might find it disjointed at times, deliberately so, as you follow Campion through experiment after experiment, exploring the essence of his own essentiality to the escapade. The rhythm of the novel just wouldn’t feel right if it was on beat.
The drums Allingham has Campion playing against are, of course, Lady Amanda’s. The pair are betrothed, and Albert Campion is overcome with the sense that this is the way things should be. The trouble is, Amanda seems to be overcome by her host in the town of Bridge, that same Lee Aubrey. Try as he might to feel the flow of familiarity with Amanda, his responses do not match her calls. His journey to learn the song Amanda sings forms the spine of the novel behind the spy shenanigans. There are a few perplexing parts to this b-plot, but they don’t manage to detract from its strengths, solidifying Amanda as the novel’s rhythmic anchor.
All through the novel, the time-bomb tied to Campion’s chest is that someone might find out about his imposture. You know, from the moment he lies to Amanda about his composure, that Chekov’s proverbial bomb is rubbing its hands, waiting to explode. When it finally does, the novel follows the blastwave, Campion’s confusion steering along the shockwave, to glorious gratuity. It never quite drops its immaculate any-man confusion, but the scale gets silly. The beacons Allingham shines into the smoke to bring Campion home are heroic, heralding in the sneaky mystery bits that landed this novel on the show. The re-read of Traitor’s Purse might not reveal an all-time great murder mystery, but the foreshadowing drips from dialogue with all the fair-play finesse of Allingham’s detective-fiction peers from the Golden Age. That same disjoint that might make the novel feel meandering at first, bundles itself up so that no matter which meander you enjoyed most, you’ll be looking in the direction Allingham had planned to turn you all along.
Traitor’s Purse is not a perfect novel, and there’s plenty of picks to nit if you’re so inclined. The confidence with which Allingham charges full-ahead through her plot is all-encompassing. You aren’t worried about how wafer-thin the cheaper characters are. You aren’t worried about the obvious twists. You aren’t worried about the moral messes we walk past. Just like Campion’s body goes exactly where it needs, leaving the mind to wander, the novel plants its foot exactly where it means to and welcomes you to walk in stunned stride.
Traitor’s Purse by Margery Allingham takes out second place on your Murder Mystery World Tour’s 2022 recommendations. If you’re trying to find a selection of Campion novels to try the iconic spy on for size, this novel is an incredible entry point, especially given the way it weaves the sportsmanship of our beloved mystery world, in such a unique way. If you missed it, be sure to check out the review of decades-later novel ‘[b:Cargo Of Eagles|23351371|Cargo Of Eagles|Margery Allingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470022353l/23351371._SY75_.jpg|74134]’ from Campion’s series, which came in 12th on our list.
forever_day's review
3.0
AR: 3.5
(Obligatory disclaimer that this is my first Albert Campion)
I'm very sure the concept of 'detective wakes up in the middle of plot with no memory' has been done before, but I haven't come across it, and it was a new experience to read. I partially enjoyed the sensation of discovering everything along with him and partially just found it stressful as he attempts to cope with A Lot with No Idea how to. Also, probably because of this, the plot seemed a little wandering at times. He's wandering around blind (and so not terribly effectively) for a lot of it. Yet it was still an engaging enough read and the conclusion satisfying enough, a good one-timey crime novel.
(Also, one separate crit: despite how well he thought of Amanda while he lacked memory, he seemed to revert completely to treating her like a child the instant he regains it? I don't know, the fact he never tells her he lost his memory for a spell seems very strange to me)
(Obligatory disclaimer that this is my first Albert Campion)
I'm very sure the concept of 'detective wakes up in the middle of plot with no memory' has been done before, but I haven't come across it, and it was a new experience to read. I partially enjoyed the sensation of discovering everything along with him and partially just found it stressful as he attempts to cope with A Lot with No Idea how to. Also, probably because of this, the plot seemed a little wandering at times. He's wandering around blind (and so not terribly effectively) for a lot of it. Yet it was still an engaging enough read and the conclusion satisfying enough, a good one-timey crime novel.
(Also, one separate crit: despite how well he thought of Amanda while he lacked memory, he seemed to revert completely to treating her like a child the instant he regains it? I don't know, the fact he never tells her he lost his memory for a spell seems very strange to me)
willowd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes