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Take Two at Bedtime
Deadly Duo, also published as Take Two at Bedtime, contains “two hypnotic stories of tension and suspicion”.
Wanted: Someone Innocent
Newly engaged as companion to a wealthy celebrity, Gillian Brayton is mysteriously disliked by the servants and treated coolly by the pale, drawn invalid who is her employer’s husband. She is soon cast in a deadly role in a dark and sinister sequence of events.
Last Act
Denis Cotton held the promise of something unknown and fearful, yet so beautiful it broke your heart. His presence in his grandmother’s household was always greeted with apprehension—and more than ever when it appeared he was intent on murder.
(Publisher’s description)
Wanted: Someone Innocent
Newly engaged as companion to a wealthy celebrity, Gillian Brayton is mysteriously disliked by the servants and treated coolly by the pale, drawn invalid who is her employer’s husband. She is soon cast in a deadly role in a dark and sinister sequence of events.
Last Act
Denis Cotton held the promise of something unknown and fearful, yet so beautiful it broke your heart. His presence in his grandmother’s household was always greeted with apprehension—and more than ever when it appeared he was intent on murder.
(Publisher’s description)
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
160 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
Margery Allingham
260 books609 followersAka Maxwell March.
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 9, 2018
3 stars for the first novella, a tale of innocent young woman coming close to being set up for murder in the most devious of schemes by old schoolmate. Enjoyable little tale.
2 stars, if that, for the second melodramatic nonsense of all things theatrical, perhaps more golden age, a genre I never favor, wherein a grand dame of "theatre past" ends up dead when her staging plan goes wrong for a rescue from death as well as other machinations arranging other people's lives.
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2 stars, if that, for the second melodramatic nonsense of all things theatrical, perhaps more golden age, a genre I never favor, wherein a grand dame of "theatre past" ends up dead when her staging plan goes wrong for a rescue from death as well as other machinations arranging other people's lives.
Kindle Unlimited
April 17, 2022
"Wanted: Someone Innocent": Gillian Brayton is struggling to make ends meet. Raised to be a lady, schooled in the art of figuring up a dress budget and making conversation but not how to make a living, she's working at millinery shop when she decides to attend a reunion at her old school. Imagine her surprise when Rita Raven--now Fayre latches onto her. She and Rita were never the bosom pals that the woman is now claiming. But Rita makes a point of saying so to anyone who comes near while they're together. And at the end of the day, Gillian finds that she's agreed to come home with Rita to be a companion at 300 pounds a year. But Gillian hasn't been there long before she feels that she's made a big mistake. The servants seem to think she's there for some devious purpose and there's a strong sense of foreboding. She makes up her mind to leave, but too late. Rita Fayre is found dead and everyone thinks Gillian killed her....
"Last Act": A nasty, manipulative French actress dies under mysterious circumstances. Our heroine and her boyfriend, the actress's heir, become the prime suspects though there are many options (given actress's nasty nature). The actress left clues behind to point to her killer...but do they mean what we think they do?
It's been a while since I've read any Allingham, but these short stories (which do not feature Albert Campion) come across as damsel in danger stories more than mysteries. If the menaces Gillian and Margot faced had seemed (more forcefully) to have come from their love interests, the stories would have had an even more gothic romance/thriller vibe. In all honesty, neither of these represent Allingham at her best, but of the the two "Wanted: Someone Innocent" is the stronger story. It has a much better twisty plot and the denouement is very good. There is a common theme here that ties the two stories together (which I can't mention because--spoiler!) that is used much more effectively in the first.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
"Last Act": A nasty, manipulative French actress dies under mysterious circumstances. Our heroine and her boyfriend, the actress's heir, become the prime suspects though there are many options (given actress's nasty nature). The actress left clues behind to point to her killer...but do they mean what we think they do?
