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  • Coroner's Pidgin

  • An Albert Campion Mystery
  • By: Margery Allingham
  • Narrated by: David Thorpe
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (172 ratings)
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Coroner's Pidgin cover art

Coroner's Pidgin

By: Margery Allingham
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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Summary

Just returned from years overseas on a secret mission, Albert Campion is relaxing in his bath when his servant Lugg and a lady of unmistakably aristocratic bearing appear in his flat carrying the corpse of a woman.

At first Campion is unwilling to get involved, but he is forced to bring his powers of protection to bear on the case, and to solve not only the mystery of the murdered woman but also the alarming disappearance of some well-known art treasures.

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 David Thorpe

Critic reviews

"Miss Allingham is one of the few writers who can deal with art. Both her passions and her patterns are beautiful, accurate and serene" ( Daily Telegraph)
"Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world" ( Tatler)
"The real queen of crime" ( Guardian)

What listeners say about Coroner's Pidgin

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent.

I only discovered Margery Allingham quite recently. Another favourite author, Christopher Fowler, mentioned her in his Book of Forgotten Authors and, stumbling across her again here, I thought I would dip in.
I feel like I've struck a diamond mine and the more I dig, the bigger the diamonds get!
These books do not feel their age at all. They are as fresh as if they were written yesterday. Her turn of phrase, her characters, are very real. So much more alive than any of Christie's. Campion and Lugg are wonderful and their relationship matures as they age through the books.
There is no formula to the writing, she seems to dip in and out of various kinds of crime fiction. Every book is a journey that we embark on with her characters.
Sometimes they feel so written for TV! I wasn't surprised to find TV had made a stab at them, pretty successfully, but sadly only eight of the books.
Here, we find Albert with constant background anxiety about the need to catch a train. We want him to sort out the mystery so he can get his train. We are anxious with him! And yet it's written so lightly, so beautifully.
Excellent book!
Each one becomes my new favourite!
I shall be so sad when they run out.
Much is said about the wrongness of the narrator. I was startled by him in the first book and preferred Frances Matthews' reading of the second, but, now I'm deep in, I find I much prefer David Thorpe. He does the prep work to get tones and voices perfectly as written. He gives comic turn where appropriate but still gives gravitas to the more sombre patches. I love him.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book that keeps you guessing right to the end

The reader brings the characters alive. He is a pleasure to listen to. The story complexity ensures you are kept guessing until the very end.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable read

Where does Coroner's Pidgin rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top twenty but that top twenty changes all the time with the books I listen to AND still read.

What other book might you compare Coroner's Pidgin to, and why?

Probably a previous Campion novel

Which character – as performed by David Thorpe – was your favourite?

Lugg

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - too nuanced for that.

Any additional comments?

Sometimes Marjorie Allingham wraps the book up too quickly. Still not sure how it was done this time!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator misses the mark

Such a wonderful story spoiled by the narrator’s voice for Campion that spills over into a parody of a between-the-war aristocratic accent: too squeaky, too high pitched.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narration not brilliant

At times I really had a hard time with the narrator and that made the story hard to follow.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

narrator spoiled it

The high falsetto voice chosen for Campion made me visualise him as a pantomime dame

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic campion

loved it all campion series is so good .brilliantly penned. golden age authors are great

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awful voice for poor Albert

Sadly the absurdly high wobbly voice produced for Albert Campion has made this unbearable to listen to. I always enjoyed Francis Matthews reading these books. Such a shame that so few of his recordings are available on Audible.

Love the book. Hate this recording.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Coroner's Pidgin

This mystery has you guessing who are friends and who are enemies. Read brilliantly again by David Thorpe.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another delightful story

Having just rediscovered Margery Allingham, I find myself gripped by her excellent story telling. Plenty to keep you listening as the tale twist and turns. I have come to terms with the narration, not the best but, not enough to put me off downloading more of Albert Campion.

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1 person found this helpful