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The Beckoning Lady

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About this listen

Campion's glorious summer in Pontisbright is blighted by death. Amidst the preparations for Minnie and Tonker Cassand's fabulous summer party a murder is discovered and it falls to Campion to unravel the intricate web of motive, suspicion, and deduction with all his imagination and skill.

©1983 Emily Joyce Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd Crime Fiction Mystery Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

"Miss Allingham's strength lies in the power of her characterization" ( New York Times)
"Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world" ( Tatler)
"Spending an evening with Campion is one of life's pure pleasures" ( Saturday Review)
"Margery Allingham deserves to be rediscovered" (P.D. James)
All stars
Most relevant
Great story in a classic setting. Satisfying plot, interesting characters, beautifully written. Well read. A delight

Classic crime from a great

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I remember Campion from my childhood. The story is a bit dated now with the slang of the time, but in essence it could be brought up to date into a good television production.

A good old Whodunnit

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I found I couldn’t get lost in this Campion story unlike many of the series.

Not her best

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Diffident ex secret service sleuth Campion is portrayed almost as Bertie Wooster and panther like police hero Charlie Luke as a hapless East End barrow boy solving crimes by dumb luck. A shame because other characters are fine and it's only with these two main characters that the narrator has relied on overly stereotypical or 'stock' 1930s 'types' thus marring but not completely ruining what is essentially a good yarn. One or two non PC notes indicative of the times in which the author was writing also jar in todays world .

Good Story marred by narrator's characterisations

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The Beckoning Lady is a beautiful old house in Pontisbright, where Minnie (a painter) and Tonka (an ideas man) are about to host a Midsummer's Night party for everyone they've ever met. In spite of the recent death of Uncle William (an old buffer) and the more disturbing discovery of a week-old corpse in nearby fields. Legend has it the house is always owned by a woman, and men will do anything to possess it. Mr Albert Campion is disturbed and must solve several mysteries before enjoying a party.

Midsummer madness in Suffolk

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