It's been a while since I've read any Allingham, but these short stories (which do not feature Albert Campion) come across as damsel in danger stories more than mysteries. If the menaces Gillian and Margot faced had seemed (more forcefully) to have come from their love interests, the stories would have had an even more gothic romance/thriller vibe. In all honesty, neither of these represent Allingham at her best, but of the the two "Wanted: Someone Innocent" is the stronger story. It has a much better twisty plot and the denouement is very good. There is a common theme here that ties the two stories together (which I can't mention because--spoiler!) that is used much more effectively in the first.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
May 21, 2019
Two novellas from the immediate post-WWII years, both containing elements that are reflective of their time: in one it's fairly central to the plot that a character is taking a long time to recover from a war wound, in the other that various central characters fled Europe and that one instead chose to fight in the French Resistance.
The first and shorter tale, Wanted: Someone Innocent (1945), sees naive young Gillie Brayton hired for a sort of non-job, little realizing she's destined to be set up as a sort of Designated Other Woman and then, when that dastardly scheme fails, as patsy for a murder, or at best klutz responsible for a tragic accident. The second novella, both more substantial and more substantive, Last Call (1946), carries a sort of thematic echo of the first, as up-and-coming actress Margot Robert must sort out the goings-on, culminating in a poisoning, in a household headed by Margot's guardian, the over-the-top and over-the-hill actress Mathilde "Zoff" Zoffany.
Both tales are mysteries, although I can't imagine either would particularly satisfy readers seeking puzzles above all else. I didn't find it especially hard to work out what was going on in either, although both -- especially the latter -- contained a final sting in the tail that caught me by surprise.
What entirely captivated me was the sheer quality of Allingham's prose. The last couple of Allinghams I've read have been early works, deliberately chosen as such for reasons that now escape me. (One was fairly interesting, the other was pretty dreadful.) I've read Tiger in the Smoke several times and just about all of the other Campion novels at least once, but, even so, I'd forgotten just how well Allingham could write after she'd served her early apprenticeship. Of the two novellas here I preferred the second because, with its more complicated setup and plot and its larger cast of characters, there was ampler scope for Allingham's narrative mastery to show its full colors.
These aren't, to emphasize, core pieces of Allingham's work, but they're highly entertaining and certainly worth reading once you've exhausted the standard canon or if you'd like to dip your toe before plunging into a full-length novel.
The first and shorter tale, Wanted: Someone Innocent (1945), sees naive young Gillie Brayton hired for a sort of non-job, little realizing she's destined to be set up as a sort of Designated Other Woman and then, when that dastardly scheme fails, as patsy for a murder, or at best klutz responsible for a tragic accident. The second novella, both more substantial and more substantive, Last Call (1946), carries a sort of thematic echo of the first, as up-and-coming actress Margot Robert must sort out the goings-on, culminating in a poisoning, in a household headed by Margot's guardian, the over-the-top and over-the-hill actress Mathilde "Zoff" Zoffany.
Both tales are mysteries, although I can't imagine either would particularly satisfy readers seeking puzzles above all else. I didn't find it especially hard to work out what was going on in either, although both -- especially the latter -- contained a final sting in the tail that caught me by surprise.
What entirely captivated me was the sheer quality of Allingham's prose. The last couple of Allinghams I've read have been early works, deliberately chosen as such for reasons that now escape me. (One was fairly interesting, the other was pretty dreadful.) I've read Tiger in the Smoke several times and just about all of the other Campion novels at least once, but, even so, I'd forgotten just how well Allingham could write after she'd served her early apprenticeship. Of the two novellas here I preferred the second because, with its more complicated setup and plot and its larger cast of characters, there was ampler scope for Allingham's narrative mastery to show its full colors.
These aren't, to emphasize, core pieces of Allingham's work, but they're highly entertaining and certainly worth reading once you've exhausted the standard canon or if you'd like to dip your toe before plunging into a full-length novel.
October 18, 2020
3* Mystery Mile (Albert Campion Mystery #2)
3* Look to the Lady (Albert Campion Mystery, #3)
2* Police at the Funeral (Albert Campion Mystery #4)
2* Death of a Ghost (Albert Campion Mystery #6)
3* Deadly Duo
TR The Crime at Black Dudley (Albert Campion Mystery #1)
TR The Case of the Late Pig (Albert Campion Mystery #8)
3* Look to the Lady (Albert Campion Mystery, #3)
2* Police at the Funeral (Albert Campion Mystery #4)
2* Death of a Ghost (Albert Campion Mystery #6)
3* Deadly Duo
TR The Crime at Black Dudley (Albert Campion Mystery #1)
TR The Case of the Late Pig (Albert Campion Mystery #8)
March 8, 2008
Deadly Duo is a book of two short novellas. The first one is called "Wanted, Someone Innocent" while the second one is called "Last Act." Albert Campion appears in neither story -- Allingham had many stories that did not feature her famous detective.
