Dancers in Mourning

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mystery
Review: Margery Allingham is a great writer. Albert Campion is a classic figure in mystery literature and I hope they never stop reprinting her books. I haven't been able to read many Allingham books but I can say that this is one of her best. The mystery is fascinating and she provides a wonderful twist in the plot right in the end. Just when you think it's all figured out. Wham! Even Campion is shocked. This is the first Allingham I read and I was hooked. Campion is such an intrigueing character. Sometimes he's not even the main character in her books, but he's still a force to be reckoned with. A character that adds much warmth and richness to Allingham's books and particularly this one, is Magersfontein Lugg, Campion's valet, butler, cook, etc. He also happens to be a former burglar, I believe. Writers like Allingham don't happen all the time and I wish I had discovered her sooner. Any book written by her is bound to be good and I also recommend Tiger in the Smoke. Wonderful suspense too.

Rating:
Summary: Cupid Agonistes
Review: No doubt Allingham fans will remember Uncle William from "Police at the Funeral." William's near miss with the British legal system and the death of his mother having left him at loose ends, so he decides to write his memoirs. Having lived an unexceptional life, William decides to make it up out of whole cloth. Unexpectedly, the book, "Memoirs of an Old Buffer," becomes a comic bestseller. To ice the cake, a musical review, starring Jimmy Sutane, the dancer, is a runaway success. All should be roses.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Freak accidents and practical jokes have dogged the cast of the play, and nerves are running high. Uncle William calls in Albert Campion to help resolve the problems and return things to normal. After a backstage visit Campion accepts an invitation to Sutane's country house, where he meets Sutane's long time friend Squire Mercer, his understudy Benny Konrad, supporting actress Chloe Pye, and many other players in the drama about to unfold. Much to Campion's shock he find's himself stricken by Suntane's wife, Linda. Everything comes to a head when Chloe Pye falls off a road bridge directly in front of Sutane's moving vehicle. The inquest is inconclusive, unable to decide if se was pushed, fell, or jumped.

Completely befuddled by his feelings for Linda, Campion has difficulty focussing on the case. He withdraws, providing help only sporadically. Not even the sudden tragedy of the bombing murder of Benny Konrad, which leaves 15 people dead or injured, seems to rouse him from this state. Finally, it is the pleas of Linda herself that arouse him to the hunt again. Even so, it is an unwilling Campion that follows the trails to their inevitable, tragic conclusion.

This is one of Allingham's most difficult books. Truly, we are not used to an unwilling Campion. Without the precious antics of Magersfontein Lugg, Campion's manservant, the overall tone of the book would be darkly somber. Yet the writing is some of her best. Character depictions are deep and well made. There are moments in the dialog and narrative that attain an almost poetic clarity. The plot is complex and moves along well. And, for those of us who do not always pay close attention, the ending is a bit of a surprise. Allingham has wandered onto uncharted waters in "Dancers in Mourning," and she has done very well.