Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham Narrator: Franis Matthews
Series: Albert Campion #5
Published by Audible Studios on August 1, 2012 (first published 1933)
Source: Purchased
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 7 hrs 37 mins
Pages: 256
Format: Audiobook
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Nestled along the Adriatic coastline, the kingdom of Averna has suddenly - and suspiciously - become the hottest property in Europe, and Albert Campion is given the task of recovering the long-missing proofs of ownership.
His mission takes him from the French Riviera to the sleepy village of Pontisbright, where he meets the flame-haired Amanda Fitton. Her family claim to be the rightful heirs to the principality, and insist on joining Campion's quest. Unfortunately for them, a criminal financier and his heavies are also on the trail - the clock is ticking for Campion and his cohorts to outwit the thugs and solve the mystery of Averna.
I’m a fan of Albert Campion. I like how he pretends to be a little dull and inoffensive, but is really pretty brilliant, daring and rather charming. The bad guy in Sweet Danger knows him pretty well too.
Savanke went on impassively. “I know your success, your association with Scotland Yard. Let me see, you are unmarried, unattached.”
“Fancy-free,” remarked Mr. Campion mildly, “is the term I’ve always liked.”
“You are thirty-two years old,” the voice went on inexorably. “You are reputed to be comfortably, but not lavishly provided for. You are reckless, astute, and quite extaordinarily courageous.”
“I take number nine in shoes,” said the young man with the toothache with sudden irritation. “I always wash behind my ears, and in my mother’s opinion I have a very beautiful tenor voice. Suppose I decide not to play revolutions with you?”
“I don’t think you would be so stupid.”
Oil has been found in Averna, which is on the Adriatic Sea. Big Oil in the person of the millionaire financier Savernake wants to take possession of it. Historically, the principality to an aristocratic family named Pontisbright. Although the line is believed to have died out, a young family in a Suffolk village think they have a claim to the title. Sweet Danger is not so much a mystery as a treasure hunt adventure. Campion and his friends are in search of three things that prove who the rightful owner of Averna is. They meet with the Fittons, three rather impoverished siblings who believe they are the true heir of Averna and join Campion in his search. The younger sister, Amanda, is the stand-out, lovely, fearless, and ingenious.
Of course, excuse the spoiler, the Fittons are the heirs. What else would you expect? But getting there is rather complicated, complete with several break-ins, a crazy doctor who believes in witchcraft, a couple of disguises, although the while trying to beat the bad guys. It’s a bit silly around the edges but fun.
About Margery Allingham
Margery Louise Allingham (May 20, 1904 – June 30, 1966) was born in Ealing, London to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women’s magazines. Margery’s aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt’s magazine.
Soon after Margery’s birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster) and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery’s breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley. The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
I love that you read classic mysteries like this. I haven’t read one in years but your posts always make me want to.
When I’m not sure what i want to read next or need a bit of a break, I tend to pick them up.