I read this in 2015, it was first published in 1929. It is the first of the “Albert Campion” mysteries written by the author. It is the first novel by this author that I have read. Overall, I was unimpressed. The main complaint that I have is that the pacing for this story is uncomfortably off-kilter. The main character, believe it or not, is not Campion, but a young Dr. George Abbershaw.

It is difficult to be told that most of the characters are skilled, academic professionals and then also watch them act and think so stupidly. Coupled with the unending circular plot and this novel just is not very good. Nevertheless, I think because it is the first novel in the series, one should not write off this author/series.

The author sharpens her blade and the writing improves exponentially as the series continues, but readers who begin the series just need to find patience and work through this opener. ( )

Summary: A house party at a remote mansion results in the death of its one reclusive resident after a “lights out” game with a 15th century dagger, followed by the party being held captive by the head of an international crime syndicate.

I’ve read extensively the works of three of the four “Queens of Crime” from the Golden Age of Mysteries–Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and Ngaio Marsh. The fourth is Margery Allingham. I’ve only read one other of her works, More Work for the Undertaker, I’ve decided it’s time to read more of this lesser known, at least to me, of the “Queens.” Her sleuth, Albert Campion, likewise is less known that Lord Peter, Poirot, or Alleyn. It may be, however, that he is the most eccentric..

In this novel, he plays a minor, but not unimportant part, but it is actually the narrator, George Abbershaw, a renowned pathologist, who solves the murder part of this story. The story begins with an invitation to a group of young friends, including Abbershaw, to a house party at a forbidding old country mansion. Their host is Wyatt Petrie, the owner of the mansion, whose longstanding occupant, along with servants, is his uncle, Colonel Coombe. Abbershaw is joined by Meggie Oliphant, who ends up being thrown together with him in the subsequent adventures of the story. There are several other friends of Petrie. And then there is Campion. No one is quite sure how he got there.

There are other guests present, who turn out to be at the head of a ruthless international crime syndicate. They seem to be guests of Colonel Coombe. Campion is apprehensive, but the party proceeds with a macabre game involving a dagger passed from one party member to another while the lights are out. The point is to not be holding the dagger when the lights go on.

Much more happens when the lights go on. They learn that Colonel Coombe has had an attack, and subsequently that he is dead. This was not unexpected due to his weak heart. Abbershaw is called on to sign the death certificate but not allowed to examine the body but can only see the face. That’s enough–he knows this wasn’t a heart attack but death from a wound from which he “bled out.” But the pressure from the local doctor and those with Coombe is such that he signs, allowing the body to be cremated, destroying the evidence.

If all this isn’t enough to ruin a house party, they learn they are being held captive by the head of the syndicate, Dawlish, and his associates. They are after papers that Coombe was supposed to give them. It turns out that Campion, working for an unspecified employer, also was after the papers. No one knows where they are and the party is threatened in dire ways if they don’t surrender the papers, key to an international heist. One of the party attempting to escape to get help is wounded and worse is threatened. Eventually Abbershaw deduces from various comments, including those of a daffy old lady, that the murderer was not one of the syndicate but one of Petrie’s party.

We have two mysteries–that of the papers and that of the murderer. For a time, Campion even seems suspect of one or both. Yet he neither has papers or is the murderer. He raises some questions, and shows himself quite resourceful, including climbing down a chimney to rescue Abbershaw and Meggie at one point in the story. Otherwise, he seems a bit of an eccentric twit from upper class origins, who indulges in working as a private investigator. It appears Allingham is saving him for future stories, giving us just enough taste that we are curious for more.

The end of the story is exciting, and in the end, it is Abbershaw, with his friend, the young physician Prenderby who solve the crimes. Like the other work I reviewed, there are a number of threads, a lot of moving parts to Allingham’s story that require close reading. I have to say that I am yet to be won over but I’m willing to read more, if for no other reason than to see how Allingham develops Campion. ( )

A fun, absorbing read. Some lack of depth in character and holes in story, but considering that it's over 100 years old, it's still a great escape book! I kept wondering about these people kept holed up for days...what did they use for bathroom facililties...I know that they wouldn't have mentioned that then, but still. I enjoyed seeing Campion in this first story as it's been years since I read one of her books. I intend to read the second one also, just to see his character development, then I'm not sure about the rest. ( )

Interesting introduction to the series protagonist. I'm curious to see what POVs the other books are told from and how Campion is depicted/presented in them. ( )

