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The White Cottage Mystery cover art

The White Cottage Mystery

By: Margery Allingham
Narrated by: William Gaminara
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Summary

Seven people might have murdered Eric Crowther, the mysterious recluse who lived in the gaunt house whose shadow fell across the White Cottage. Seven people had good cause. It was not lack of evidence that sent Detective Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry half across Europe to unravel a chaos of clues.

The White Cottage Mystery was Margery Allingham's first detective story, published initially as a newspaper serial.

Margery Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family immersed in literature. Her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, was published in 1923 when she was 19. Her first work of detective fiction was a serialized story published by the Daily Express in 1927. Entitled The White Cottage Mystery, it contained atypical themes for a woman writer of the era. Her breakthrough occurred in 1929 with the publication of The Crime at Black Dudley. This introduced Albert Campion, albeit originally as a minor character. He returned in Mystery Mile, thanks in part to pressure from her American publishers, much taken with the character. Campion proved so successful that Allingham made him the centrepiece of another 17 novels and over 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about The White Cottage Mystery

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

Odd, but good.

William Gaminara is the perfect reader for this gentle 'who dunnit' A good selection of accents and voices brought the characters to life especially of the Italian and the old lag. It was wrongly advertised as an Albert Campion story and I kept expecting him to show up at some point. This, though is not the fault of the story, rather the ineptitude of the blurb writer. Typical Margery Allingham though perhaps not as dark as some of her storylines. She is a good drawer or character and the plot is convoluted enough to keep interest. It is enjoyable and worth listening to. I will also get a copy of the book now and see how it comes directly off the page.

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8 people found this helpful

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

Where's Albert?

Where does The White Cottage Mystery rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

No sign of Albert Campion in this rather unexciting tale.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I think the characters are too undefined and just one dimensional upper class people. It was hard to care about them and therefore I was not really drawn into the story.

What about William Gaminara’s performance did you like?

I am afraid I did not like the readers voice which sometimes sounded like he had a dry or sore throat and not as expressive as other voices I have heard.

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

I did not listen in one sitting and it took a while to get in to.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A 60’s style mystery

If you love miss marple or 60’s style mysteries this is so for you. I loved every minute. The narrator lulls you along a wonderful journey. Highly recommend

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

William Gaminara excels

Had it not been for William Gaminara’s excellent reading of this book I would have left it half way through . It is probably one of the least interesting books I have ever listened to.

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1 person found this helpful

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

A Bit of a Mess

I’ve enjoyed several of the Campion series, but I found this book a mess and hard work. It starts simply enough but gets sidetracked; perhaps I need to return to it sometime in the future.

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