"Mr. Albert Campion: Coups neatly executed. Nothing sordid, vulgar or plebeian. Deserving cases preferred.
Police no object. Regent 01300."
Albert Campion is not a detective, and not with the police, but a gentleman who attracts danger and mystery. Clever and daring (whom even the police call in extraordinary cases), he is also a ridiculous and mysterious figure people instinctively trust. Somehow, this odd character became a hero of popular classic mysteries.
Returning to England on the Elephantine, Campion meets American Judge Lobbett and his family Isopel and Marlowe, keen to escape the evil grasp of master criminal Simister. No one has ever seen this fiend, not even members of his own gang, yet records of this crook go back 100 years. There are thousands of amazing yarns; legend says no one ever escapes him.
The Judge has tracked his mob for years, and discovering his true identity has stirred up a hornet's nest. Someone is attempting to kill Lobbett - the so-called Misfire Murders, where he was the target but innocents the victims. Everyone knows Lobbett is a marked man.
As Scotland Yard cannot protect him, Albert Campion invites the trio to the safety of his friend's country manor in Mystery Mile, separated from the marshy coast of Suffolk on an isthmus. Siblings Giles and Biddy nickname Albert 'Uncle' and are happy for the company, until the local Reverend mysteriously commits suicide. The note left behind seems coded, including an ivory chess piece as a clue - a red knight.
Lobbett is intrigued by the living maze made of yew trees on the grounds and they all watch him walk into the only entrance/exit. He disappears, never to be found, the suit he was wearing discovered soaking wet nearby. Things move into high gear as Biddy is mysteriously kidnapped. Campion must return to London and tap into his network of underground ne'er-do-wells to mount an exciting rescue. Campion seems to have a finger in every pie, as all the thieves know him by a different name.
After a supporting role in The Crime At Black Dudley (reviewed here by ahotcupofpleasure), this was Campion's first starring role. As expected, there is time for Isopel to become sweet on Giles, and Biddy to cling to Marlowe. Above plot aside, I grew tired halfway of the relative simplicity. This was somewhat erased by a battle in the wet swamp, where Campion has lured Simister - and we discover Albert Campion is also not who he seems, for Simister knows his real name and possible place in the Royal Family! An intriguing premise that turned this mystery around for me.
My other Allingham review:
1930 / Hardcover / 320 pages
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