Finally to read the first of the Albert Campion series. Not much of Campion there. We were surprised. David Thorpe's narration caused us some problems. We hated the voice he used for Campion, but it is understandable from the text that he would choose it. Not really a murder mystery as such, but there is a murder to solve. A lot of wild antics. I'd be interested to know how Campion develops from here. ( )

Real Rating: 3.25* of five, rounded down because WOW this didn't age that well

Albert Campion's neurodivergent character is something we're not unfamiliar with in the 21st century. It was baffling in the 19th, whence Allingham derived her world-view. I don't want to give you the wrong idea: she isn't making fun of Campion, she's making sport of him, and the difference is not mere distinction.

Campion appears for the first time in this story as comic relief. He isn't very important in the proceedings at all. This is a case of the publisher getting feedback..."we LOVE that looney, he made us laugh!"...and requiring the author to make more of him in future. A similar thing happened, in my observation, to Louise Penny: The Three Pines series was originally about Clara, a very lonely and dissatisfied married Artist living in a rural Quebecois village with an interesting history and a future as a criminal hotbed. Along came Inspector Gamache of the Sûreté and hey presto! The books are now centered on him.

So this, the first outing, isn't A Campion Story. That's the source of my downward rounding. But that doesn't mean that it's not worth reading. I think, despite social attitudes I don't much like, that stories from this period are very fun reads because they set the standards of fair-play puzzle-based series mysteries that we-the-bookish devour with insatiable appetite. I do want to let you know that those sensitive to the portrayal of the neurodivergent should either skip the read or, and this is what I encourage you to do, go into it prepared for the attitudes of the past to prevail over your preferred standard. ( )

It's perhaps a bit unfair to chastise a book that's almost a hundred years old for being dated, especially when Margery Allingham was one of the coterie of writers in the Twenties and Thirties who helped to establish many of the conventions of detective/murder mystery fiction that seem familiar and even clichéd to us now. (Although The Crime at Black Dudley is only sort of incidentally an English Country House Murder Mystery, and more Bright Young Things Do Scooby Doo, with the Pesky Kids foiling the melodramatic schemes of an international crime ring run by men who run the gamut of stereotypes from xenophobic to plain old anti-Semitic.)

But Allingham's characters often act and think in ways that make me struggle to imagine how even her contemporaries could have thought them psychologically convincing: the emotional equivalent of a kiss in a Thirties Hays Code movie, where the couple mash their lips together without moving for 2.9 seconds in a vague facsimile of passion. The gender politics here are awful.

And even then I might have given this two stars—tosh, but of the readable-on-an-airline variety—if not for the ending, which breaks the cardinal rule of this kind of book. In other words, while it may be possible for the reader to work out whodunit, that's only through using the process of elimination—not because of any actual clues given, while all the information needed to understand whydunit is not given until the last chapter.

That, friends, is a cheat—and that, combined with the fact that the whydunit is what I will tactfully call bonkers bananas, is why I have no plans to pick up another Margery Allingham novel. ( )

House party of young 'uns, including Albert Campion at an old British manor house with lots of hidden passage ways. It was a cover for thugs who were planning some kind of mastermind crime of the century thingie.

Campion was not the primary character in this one. I hope in later books he turns out to be less of a fatuous ass. I realize that was all the rage in Britain in the 1920s among the privileged rich folks. But it gets wearying. ( )

I read an interesting article about the author. Since this book is the first in a series it seems like a good place to start.

8/08 I enjoyed this book even though the ending was a bit weak. Some reviews said this was not her best book, but I read it because it introduces Albert Campion, the sleuth in her series. Allingham wrote during the "golden age of English mystery writing", a contemporary of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, and this book had that feel - murder in an English manor where young upper-class Londoners are attending a weekend party. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. ( )

I feel guilty for this assessment, but this is so dated that it's almost unreadable. I'm disappointed, since I was hoping to find a good series to enjoy. I assume from what I've read online that Campion is intended to be a send-up of Peter Whimsey, and that part is fine with me, but the racial and class epithets are hard to take, even for a book written in 1929. The good old days were really sort of creepy. ( )

This is the first of Allingham’s novels about Albert Campion that I’ve tried (although he’s not the protagonist in this one). If you like the classic British mystery/thriller (e.g., Sayers, Christie, Tey, Marsh), then this is worth reading. I’ve read that Campion is often compared to Lord Peter Wimsey, which I can see somewhat although Campion—at least in this book—is much more the odd duck than Peter ever was. ( )