In the first story, Gillian Brayton, who had become an orphan at a young age and then taken in by her uncle (who then dies leaving her alone once more), is at a reunion of girls with whom she once went to school. There she runs into one of the more popular girls, a Rita Fayre. The two had never really been good friends, so Gillian is quite surprised when suddenly Rita begins acting like her best bud. Rita makes her an offer to come work for her at her estate, and Gillian is quite dazzled by the Rolls Rita had come in and accepts the offer. She doesn't really know what the job is; she just takes it thinking that she would like to be back in more affluent surroundings than her job at the hat shop offers her. When she arrives at the house, she is treated very rudely by most of the staff and she doesn't understand why. However, as time goes on, she comes to meet Rita's husband and life eases up a bit...until Rita is killed. Oops. Guess who's the prime suspect?
In book #2, Last Act, a very pampered former star from the French stage has taken up residence in a British country home. With her are her servants, her two grandsons and a young woman she has taken on as her ward. It seems that she has the intention of disinheriting one of her grandsons, and he's not exactly happy about it. So when she turns up dead, he'sthe one who falls under suspicion. But in a country home murder, there's always more than one suspect. So who killed the eccentric actress?
Frankly, I rather enjoyed the first story more; the second one tended to get more bogged down in useless dialog and could have been edited down much more. The first story had some rather cheesy dialog, but the story itself was much more twisted and had it been developed into a full novel, may have actually been quite good.
If you like the old English country home murder mysteries, with houses filled with suspects and motives, then you'll like this one. Readers of British mystery in general may also like this book, although I don't think it's one of Allingham's best.
In the first story, Gillian Brayton, who had become an orphan at a young age and then taken in by her uncle (who then dies leaving her alone once more), is at a reunion of girls with whom she once went to school. There she runs into one of the more popular girls, a Rita Fayre. The two had never really been good friends, so Gillian is quite surprised when suddenly Rita begins acting like her best bud. Rita makes her an offer to come work for her at her estate, and Gillian is quite dazzled by the Rolls Rita had come in and accepts the offer. She doesn't really know what the job is; she just takes it thinking that she would like to be back in more affluent surroundings than her job at the hat shop offers her. When she arrives at the house, she is treated very rudely by most of the staff and she doesn't understand why. However, as time goes on, she comes to meet Rita's husband and life eases up a bit...until Rita is killed. Oops. Guess who's the prime suspect?
In book #2, Last Act, a very pampered former star from the French stage has taken up residence in a British country home. With her are her servants, her two grandsons and a young woman she has taken on as her ward. It seems that she has the intention of disinheriting one of her grandsons, and he's not exactly happy about it. So when she turns up dead, he'sthe one who falls under suspicion. But in a country home murder, there's always more than one suspect. So who killed the eccentric actress?
Frankly, I rather enjoyed the first story more; the second one tended to get more bogged down in useless dialog and could have been edited down much more. The first story had some rather cheesy dialog, but the story itself was much more twisted and had it been developed into a full novel, may have actually been quite good.
If you like the old English country home murder mysteries, with houses filled with suspects and motives, then you'll like this one. Readers of British mystery in general may also like this book, although I don't think it's one of Allingham's best.
April 29, 2019
This book consists of two very good novellas. They do not include Campion, but they both have very clever plots with a surprise ending.
Wanted Someone Innocent
Gillian goes to a school reunion where Rita Raven (who was several years older) latched on to her claiming close friendship at school. Rita insists Gillie move in with her and she will pay her 300 pounds per year. Gillie loves the fancy house. She is sent to her room, and all at the party go elsewhere. Gillie has dinner alone and then wanders around the house. She finds a music room and plays the piano for about an hour before she realizes there is a young man there named Julian. He was wounded in the war in the far east. Soon a nurse comes in and he says Good Night. Gillie talks with Mrs. Munsen, who tells her that Julian is the master and was surprised that Rita hadn't told her about her husband, Julian. The next day the doctor tells her she is to be a companion for Colonel Fayre (Julian).
