Customer Reviews

Flowers for the Judge

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Albert Campion, universal uncle and amateur detective, is invited into the family circle of staid British publisher Barnaby. There he finds an enmeshed family system, and a series of mysteries. Twenty years before one of the brothers vanished into thin air, while walking down a London street. Now Paul has been found dead in the manuscript vault. His cousin Mike (who is fond of the widow) is prime suspect. It was his car, left running outside the vault room's ventilator, that caused Paul's death of carbon monoxide poisoning. Cousin Ritchie, the reclusive manuscript reader, offers his eccentric assistance. A wonderful surprise ending to all this, which will be welcomed by anyone who's worked in a stuffy publishing house, or endured an asphyxiating family firm.

With "Flowers for the Judge" Margery Allingham signals the change in her writing style which was first hinted at in "Police at the Funeral." Campion has matured a bit and changed from a hapless zany to someone just a bit more like a friend of the family. Still occasionally fatuous, but, more often, showing flashes of brilliance. In keeping with this, the stories themselves are shifting away from adventure tales and becoming more typical of detective stories. While Allingham is rarely very good at keeping secrets, there really are mysteries and inexplicable clues to puzzle out.

The mystery in "Flowers for the Judge," is who murdered Paul Brande in the cellar lock room of Barnabas Limited. Brande is one of the owners of this respectable publishing firm, along with his cousins John Widdowson and Michael Wedgewood. Paul, noted for running off without notice, and being a bit hare-brained to boot, leaves behind his wife Gina. He had proven himself somewhat lacking as a husband and Gina was in the process of trying to divorce him. To make this even more suspicious, her relationship with Michael, while not exactly improper, is a bit too close to be considered a simple friendship.

When the police discover that the murder weapon was Michael's car, which was used to pump carbon monoxide into the lock room, suspicions blossom. With Michael unable to produce an alibi, the result of the inquest is a forgone conclusion, and Michael is remanded over for trial. Gina and Ritchie Barnabas (another cousin) turn to Campion for help.

The case is complicated by other events and hints of scandal, yet provides Campion with only fragmentary evidence with which to track down the truth. Driven by the need to exonerate Michael rather than simple get him released, Campion's task seems impossible. He leaves no stone unturned in his efforts, and, in the end, risks his own life to reveal the true murderer.

I rather like the new Campion. And the change in writing style introduces considerable depth and emotional content than was present in the more light hearted romances of the past. Characters are more developed and accessible, as well. Not only is "Flowers for the Judge" a great story in it's own right, it is also a portent of more wonderful tales to come.

and in the Barnabas family lately that luck has turned all bad.

In the 19th century Jacoby Barnabas founded a publishing house, one that prospered and, in due time was passed along to his decendents who, for the most part carried on the business quite conventionally. The third generation was a different matter. One grandson refused to enter the business at all, another was 'to be looked after' and his brother simply disappeared. The rest managed to entangled themselves in love affairs and murder!

Enter Albert Campion (not his real name), friend of the family and amateur detective (and perhaps in line to the throne) has dropped by to take tea with the family but before the evening is over one of the family is found dead with the prime suspects being his wife and his cousin who apparently have become 'quite fond' of one another. As Campion begins to look into the matter he uncovers all sorts of things, office scandals, a long-time mistress and just how a proper businessman can vanish while walking down a London street in broad daylight.

This is the seventh in the Campion series and at this point Albert is emerging from the shadow of Lord Peter Wimsey, the character Allingham patterned him after. Albert is becoming more down to earth and focused, developing more of his own persona, although Allingham is not above making a sly reference to 'Denver' - Lord Peter's family estate.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery, particularly for those who are fans of this series or of mysteries of this era. The characters are well done, the plotting is clever, and the clues are all there fairly laid out for the reader to follow.