Meh. Dated and dull. None of the characters was interesting enough for me to care one way or another whether they met with a Dire Fate. The question of “who done it,” pursued through the book, failed to compel the slightest interest in me, since it really didn't matter at all. Campion, who might be expected to be the main character, given that the series is named for him, appears only sporadically, but this is rather a blessing since Allingham, failing to make him charmingly enigmatic, which I suspect was her aim, went so far overboard with his idiotic banter that he is repellantly irritating. Really, the only aspect of the book which I enjoyed was that, after reading in Amazon's description that “Allingham is J.K. Rowling's favourite Golden Age author,” I was amused to note that the arch villain in this is named Dawlish, as is one of the baddies in the Harry Potter series (though, in his defense, Rowling's Dawlish may have been a victim of the Confundus curse, unlike Allingham's whole-heartedly wicked character). ( )

The first in the series of Albert Campion "mysteries," although it's easy to dismiss this one and move straight on to "Mystery Mile," the first to focus on Campion as the protagonist. Frankly, it's obvious from the start that these aren't true mysteries in the traditional sense: an Allingham novel rarely gives the audience the ability to put all of the pieces together on their own, and this one is no exception. It is more accurate, really, to call the Campion books adventure-thrillers, and usually well-characterized ones at that.

At this early stage, though, many of the characters feel quite similar: most of them are upper-class young people, and they pretty much all speak in the same affected 1920s vernacular. It is absolutely obvious that the stand-out character is Albert Campion himself, who features here as an *extremely* showy secondary character. He takes the lingo to its zenith, fooling around and generally making an ass of himself, all the while managing to quite cleverly manipulate the situation. Small wonder Allingham chose to focus on him in her next thriller and for many more books thereafter.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this book is its rapid tonal shifts - from thriller to romance and back again - and the final chapter's venture into social moralization feels just a little bit awkward (not to mention extremely surprising). There are, to be fair, better novels of this type from the era; Agatha Christie's The Secret Adversary leaps to mind as one, although neither her Tommy or Tuppence are nearly as vivid a character as Campion. And that's the difference, really: if Christie is better at plot twists, Allingham quite honestly has the upper hand at characterization. This isn't her most layered or enjoyable work, to be sure. Still, it's a not inauspicious beginning, and it definitely whets the appetite for more adventures with the elusive Mr. Campion. ( )

I believe this is the first of Allingham's mysteries featuring Albert Campion. What fun it was. A group of guests are assembled in a country mansion to celebrate a birthday; murder occurs and the fun begins. ( )

The Crime at Black Dudley – An Oldie but a Goodie

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham was originally published in 1929 here in the UK and across the pond in America where it was known as The Black Dudley Murder. This excellent novel became the first in what became the Campion Mystery series that was popular when written and even the grand old dame of crime fiction Agatha Christie recommended her writing.

Although in The Crime at Black Dudley is considered the first in the Campion Series in this book he is a bit part player and we ought to thank the American publisher for pushing Allingham to write a series based upon the oddball Campion.

If you are expecting an old fashioned whodunit then this book may not be quite the one for you, there is a murder, with a wonderful twist at the end. At times it seems more of an adventure story with a murder thrown in with a twisted Johnny Foreigner type character as the bad guy.

At times the language may seem rather odd but it must be remembered that the language usage reflects the times when it was written between the two wars and reflects the language of the Upper Classes of the times. When met with ordinary the language seems rather stilted but one can imagine it being spoken at the time.

The setting is a classic of a country house for a weekend party away from the nearest village somewhere in Suffolk, with a mixture of classic young people who want to be entertained over a weekend in the country at the big house.

Over the weekend the Uncle of the host is murdered and something a gang of criminals want is taken from them. The bright young things are kept prisoner in the House and get up to all sorts of high jinks to escape and fail, while one of their number is trying to work out who the murderer is and why it may have happened.

This is a good old fashioned murder, mystery adventure that today may seem to have holes in the plot, but this is a fantastic read with plenty of fun within the pages. What does shine through in this book is the prose, and Margery Allingham is an excellent observer of the 20s society she writes about in such a beautiful way. The Crime at Black Dudley is an excellent book, worth reading and being taken back in time when things were rather similar than they are today. ( )

A house party at a isolated location, a gang of thieves ,a murder and a family legend. This was a mystery with many twists and turns with some funny moments. This was the first book Albert Campion appears, it is a well written story line and has good characters. I plan to read as many books of Albert Campion as possible.
***I received this book in return for and honest review**** ( )

This is the first novel to feature Albert Campion. He actually plays more of a supporting role, but seeing as every time he appears he steals the show, it's not surprising Allingham quickly made him the star of his own series.

