POLICE AT THE FUNERAL (Albert Campion Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Margery Allingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1989 | Series: Albert Campion Mystery

Great Aunt Caroline rules the roost in an old Cambridge residence which is riddled with mystery, evil and terror. Uncle Andrew is dead, Aunt Julia is poisoned, Uncle William attacked and Albert Campion, that hero of detective fiction comes to the rescue.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Margery Allingham deserves to be rediscovered.”
–P.D. James --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Margery Allingham was born in London in 1904. Her first novel was published when she was seventeen. In 1929 she published The Crime at Black Dudley and introduced the character who was to become the hallmark of her writing - Albert Campion. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Crimeline (October 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553285068
• ISBN-13: 978-0553285062
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Curriculum for Cambridge, March 27, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Police at the Funeral (Allingham, Margery) (Paperback)

Coincidence and madness are the twin themes of "Police at the Funeral." The book starts out when a planned meeting between Campion and Joyce Blount turns into an accidental meeting with Inspector Stanislaus Oates and a peculiarly unpleasant fellow who takes one look at Joyce and flees. From there the tale follows a twisted path.

Joyce is the fiancée of Marcus Featherstone, one of Campion's oldest friends. She lives with her great aunt Caroline, a pair of unpleasant uncles and an equally depressing brace of aunts. Uncle Andrew, a singularly miserable fellow, has vanished and Joyce has come to Campion for help. In short order Andrew is found murdered in such a fashion as to implicate his heavy drinking brother William. Campion's presence is commanded by Great Aunt Caroline and he is settled into Socrates Close, their Cambridge home, to act as detective, defender and general factotum.

Yes, I said commanded. Great Aunt Caroline Faraday is a true Victorian 'grand dame.' For most of her life she has ruled Socrates Close and much of Cambridge's social life. Even now, in her 90's she is a force to be reckoned with. She has no patience with her dependents, who share little of her and her departed husband's brilliance. She sees no alternative to the ministrations of Campion, with whose mysterious but illustrious family she is well acquainted.

It will take the death of one of Joyce's aunts and yet another fatality before Campion is able to meet her expectations. In doing so he will brush with evil at its most petty and spiteful. The lightheartedness that Campion uses to cover his true feeling entertains and delights us, but is never completely able to dispel the pall that lies upon the great house until the very last, when he once again finds a way through.

I believe this is the first time Allingham puts aside her Chinese fire drill device and settles in to write true detective fiction. Her talent reveals itself as quite capable of handling the slower pace, which allows here more time to develop a remarkable cast of characters. These are never guilty of tediousness despite any other flaws they chose to reveal.

It is a shame that Allingham's books are often allowed to go in and out of print. Too often, Campion aficionados are condemned to rummaging in used bookstalls to fill a gap in their collection. Luckily, most of us like to rummage. Police at the Funeral is a wonderful tale that is reminiscent of Marsh's "Death of a Peer," although the Faradays are nowhere as near as appealing as Marsh's Lampreys. Except for Great Aunt Caroline, of course, who is a perfect treat. I can only tell you this tale is well worth digging for.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Golden Age At Its Best, June 5, 2001

By 

bibliomane01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Police at the Funeral (Allingham, Margery) (Paperback)

A diabolical murderer has been at work in the Victorian precincts of the manor known as Socrates Close. The formidable Great Aunt Caroline has all her wits about her, but her family does not and they have been dropping like flies. The police are naturally baffled. Only Albert Campion, faintly redolent of the early Lord Peter Wimsey with his fatuous smile and episcopal connections, stands between the criminal and a particularly nasty victory. This is Golden Age crime in full glory: an extremely ingenious puzzle, very well drawn period characters (Great Aunt Caroline is unforgettable), the usual understated English humour and a villain who is memorable in more than the usual ways. I'm not sure if Margery Allingham ever wrote a better book than this, so sit back, relax, make yourself comfortable and get ready to enjoy a mystery the likes of which they seldom write these days. If it's raining outside, so much the better!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Families can be so trying at times, April 16, 2006

By 

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Police at the Funeral (Allingham, Margery) (Paperback)

This 1932 novel is the 3rd in the Campion series. 'Albert Campion' (one of his aliases) has been contacted by an old school friend who has asked Albert to look into a matter for his fiancee's family - the Faradays, it seems that one of his future in-laws is missing. As the young lady is filling in Albert on her uncle's disappearance word arrives that the missing man has been found, unfortunately dead.

Upon arriving at the Faraday household Albert discovers that his grandmother and the matriarch of clan, Aunt Caroline, are old friends. With this entree into the family Campion begins to unearth old family secrets and scandals. Ultimately the truth comes out but not before the body count rises.

Albert Campion has been compared to Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey especially in the earlier novels. The similarities are noticeable in this one but less so than the previous novel, MYSTERY MILE. Campion is still traveling in the close world of upper class old English families and still playing the effete fool. The setting here is Cambridge (as opposed to Wimsey's Oxford) and Campion's police contact Oats, is reminiscent to Wimsey's Parker. Campion though is beginning to remerge from Wimsey's shadow here and developing more of his own style.

The mysteries are intriguing, the clues are all present and challenging enough to keep the reader guessing. This is a great entry into the series, one that fans will not want to miss. It would also be a good place to begin if the earlier books are not available.