A review by sarahmatthews
Black Plumes by Margery Allingham

mysterious tense fast-paced

Black Plumes by Margery Allingham

Read on audio, narrated by Michael Tudor Barnes for RNIB

Pub.1940

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This book is unusual for Margery Allingham as the detective featured isn’t Albert Campion, who she developed across so many of her novels.

The action takes place in a family home, next door to their art gallery business. Recently they’ve witnessed some odd goings on including a slashed canvas and then, of course, someone is found murdered!

The story is told from the perspective of Frances, the granddaughter of the head of the family, Gabrielle, who’s in her 90s and this clash of generations is explored well throughout.

On the night of the crime (which happens at the house) several of the family were in residence. As such we have a small band of people to suspect and naturally there are plenty of family secrets to create intrigue.

We see Frances’ confusion about what she saw that night and doubts about people she thought she knew well creep in.

I don’t want to say too much more to avoid spoilers, but here’s a taste of how Allingham builds tension:

“The long brocade curtains billowed out…as a great gust came rushing through the narrow slit at the top of the tall window.Miss Dorset sprang to close the sash but not before a pile of flimsy papers had been strewn over the floor…and to the end of her days Frances was to feel a twinge of apprehension whenever a curtain should swing out suddenly in the rising wind”

I really enjoyed this mystery, which was moody and full of melodrama and had a touch of romance. The language reflects the attitudes of the time so in this edition there was some use of offensive words which I found shocking at times. While I had my suspicions, I didn’t guess the murderer or the method and was swept along to the conclusion which was entertaining.