Scan barcode
jlmb's review
2.0
Usually I enjoy Allingham's Campion mysteries but wow, this one was pretty bad. There's not a traditional crime that is being solved. It's all about finding the biological parents of a guy who was adopted into a wealthy family. When he finds out he is adopted, he "can't" marry his fiancee because - gasp - what if his bio family have mental illness!? The horror! Everyone thinks this reason perfectly logical.
Campion and Lugg are barely in the book and don't really do much to solve the very lame mystery that is being presented. What a disappointing read.
Campion and Lugg are barely in the book and don't really do much to solve the very lame mystery that is being presented. What a disappointing read.
frances_ab's review
4.0
This was one of Allingham's better Campion novels, in my opinion-no criminal gangs, no incomprehensible in-crowd language and jokes, no more than manageable class superiority/mockery of the lower classes, and quite a good mystery. I've been doing a reread of the entire Campion series and I must say that her novels have not aged nearly as well as those of that other Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, but it has been fun to follow Campion, Lugg, and Charlie Luke through the decades.
sp_anna's review
3.0
Intricate and complex, but something slightly lacking from the normal Campion charm. Still a joy to read with an adorably vintage feel.
depizan's review against another edition
2.0
More like one and a half stars. I managed to stick with it, but only barely. It felt older, in every conceivable way, than her older work. It was apparently set in the 60's (when it was written), but boy does it not feel that way. I saw at least one other review that noted that it seemed more like the intra-war years, as far as character types, motivations, etc went. I have to agree. If not older than that. It's also rather plagued by offensive stereotypes, and I don't remember that being true of the older works of hers that I've read. (Which, granted, isn't that many, but still...)
kathleenitpdx's review against another edition
2.0
A very British period (set in the 60's) mystery. A lot of this plot revolves around class--old moneyed family vs. governesses vs. the "under class". Although two of the most sympathetic characters are men who have risen above their background. I found a number of the characters difficult to believe. People in the story kept referring to "types" of people who were not recognizable to me. Several of the characters seemed inconsistent--wavering between wise understanding people and total silliness.
More...