When Gillie realizes she is in love with Julian, she knows she must leave. She tells Rita the next morning that she is leaving, and Rita insists she must stay until the next day. That evening she is to bring Julian his usual coffee as well as a tray for Rita. Gillie goes to the locked pantry to prepare the coffee and finds there is no light. She prepares the trays and puts Julian's pills in his cup. The butler takes the tray to Rita and she takes Julian's tray. He gives her an envelope with money, and she goes to bed, planning to leave the next day. The next morning Rita is found dead in the studio. Of course, Gillie is the main suspect. The police investigation is very thorough, and Gillie is afraid she will be arrested any minute. We finally find out at the end exactly what happened.
Last Act
This is another really good story. Margot Robert has just broken her engagement to Victor, the son of the woman who brought her up after her parents died. She has fallen in love with Victor's half brother, Denis. However, Zoff, the great actress who brought her up hates Denis. When Margot goes to see Zoff, she has just claimed that Denis had been trying to kill her.
When Zoff is found dead with a handkerchief soaked in chloroform over her face. Shortly before she was discovered, Denis was seen leaving with the green bag in which she kept her jewelry. Margot runs to his home to have him come back, and the police follow her. Inspector Lee first assumes Denis has murdered Zoff, but after a long questioning session he isn't sure. There are other motives to kill her; Zoff was not an easy person to please. She has been fighting with Denis; her servant Felix wanted to go home to his dying father, but Zoff has said if he does he can't come back and will lose the inheritance she was leaving him and Felix has broken her favorite clock; Sir Kit wanted Zoff to leave the house he had loaned her because his son needed it.
Lee is getting nowhere in his investigation. Finally, in frustration, he decides to gather everyone in Zoff's bedroom to try to resolve what happened. New information comes out, and Lee finally knows what happened. It's a great ending!
Wanted Someone Innocent
Gillian goes to a school reunion where Rita Raven (who was several years older) latched on to her claiming close friendship at school. Rita insists Gillie move in with her and she will pay her 300 pounds per year. Gillie loves the fancy house. She is sent to her room, and all at the party go elsewhere. Gillie has dinner alone and then wanders around the house. She finds a music room and plays the piano for about an hour before she realizes there is a young man there named Julian. He was wounded in the war in the far east. Soon a nurse comes in and he says Good Night. Gillie talks with Mrs. Munsen, who tells her that Julian is the master and was surprised that Rita hadn't told her about her husband, Julian. The next day the doctor tells her she is to be a companion for Colonel Fayre (Julian).
When Gillie realizes she is in love with Julian, she knows she must leave. She tells Rita the next morning that she is leaving, and Rita insists she must stay until the next day. That evening she is to bring Julian his usual coffee as well as a tray for Rita. Gillie goes to the locked pantry to prepare the coffee and finds there is no light. She prepares the trays and puts Julian's pills in his cup. The butler takes the tray to Rita and she takes Julian's tray. He gives her an envelope with money, and she goes to bed, planning to leave the next day. The next morning Rita is found dead in the studio. Of course, Gillie is the main suspect. The police investigation is very thorough, and Gillie is afraid she will be arrested any minute. We finally find out at the end exactly what happened.
Last Act
This is another really good story. Margot Robert has just broken her engagement to Victor, the son of the woman who brought her up after her parents died. She has fallen in love with Victor's half brother, Denis. However, Zoff, the great actress who brought her up hates Denis. When Margot goes to see Zoff, she has just claimed that Denis had been trying to kill her.
When Zoff is found dead with a handkerchief soaked in chloroform over her face. Shortly before she was discovered, Denis was seen leaving with the green bag in which she kept her jewelry. Margot runs to his home to have him come back, and the police follow her. Inspector Lee first assumes Denis has murdered Zoff, but after a long questioning session he isn't sure. There are other motives to kill her; Zoff was not an easy person to please. She has been fighting with Denis; her servant Felix wanted to go home to his dying father, but Zoff has said if he does he can't come back and will lose the inheritance she was leaving him and Felix has broken her favorite clock; Sir Kit wanted Zoff to leave the house he had loaned her because his son needed it.
