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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is some pretty hard racism at the end of this book.
I struggled to read it overall - the characters were all pretty unpleasant.
I struggled to read it overall - the characters were all pretty unpleasant.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
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:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loses half a star for the racism. In the mouths of characters but still 🤮
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Murder
Minor: Child death
Of all the classic detective fiction writers of the so-called Golden Age in Britain (1920s-1930s), Margery Allingham is definitely the best. Unlike the great Raymond Chandler, she doesn't try to "elevate" the genre, she subtly and self-consciously undermines its conventions. Her prose style is somewhat unassuming, but very pleasant and versatile.
"Police at the Funeral" is not quite the mature Allingham, but it is still much more memorable and less dated than the average whodunit by Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers. The solution to the mystery in the last 30 pages is preposterous, but playfully so. And the characters are so well drawn and given such rich dialogue and dramatic interplay that the question of "whodunit" is almost beside the point. Interestingly, Allingham's amateur detective, an aristocratic adventurer named Albert Campion, is not an uncanny genius like Sherlock Holmes or Poirot. He has a few brilliant insights and has no qualms about using his fists when necessary, like Sam Spade. But solving the mystery is a team effort.
"Police at the Funeral" is not quite the mature Allingham, but it is still much more memorable and less dated than the average whodunit by Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers. The solution to the mystery in the last 30 pages is preposterous, but playfully so. And the characters are so well drawn and given such rich dialogue and dramatic interplay that the question of "whodunit" is almost beside the point. Interestingly, Allingham's amateur detective, an aristocratic adventurer named Albert Campion, is not an uncanny genius like Sherlock Holmes or Poirot. He has a few brilliant insights and has no qualms about using his fists when necessary, like Sam Spade. But solving the mystery is a team effort.