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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.
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
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.
saroz162's review
3.0
The second Campion adventure-thriller is the first to feel like it knows completely what it's doing, right from the very first scene; Allingham has clearly made a choice to focus on the previously secondary character of Albert Campion, and she dives into his world feet-first. I have been known to compare the tone of the 1930s books, sometimes, to the comic album (latterly, "graphic novel") world of the Belgian reporter-hero Tintin, and the opening of Mystery Mile, set aboard a sea voyage, pretty much typifies that. There is an international flavor, some broad comedy, and the revelation of narrowly-escaped death, which shoves the reader straight into the fast-paced plot. Later, there will be a mysterious garden maze, a clergyman with grave secrets, and a foreboding fortune-teller - Anglicized, but no less familiar as the kind of elements you might find in any of Hergé's Tintin adventures.
As Tintin only began in 1929, right as Allingham was composing this novel, it is, perhaps, doubtful if one really inspired the other; these kinds of stories seemed to sizzle through the air between the two World Wars, reflecting not only political concerns and increased global travel but the ever-encroaching dominance of the media (newspapers, radio and cinema). What's interesting, though, is how Allingham uses these tropes. Although they certainly keep the reader engaged, they're also something of a diversion; this is a novel where people disguise their true characters, and for once, it isn't just Mr. Campion playing the long game. Appreciating Mystery Mile strictly for its surface-level entertainments is fine, but it's an incomplete understanding. There's more going on here.
Allingham would continue to refine both her style and her characters as time went on, and following Mystery Mile, she never really attempted the frothy international crime story again. (They are hard to make work in novel form, as Agatha Christie discovered in The Big Four.) It's to her credit, then, that this one example is as entertaining and exciting as it is. It serves as an excellent reintroduction to the world of Albert Campion - a world of glib talk, colorful characters, and unexpected deceit.
As Tintin only began in 1929, right as Allingham was composing this novel, it is, perhaps, doubtful if one really inspired the other; these kinds of stories seemed to sizzle through the air between the two World Wars, reflecting not only political concerns and increased global travel but the ever-encroaching dominance of the media (newspapers, radio and cinema). What's interesting, though, is how Allingham uses these tropes. Although they certainly keep the reader engaged, they're also something of a diversion; this is a novel where people disguise their true characters, and for once, it isn't just Mr. Campion playing the long game. Appreciating Mystery Mile strictly for its surface-level entertainments is fine, but it's an incomplete understanding. There's more going on here.
Allingham would continue to refine both her style and her characters as time went on, and following Mystery Mile, she never really attempted the frothy international crime story again. (They are hard to make work in novel form, as Agatha Christie discovered in The Big Four.) It's to her credit, then, that this one example is as entertaining and exciting as it is. It serves as an excellent reintroduction to the world of Albert Campion - a world of glib talk, colorful characters, and unexpected deceit.