Lee is getting nowhere in his investigation. Finally, in frustration, he decides to gather everyone in Zoff's bedroom to try to resolve what happened. New information comes out, and Lee finally knows what happened. It's a great ending!
July 5, 2025
A great couple of stories by Margery Allingham here as part of the green penguin book series, cleverly constructed and well written.
October 7, 2018
Any work by Margery Allingham is worth reading. Crafted words sweep you into her mysteries within minutes, making it difficult to put the book down. IMHO Allingham is one of the best of the best.
December 3, 2016
Wanted: Someone Innocent
Miss Gillian Brayton, an orphan, goes to a school reunion and meets an old acquaintance Mrs Rita Fayre. Rita and Gillian were never friends and in fact there is an age gap between them but Rita pretends an old friendship and then asks Gillie to come work for her. As soon as they arrive at the country house Rita goes off with her artistic friends and leaves Gillie to get used to her new surroundings. On a walk around, Gillie comes upon a room with a piano which she enters and meets Ritas' husband Julian, an injured war hero, who it turns out Gillie has been employed to look after. However the servants treat her with distrust which Gillie cannot understand but she soon makes them come around when they realise she is oblivious to the real reason she is in the house.
Gillie's main job is to serve coffee to Julian every night with his medication. Then after a few weeks Gillie hands in her notice and the next day Rita is discovered dead and suspicion falls on Rita. Even the servants suspect her though no-one blames her for it as Rita was disliked by all the servants. There is a large cast of servants and hangers on of Rita, particularly her business partner Henri Phoebus who seems to be constantly at the house.
It was a very enjoyable short story from Margery Allingham. I had guessed part of the plot and who was responsible for the murder but Allingham still threw in a few twists. Well worth a read.
Last Act
Madame Mathilde Zoffany (Zoff) is an aging French actress living free gratis in an old house in England once belonging to Sir Christopher Perrins (Kit) but now owned by his son who is coming back to England with his family after the war. The war in Europe is also why Zoff arrived with her aging servants and her ward Margot Rob in England. Margot Rob is following in both her deceased mother and Zoffs footsteps by becoming an actress.
Zoff has two grandsons, Viktor and Denis. Something happened a long time ago with Denis's mother and so he is the blacksheep of the family. Viktor is the preferred grandson and at a young age was betrothed to Margot but due to the war they have not married yet. In French succession law both grandsons are entitled to 1/3 each of Zoffs considerable estate (properties all over Europe) and she intends Margot to have the other 1/3.
In the very first chapter we see how demanding and inconsiderate Zoff can be. She constantly calls the police for stolen jewellery and is accusing someone of trying to kill her. Dr Phillip Ledbury is her new physician of three months and he pulls Margot aside and tells her to keep Denis away from his grandmother as the last two times he was there Zoff had had a turn.
The first inkling we have that someone indeed does have bad intentions towards Zoff is when Kit and Margot discover a favoured clock of Zoffs has been vandalised. The next day Zoff is dead and Dr Ledbury accuses Denis of killing his grandmother and stealing her jewels. Margot, who is in love with Denis, refuses to believe this to be true but someone in the inner circle did kill Madame Zoffany so who could it be? The police believe it to be an inside job so everyone is brought together so as to corroborate statements and find out who the killer is.
The story is well constructed and once I got over the confusion of the first two chapters and got my head around who is who and how confusing Zoff can be I enjoyed the book and enjoyed how the killer was denounced. Without trying to give anything away it all hinges on French succession law. The main problem with the story is that as a short story there is very little room for character development and there is a big cast of characters. I definitely preferred the first short story as it was easier to follow but there are similarities in them both and they are well written by a master story teller.
Miss Gillian Brayton, an orphan, goes to a school reunion and meets an old acquaintance Mrs Rita Fayre. Rita and Gillian were never friends and in fact there is an age gap between them but Rita pretends an old friendship and then asks Gillie to come work for her. As soon as they arrive at the country house Rita goes off with her artistic friends and leaves Gillie to get used to her new surroundings. On a walk around, Gillie comes upon a room with a piano which she enters and meets Ritas' husband Julian, an injured war hero, who it turns out Gillie has been employed to look after. However the servants treat her with distrust which Gillie cannot understand but she soon makes them come around when they realise she is oblivious to the real reason she is in the house.
