Reviews

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

silkmoth's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed this book more than The Crime at Black Dudley. Albert Campion is staying to develop more as a character, but the reader is kept at a distance, in the same way that he holds himself back from his companions. 

I enjoyed the role of the salt marsh and it's description, as it's an environment that is familiar to me. 

teresac's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Clever. The solution is a bit fantastic; the final denouement has its horrors and it's fantastic qualities. Oddly, it doesn't detract from the overall cleverness.

omegabeth's review against another edition

3.0

This is the second of Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion novels. I was vaguely familiar with her work, but realized while I know Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers well, I had never dipped into her work. After 2 books, I find Albert Campion quite enjoyable, although most of the other characters are underdrawn. Allingham is a strong writer who sets the mood very effectively. The flip side of that is that there are portions of dialogue that are so full of time-and class- bound slang and jargon and phonetic spellings for accents that they are unintelligible. These first 2 are also primarily adventure books, with suspense and ever-present very bad people who kidnap and spy and kill. There are some unknowns as to exactly how things are happening and who is working for the bad guys, but the reader does not have all of the information, so the details of what the secondary characters are saying don’t really matter very much at all.

I will read the next one in the series, on the assumption that the teaser from the end of this one accurately indicates a shift to more mystery and less suspense/adventure, and we shall see.

justasking27's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

amlibera's review against another edition

3.0

Love myself some Campion. Early and not fully developed but does include quicksand (actually quick mud)!

spiderwitch's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

greybeard49's review against another edition

3.0

Enjoyable classic crime novel set in a remote village in 'Little England' pre war. Well written and the melodrama drips. Villages, vicars, deep countryside, chess piece clues, the gentry and the not so gentrified, dark foreign villains etc - it's all here and put down wonderfully on paper. Not a great deal of political correctness and modern ladies may take deep breaths while reading but good stuff all the same.

deegee24's review against another edition

4.0

This is such a fun read. Allingham's writing is full of zest and wit--she is by far the best of the English Golden Age mystery writers. An American Judge has a vendetta against him and everyone around him is dropping like flies. Allingham's bachelor detective, Albert Campion, is brought in to keep the Judge safe and find out the identity of the mysterious crime lord who wants him dead. This book introduces Campion's manservant, Magersfontein Lugg, a bald, intimidating ex-criminal (picture Gru from Despicable Me), as well as Thos Knapp, a somewhat shady acquaintance who helps with tough jobs.

cimorene1558's review against another edition

5.0

I love the early Campion novels. They lack the depth of character that you get in the later ones, but they're awfully clever and atmospheric.