dlmoldovan's review against another edition
3.0
My favourite out of all the Campion mysteries (so far anyway). I think this one reminded me the most of the typical murder mystery plot, a la Christie and Sayers. Very enjoyable read. All characters were well developed in this one, unlike the 3 previous ones where the main character was getting most of the development and the others were falling flat. Interesting plot twist too. Really enjoyed this one. Made me want to pick up the next one in the series, which unfortunately I do not own yet.
cheryl6of8's review against another edition
4.0
Having stalled out on many of the books I have been trying to read recently, I decided to return to the tried and true British mystery. I can't quite figure out what to make of Albert Campion (apparently not his real name, from the oblique comments in this book) but he does a decent job as a detective and a student of human nature. My main complaint about this book is that it is clearly a product of its time (1930s) and is racially insensitive. Otherwise it was a well-crafted mystery and I didn't guess whodunit until the reveal. The characters were believable if largely unlikable. A decent way to spend a Sunday.
cleheny's review against another edition
3.0
I don't have much to say about this story. Allingham is very good at setting up a mytery, and she develops distinctive characters, but she's not as good when it comes to wrapping it up. The solution to this one strikes me as overly elaborate and not believable. I credit the malice of the murderer, but the death that sets the novel in motion isn't psychologically credible.
hooksforeverything's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookpossum's review against another edition
3.0
The mystery held my interest and while I guessed the solution, I quite enjoyed the whole thing. It's pretty far-fetched, but then you don't read the Queens of Crime for reality! Good entertainment, and I'm grateful to Miss Allingham for helping me through our ongoing lockdown.
nichola's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Is it odd to be relieved to like a book?
I was sort of battling my way through the other Campion books until now. This felt much much much better. EXCEPT FOR THE HORRIFIC RACIST BOMBSHELL THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. Man I am tired of this being used to explain character motivations or the like. Come one pick something else.
But for 75% of the book I was onboard. You know a sneaky little satire of the Victorian Era and Victorian England with a lovely splash of humour and family drama. I didn't see the ending coming. All good except for my favourite character going on about the 'tar brush'. Find me a white person with *pure* white bloodlines and I'll point out a strong likelihood of incest. So let's not get on ournhifh horses, mkay?
I was sort of battling my way through the other Campion books until now. This felt much much much better. EXCEPT FOR THE HORRIFIC RACIST BOMBSHELL THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. Man I am tired of this being used to explain character motivations or the like. Come one pick something else.
But for 75% of the book I was onboard. You know a sneaky little satire of the Victorian Era and Victorian England with a lovely splash of humour and family drama. I didn't see the ending coming. All good except for my favourite character going on about the 'tar brush'. Find me a white person with *pure* white bloodlines and I'll point out a strong likelihood of incest. So let's not get on ournhifh horses, mkay?
tombomp's review against another edition
3.0
a certain particularly horrible racial slur is used like 30% of the way through as part of describing a magic trick. was kind of shocked to see it, although i guess a certain agatha christie novel was published with it in the title for decades afterwards so i probably shouldn't be as surprised but still. disgusting
ok so after finishing it, very cleverly written, lots of red herrings and an incredibly unlikely but still convincing resolution. dangles something at you near the start which is frustrating but it's ok. but. BUT. in the ending while wrapping up things a solution to one minor thing is HORRIBLY racist. like disgustingly so. my mouth was agape reading it. it's hideous. incredibly disappointing horrible end.
ok so after finishing it, very cleverly written, lots of red herrings and an incredibly unlikely but still convincing resolution. dangles something at you near the start which is frustrating but it's ok. but. BUT. in the ending while wrapping up things a solution to one minor thing is HORRIBLY racist. like disgustingly so. my mouth was agape reading it. it's hideous.
Spoiler
a character was blackmailing the matriarch by threatening to reveal he's mixed race - he was the kid of a brother or something and his mother was mixed race (described using innuendo i.e "bad type of person") and they had a first child who had black skin and this was the biggest scandal possible so OBVIOUSLY they got packed off and just ugh it'd disgustingbev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I fell in love with Albert Campion all over again. I hadn't read any Margery Allingham books for a good long while and pulled out Police at the Funeral as my final entry in the Out With a Bang Read-a-Thon. I got so wrapped up in Campion's world that I stayed up till midnight just so I could finish it ('cuz I had to know what happened) and claim the whole book for the challenge.