This is a most excellent mystery, written by one of Britain's premiere writers. Beginning with a murder (naturally) and a missing person, Campion and his companion (with the barely pronounceable first name) Lugg, set to uncover what happened. Some of the old "English/British" expressions might send one to the closest OED (Oxford English Dictionary, of course) and a line of "French", literally, at the end of the last chapter might require a "French" dictionary (for those who, like me, did not take the language in school). Otherwise, a fine book. I wish they would put the video (PBS) version of this book out, as it (the title character, Campion) was well played by Peter Davison of Dr. Who fame.

I don't recall having read this one, though I know I've read most of the Allingham Albert Campion mysteries some 20 years ago. This one is rather convoluted, but it is definitely an exciting one. The story is actually double, one based on the disappearance of a member of a publishing family and one based on the murder of another of the same extended family. What I enjoyed most was that the two stories dovetail so neatly, making a nice clean end.

The mystery is filled with red herrings, all well placed to misdirect the reader, and contains moments of action which give the author the opportunity to use her wonderful narrative talent. Even the subsidiary characters are interesting and well constructed, capturing the attention of the reader and leaving a definite positive or negative sense about them; they are definitely more three dimensional than Christie characters. The environment is clearly described and the emotional tension of the events is well conveyed. I was especially intrigued by the details of the court room and of the trial procedure, which captures the sense of tradition and of legal evolution in Great Britian.

For those who've seen the BBC/PBS televised series based on the Allingham mysteries, Campion - The Complete First Season and Campion - The Complete Second Season, this one very closely follows the book, though there are some noticeable changes, especially at the end. I was amazed at how closely the actors chosen to play the various parts actually looked like the characters as they were described by the author. Even their mannerisms and attitudes were almost right out of the books. It was a wonderfully faithful translation of the written word to the screen.

The film version does a better job of conveying the period setting. The "old regime" of the publishing house is more clearly opposed by the up and coming ambiance of the Art Deco 1930s in the cinematic presentation. The author may be forgiven, however, for not anticipating that some aspects of the time would create for her audience a quaint sense of "Era."

Who murdered Paul Brande in the cellar lock room of Barnabas Limited, a highly respectable London publishing firm? One of the heirs is arrested, and Allingham's serial detective, Albert Campion is brought in to prove him innocent.

The mystery is interesting, but my favorite scenes in "Flowers for the Judge" involved the proceedings at the inquest and trial--the minutiae of the 1930s British legal system, including the eponymous flowers for the judge. Fans of John Mortimer's `Rumpole of the Bailey' books should give this novel a try.

Unfortunately, this book features one of Allingham's china-doll heroines, who does nothing more interesting than faint every now and then. She's pretty, and wears lovely clothes, but her cleaning lady is a much more interesting character. We always know what these heroines are wearing, but we hardly ever catch a glimpse of their thought processes. I'm sorry to say that they strike me as rather stupid.

"Flowers for the Judge" has a wonderful ending. Yes, the heroine gets her man, but that is only a minor, uninteresting detail compared to the 20-year-old family secret that Campion resolves in a most unexpected fashion.

Here is a complete list of the Campion novels that Allingham wrote ("Cargo of Eagles" was completed by her husband after her death in 1966). There are also short story collections and Campion novels that were written by her husband, Youngman Carter, which I didn't include in this list.

1. The Black Dudley Murder aka The Crime at Black Dudley (1929)
2. Mystery Mile (1930)
3. Look to the Lady aka The Gyrth Chalice Mystery (1931)
4. Police at the Funeral (1931)
5. Sweet Danger aka Kingdom of Death aka The Fear Sign (1933)
6. Death of a Ghost (1934)
7. Flowers for the Judge (1936)
8. The Case of the Late Pig (1937)
9. Dancers in Mourning aka Who Killed Chloe? (1937)
10. The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
11. Traitor's Purse aka The Sabotage Murder Mystery (1941)
12. Pearls before Swine (1945)
13. More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
14. The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
15. Estate of the Beckoning Lady (1955)
16. Tether's End (1958)
17. The China Governess (1963)
18. The Mind Readers (1965)
19. Cargo of Eagles (1968)