Albert Campion – Page 2 – Carol's Notebook

Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

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...

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Campion is contacted by Joyce Blount, who is engaged to a friend of his. Joyce lives in Socrates Close, Cambridge, surrounded by the old, eccentric Faraday family. The matriarch of the family is Caroline Faraday, widow of a famous academic. However, Uncle Andrew has gone missing and all is not well within the household. As a favor to his friend, Marcus, Campion goes to the house and helps with the investigation. Upper-class families are always at least a bit more open to others like themselves than to detectives. It turns out Uncle Andrew is dead, just the first of the murders. The family members don't get along well, but they all rely on Mrs. Faraday, since none have money of their own. To be honest, I really enjoyed them. One Aunt was a bit of a religious fanatic, an uncle is a closet drinker who wants to be braver than he is, Joyce is just sweet, Carolin is as tough as...

Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

May 3, 2019May 3, 2019 by Carol7 Comments

After listening to the first Albert Campion mystery I wasn't sure how I felt about the series. Look to the Lady is definitely a funner book. Campion is our main character now, and while he's still an odd duck, he clearly knows a lot about what is going on and has quite a few influential friends. The chalice is a priceless, ancient relic and a rich collector wants it. This collector is a member of a group that has its own methods and rules, and Campion is quite familiar with their system. Campion is becoming an interesting character. He is not quite a detective, more like a clever, innocuous man for hire. His plan this time is to figure out who the collector's agent is and basically make sure that person ends up dead. I listened to this one right after the first, so comparisons are inevitable. Allingham took more care of the secondary characters this time around. They were more fully...