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A review by saroz162
Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham
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.