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The Case of the Late Pig (Albert Campion Mystery, #8)

Margery Allingham

Start date: May 1, 2025

Finish date: May 31, 2025

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Shelves: mystery-crime-fiction

British mystery writer Margery Allingham (1904-1966) was one of the better-known authors in the genre during its interwar "Golden Age." By far her most popular character was her series sleuth Albert Campion, who was actually introduced in a supporting role in her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley, but became the protagonist in the next novel, Mystery Mile (1930) at the instigation of her American publisher, who liked the character. In the series novels before this one, it's established tha British mystery writer Margery Allingham (1904-1966) was one of the better-known authors in the genre during its interwar "Golden Age." By far her most popular character was her series sleuth Albert Campion, who was actually introduced in a supporting role in her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley, but became the protagonist in the next novel, Mystery Mile (1930) at the instigation of her American publisher, who liked the character. In the series novels before this one, it's established that "Albert Campion" is actually an alias used by the main character, who's a scion of a family in the upper nobility (though his older brother has the title), an adventurer and non-professional sleuth who solves mysteries out of interest rather than for money; he's blond, bespectacled, and able to look deceptively bland and unintelligent, an impression he sometimes finds it useful to cultivate. (If these characteristics remind genre fans of Dorothy Sayers' series sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, that comparison has been made before; Campion was at first widely thought to be a parody of Lord Peter, though I'm not sure if Allingham ever stated that.)

My just-concluded read of this novel is actually my second; but the first was as a teen, back in the late 60s. (I felt that I needed a refresher read in order to do the book justice in a review.) It's still my only exposure to the series, despite the fact that it's the eighth, rather than the first, entry; my first read was as part of the omnibus volume Ten Great Mysteries, which happened to include it. At only 165 pages in a large-print version, it's really a novella, and a very quick read. It opens with Campion's manservant (and reformed burglar), series regular Magersfontein Lugg --his first name isn't used in this book-- calling his attention to the obituary of Campion's former schoolmate R. I. Peters. "Pig" Peters, as he was known in their schooldays, was a bullying sadist; Campion had declared back then (not in a friendly sense) that he'd go to Pig's funeral. (On the same day, our hero gets a weird anonymous letter with cryptic references to a mole, and apparently to Peters' death.) He does go down to the burial, a bleak no-frills interment in a tiny East Anglian village. Some six months later, he's called back down to that area by the county's chief constable, to consult on an apparent homicide. When he sees the body of the newly-dead victim, he recognizes --"Pig" Peters. (That's not a spoiler; it all takes place in the first chapter.)

This book isn't without its drawbacks. Campion's character suffers by comparison with Lord Peter's. The latter is unfailingly courteous to his own manservant, Bunter, and obviously respects and appreciates him; but although both Bunter and Lugg have knowledge and skills of their own which are helpful to their employers, Campion tends to take Lugg for granted and is at times positively rude to him. Where Lord Peter has a sense of humor, Campion tends to go in more for silliness, which isn't the same thing. (The chief constable's daughter bluntly tells him "Shut up," at one point when he's in that mode, and she probably speaks for a lot of readers. :-) ). In general, humor here is of a very British sort: dry, and often taking the form of tongue-in-cheek statements; it takes some getting used to. A couple of British slang expressions here might be confusing and/or jarring for American readers (and a passing use of the n-word in a figure of speech is offensive, though there's actually not much bad language in the book). I also wasn't a fan of Campion's failure to tell the chief constable about Pig's prior funeral, which was certainly relevant to the case.

For all that, it does have its positives. The mystery is intelligently constructed, twisty and challenging. (I remembered the identity of the culprit from my prior read, along with a surprisingly great deal of dialog and narrative, mostly verbatim; but I don't think I guessed his/her identity the first time.) Allingham's pacing is brisk, with a tendency to wind up chapters with a sudden dramatic development which practically demands that you keep reading, and her writing is atmospheric. She develops her characters enough to engage the reader's sympathy for some of them (and antipathy for others), the denouement is effective, with a suspenseful lead-up that's masterfully done, and I liked the way she handled the ending (but no spoilers here!). Though I've never been motivated to follow the series, I did like this installment overall, and can recommend it to genre fans who can appreciate mysteries set in this period. ...more

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