In this novel, Campion is called upon by the fiancée of an old friend to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one of her uncles. Uncle Andrew started walking home from church one Sunday and never arrived. It's not that Joyce Blount is all that fond of her uncle--he's a bitter, insulting man who has written a book exposing the family skeletons, but she is very afraid of the atmosphere in the family home and what might happen next. As she should be. Uncle Andrew is finally found--dead. And several family members soon follow him to an early grave. What evil influence has hold at Socrates Close, the Cambridge landmark home of the Farradays? And can Albert Campion and his friend Inspector Stanislaus Oates make their way through complex family dynamic to solve the mystery before the entire family is removed from the scene?
Margery Allingham is at her best in this Campion outing. The repartee is witty. The descriptions are eerie and suspense-laden. The mystery is complex enough and strewn with red-herrings that will keep the reader guessing till the very end. A highly enjoyable mystery from one of the Golden Age's best
In this novel, Campion is called upon by the fiancée of an old friend to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one of her uncles. Uncle Andrew started walking home from church one Sunday and never arrived. It's not that Joyce Blount is all that fond of her uncle--he's a bitter, insulting man who has written a book exposing the family skeletons, but she is very afraid of the atmosphere in the family home and what might happen next. As she should be. Uncle Andrew is finally found--dead. And several family members soon follow him to an early grave. What evil influence has hold at Socrates Close, the Cambridge landmark home of the Farradays? And can Albert Campion and his friend Inspector Stanislaus Oates make their way through complex family dynamic to solve the mystery before the entire family is removed from the scene?
Margery Allingham is at her best in this Campion outing. The repartee is witty. The descriptions are eerie and suspense-laden. The mystery is complex enough and strewn with red-herrings that will keep the reader guessing till the very end. A highly enjoyable mystery from one of the Golden Age's best
verityw's review against another edition
4.0
Update: I've just finished listening to this on audiobook today, and I'm going to have to go back and have a look at the ecopy I have to see if they tweaked the reasoning behind the solution at all, because there are some very... old fashioned attitudes in there from the family (who we know are years behind the times) but I'd like to think I would have flagged that in the solution if it had been there - but then i did review this six years ago and I wasn't as good about flagging stuff back then.
***Copy sent by the Allingham Estate in return for an honest review****
The thing about Albert Campion is that you're never one hundred percent sure which side he's on. Unlike Peter Wimsey who will hand pretty much any murderer over - even if it's his own brother (although of course he hopes it's not) - Campion always gives the impression that he's dancing to his own tune. He might hand the murderer over to Oates. He might not. And that's part of what makes these so much fun.
Anyway, this time Campion is looking into the death of a member of a *very* dysfunctional but distinguished (in their eyes at least) Cambridge family, on behalf of the family, but also in co-operation (sometimes) with Oates (who's just been promoted). No (or very little) Lugg in this, but you've got a full cast of grotesques without him. The body count mounts, there's an obvious suspect, but who is actually responsible? It's well worth reading to find out.
***Copy sent by the Allingham Estate in return for an honest review****
The thing about Albert Campion is that you're never one hundred percent sure which side he's on. Unlike Peter Wimsey who will hand pretty much any murderer over - even if it's his own brother (although of course he hopes it's not) - Campion always gives the impression that he's dancing to his own tune. He might hand the murderer over to Oates. He might not. And that's part of what makes these so much fun.
Anyway, this time Campion is looking into the death of a member of a *very* dysfunctional but distinguished (in their eyes at least) Cambridge family, on behalf of the family, but also in co-operation (sometimes) with Oates (who's just been promoted). No (or very little) Lugg in this, but you've got a full cast of grotesques without him. The body count mounts, there's an obvious suspect, but who is actually responsible? It's well worth reading to find out.
marystevens's review against another edition
5.0
The family mansion, Socrates Close in Cambridge, England, is home to the autocratic Victorian matriarch, Caroline Faraday and her quarrelsome middle-aged offspring. No motor cars, though it is 1931, no coffee, no morning tea, no spirits or tobacco; everything runs like clockwork, seven course dinners and of course one dresses for dinner. It reminded me of my father's maiden aunts in their big old house. Enter Campion when the eldest son is found in the River Cam, bound hand and foot with a bullet through his brain. Suspicion falls on his brother William. But Campion thinks there is more to this than meets the eye. Campion's friend Marcus is engaged to Joyce, a great-niece who has joined the household to help Mrs. Faraday in her hour of need. Then there is another murder. Campion, who is a second cousin, is tapped to move in temporarily to keep an eye on things and he painstakingly unravels this tangled skein of clues and red herrings. A very entertaining puzzle mystery. I loved it!