A group of young people gather at remote country house, but the party quickly turns into a hostage situation when it's revealed that some of the guests are members of an international crime syndicate. Throw in a mysterious murder and some social entanglements worthy of Bertie Wooster, and you've got mystery that's by turns witty and genuinely tense and creepy. ( )

Original British title The Crime at Black Dudley; included in a collection I have already cataloged. The first Campion ad more a conventional country house crime with a slight occult twist than his later more modern (often London) adventures. ( )

I'm not one for cosies (country house mysteries) but I did thoroughly enjoy this one. Despite its relative age it manages to remain remarkably contemporary and kept my interest throughout. In some ways, it reminded me of the movie Gosford Park (with a bit of Clue mixed in). I'll definitely be looking for other volumes in the Albert Campion series. ( )

The first Albert Campion mystery features Campion in a rather minor role. He is one of a number of guests at a weekend house party at Black Dudley manor. As mystery aficionados might expect, there is a murder, but the murder pales next to the much larger crime that will endanger all of the house residents. At first it seems like Campion may be the murderer, but the solution is infinitely more complicated. We start to see Campion's ties to government intelligence, though we don't yet find out exactly who he is. There's running around and crazy chases. This is not the best mystery I've read, though there are certainly some entertaining characters. I think it might be better to start later in the series, as I don't think this is the book to draw readers in to Campion's world. ( )

A cast of characters is gathered at the Black Dudley country house where they are playing a game of pass the dagger. When the dagger ends up in the hands of one guest, she notes there is blood on it, but it quickly disappears from her hand before she can raise an alarm. A bit later a man is dead. They try to pass it off as a heart attack, but the examining doctor gets a glimpse of the corpse before signing the death certificate with a false cause of death. He knows the man has been murdered. The players are then held hostage in the home until a German man gets what he wants. It leaves them plenty of time to try to determine what transpired. Although this is the first in the author's Albert Campion series, he is a minor player. The sleuth in this one is Dr. George Abbershaw. There were moments when I had difficulty following the plot in the course of the novel, but it was a somewhat interesting "locked room" puzzle with lots of twists and turns. ( )

The Crime At Black Dudley by Margery Allingham starts with a weekend in the country, an isolated house full of guests, and a strange tale to be told about an ancient family ritual. During the course of the evening it was decided to act out this ritual which involved the passing of the family dagger around in the dark. When the lights are turned back on whoever is holding the dagger must pay a forfeit. This was the opening of an entertaining and impelling read. As we can surmise, when the lights are turned back on, the party is down one member.

The story unfolds through the eyes of a young doctor who fancies himself a bit of a an expert in the area of criminal doings as he has assisted Scotland Yard with his knowledge of pathology. Albert Campion who was to go on to be the star of this author’s series, is mostly a side character, a seeming vacuous young man who relishes playing the fool, but he is slowly revealed as a highly intelligent private agent with a mind like a steel trap.

The Crime At Black Dudley was a fun read and a great introduction to the Albert Campion series as this small sampling showcases Campion’s chameleon-like manner along with his humor, style and wit. This small appearance was certainly enough to whet this readers’ appetite for more. ( )

Couldn't get into the book. Maybe will try again later ( )

this is the first in a series of books featuring Albert Campion as detective. Only it's almost as if this wasn't written with him in mind as the detective. The crime is solved by the doctor, Abbotshaw, and not actually by Campion (although it's possible he knows more than he lets on, but he certainly doesn't do the unveiling)

Set in a Gothic pile in the country, it's a tale of a house party, a grisly ritual with a dagger and a den of thieves. the murder is committed, covered up and then the house party intimidated by the criminals. Actually, the main part of the book is how they escape the criminal gang, not so much as to who did the murder. It's an inventive one, with enough twists & turns to keep you guessing to the end (although I did have a vague inkling as to who did it - but no motive).

As the first in what turns into a series, I suspect this may be atypical. But I'd be interested to see how Campion develops from here. So far he strikes me as Whimsey-esque, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. ( )

A classic English manor mystery complete with secret passages, a house party and a curse. ( )