Showing posts with label Margery Allingham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Margery Allingham. Show all posts

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham

In London, there is a family publishing firm, Barnabas.  There are a number of people working there including cousins: Mike (who always just misses the next big thing,  Ritchie (handsome but intelligent) and Paul (a known liar and bragger who is currently missing but no one seems concerned.There are also some other assorted family members: John (irascible), Miss Curly (seems to know the people she works with rather well), Gina (Paul's American wife) as well as one or two others. Peter Riggett who becomes a witness for the court though he knows more than he was telling. 
One of the cousins is found dead in a locked room. The problem is that the body has been dead for several days; he was not in the room the night before. And it is that point that gets one of the other cousins arrested for murder. It will be up to Campion to solve the mystery. 
This was a well crafted story that was a little convoluted but highly enjoyable. 

Four stars
This book came out February 1, 1936
Follows Death of a Ghost
Followed by The Case of the Late Pig
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible
Opinions are my own

Saturday, January 16, 2021

The Estate of the Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

Whew. This book has a heck of a lot going on and the ending was... a little odd. I didn't read all of the books ahead of it in the series but I have read a few. I was still a little lost. There was a lot of backstory that was assumed and a lot of characters that we probably already knew. 
Campion and Amanda are visiting her old homestead along with Lugg and their son. There promises to be a fantastical weekend party but the lead up is marred by the death of a friend, the local tax collector known as Little Doom. While it seemed his death would be fairly imminent, someone may have hurried him along and Albert Campion needs to figure out who.

Three stars
This book came out January 1st, 1955
Follows The Tiger in the Smoke
Followed by Tether's End
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own



Wednesday, May 4, 2016

The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

Jerry Challoner picks up a girl at the bus station with a blister on her heel and drops her off at a giant house where she seems apprehensive about going. He pauses to let a storm go past and hears a gunshot coming from that same house. A truly evil man has been murdered and the local police are bewildered about how to go on. Luckily, Jerry is the son of Detective Chief Inspector W. T. Challoner so he knows who can help.
At first, the answer seems obvious, but that is so rarely the truth in these stories. So, of course, we get to trace many of the suspects as they move through the story. Short, fast, good read.
Three and a half stars