Just returned from years overseas on a secret mission, Albert Campion is relaxing in his bath when his servant Lugg and a lady of unmistakably aristocratic bearing appear in his flat carrying the corpse of a woman.
At first Campion is unwilling to get involved, but he is forced to bring his powers of protection to bear on the case, and to solve not only the mystery of the murdered woman but also the alarming disappearance of some well-known art treasures.
©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 David Thorpe
"Miss Allingham is one of the few writers who can deal with art. Both her passions and her patterns are beautiful, accurate and serene" (Daily Telegraph)
"Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world" (Tatler)
"The real queen of crime" (Guardian)
"An enjoyable entry in the series"
I love the era just before WWI and between WWI and WWII. I had read most of the Albert Campion Books years ago but this was a new one for me. The narration was interesting....I'm still not sure about the "voice" used for Albert but it might have grown on me! The mix of characters was delightful. I did figure out who the baddie was early but it didn't take away my enjoyment of the book at all. The mindset is of the characters is old fashioned but not wrong. There was a big surprise at the end and I was delighted by it. I hope to see more Albert Campion books available.