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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Post WWII London with its impenetrable fog. The tiger is a truly evil man who is bent on finding a treasure he heard about during the War. Allingham's sleuth, Campion, does not play a big role. The real hero is his friend the elderly Canon Avril. A rich cast of characters, many likeable. Hard to say more without giving away the plot.
This is a wonderfully murky mystery/thriller. Meg Elginbrodde's first husband, Martin, was killed in World War II -- or so she has believed for the past five years. Now, just as she is about to be married to Gregory Levett, she begins receiving photographs that, though unclear, seem to show her first husband alive and well. She turns to family friend Albert Campion to help unravel this mystery.
The atmosphere in this novel is absolutely bang-on; it's so creepy and evocative, with the London fog insinuating itself into every cranny of the plot. As in many of the later Allingham novels, Campion does not play as active a role as he has previously (he IS getting older, after all), but this is still extremely enjoyable, and Allingham's descriptions of her characters remain some of the most evocative I've read.
The atmosphere in this novel is absolutely bang-on; it's so creepy and evocative, with the London fog insinuating itself into every cranny of the plot. As in many of the later Allingham novels, Campion does not play as active a role as he has previously (he IS getting older, after all), but this is still extremely enjoyable, and Allingham's descriptions of her characters remain some of the most evocative I've read.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Closer to a thriller than a mystery, the book is heavily carried by the atmosphere it builds about post World War II and the presence of the antagonist. The plot relied on some major coincidences and there are so many protagonists with minor roles that few leave an impression. The writing relies heavily on metaphor - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. I'm not particularly interested in Allingham's other work after reading this - it may just not be my genre.
Not much Campion in this one, for a Campion mystery. But some really, really great secondary characters, particularly Canon Avril and Inspector Charlie Luke.
Intricate plot, interesting, but not a fast read for me. I think Allingham is more of an acquired taste than Christie or some of the other "golden age" writers.
Intricate plot, interesting, but not a fast read for me. I think Allingham is more of an acquired taste than Christie or some of the other "golden age" writers.
A young woman is about to be married but someone keeps sending her pictures of her first husband, a man who supposedly died in the war. But why? The sender isn't demanding money so it's not exactly blackmail. And then the young woman goes to the train station, ostensibly to meet her first husband, but when she sees a man who looks like the husband, the man runs and then later ends up dead.
Ωραιο αστυνομικό, αγγλικής σχολής αλλα οχι τοσο κλασικό, πιο πολυ ψυχολογικό.