Gillie's main job is to serve coffee to Julian every night with his medication. Then after a few weeks Gillie hands in her notice and the next day Rita is discovered dead and suspicion falls on Rita. Even the servants suspect her though no-one blames her for it as Rita was disliked by all the servants. There is a large cast of servants and hangers on of Rita, particularly her business partner Henri Phoebus who seems to be constantly at the house.
It was a very enjoyable short story from Margery Allingham. I had guessed part of the plot and who was responsible for the murder but Allingham still threw in a few twists. Well worth a read.
Last Act
Madame Mathilde Zoffany (Zoff) is an aging French actress living free gratis in an old house in England once belonging to Sir Christopher Perrins (Kit) but now owned by his son who is coming back to England with his family after the war. The war in Europe is also why Zoff arrived with her aging servants and her ward Margot Rob in England. Margot Rob is following in both her deceased mother and Zoffs footsteps by becoming an actress.
Zoff has two grandsons, Viktor and Denis. Something happened a long time ago with Denis's mother and so he is the blacksheep of the family. Viktor is the preferred grandson and at a young age was betrothed to Margot but due to the war they have not married yet. In French succession law both grandsons are entitled to 1/3 each of Zoffs considerable estate (properties all over Europe) and she intends Margot to have the other 1/3.
In the very first chapter we see how demanding and inconsiderate Zoff can be. She constantly calls the police for stolen jewellery and is accusing someone of trying to kill her. Dr Phillip Ledbury is her new physician of three months and he pulls Margot aside and tells her to keep Denis away from his grandmother as the last two times he was there Zoff had had a turn.
The first inkling we have that someone indeed does have bad intentions towards Zoff is when Kit and Margot discover a favoured clock of Zoffs has been vandalised. The next day Zoff is dead and Dr Ledbury accuses Denis of killing his grandmother and stealing her jewels. Margot, who is in love with Denis, refuses to believe this to be true but someone in the inner circle did kill Madame Zoffany so who could it be? The police believe it to be an inside job so everyone is brought together so as to corroborate statements and find out who the killer is.
The story is well constructed and once I got over the confusion of the first two chapters and got my head around who is who and how confusing Zoff can be I enjoyed the book and enjoyed how the killer was denounced. Without trying to give anything away it all hinges on French succession law. The main problem with the story is that as a short story there is very little room for character development and there is a big cast of characters. I definitely preferred the first short story as it was easier to follow but there are similarities in them both and they are well written by a master story teller.
September 24, 2017
Two Good Mysteries from a Great Writer
Wanted: Someone Innocent:
In this story, written in the first person, twenty-year old Gillian Brayton, brought up as a lady, but now earning a very precarious living as an assistant milliner, attends her school reunion as the old headmistress is retiring. At that reunion she meets up with Rita Fayre, who was classes ahead of her at school. Rita greets Gillian as if they had been close friends and chats about how they did this and that, when Gillian knows they did nothing of the kind. Then Rita offers Gillian what seems to be an easy job for an extremely good salary. Of course, the reader is now suspicious, but Gillian is very naïve, for all that she thinks she is cynical. Even her landlady, the cockney Mrs Austin (splendid characterisation and one I wish had a bigger role), is suspicious, until Gillian tells her that they were at school together. It is when they arrive at the house that Gillian feels the first stirrings of uneasiness. The main protagonist, strangely enough, wasn’t my favourite character. If Rudkin, the butler, is a great character, then Mrs Munsen, the housekeeper, is a wonderful one, but the most marvellous character in the story for me is Superintendent McNaught, and it is a pity he didn’t get his own series, or at least a full-length novel. This is a well-thought-out story that fulfils all the requirements of a satisfying murder-mystery.
Last Act:
This story is told in the third person from the point of view of the main protagonist, Margot Roberts, a young actress. The opening paragraph draws the reader in immediately, and one must simply keep reading. Mathilde Zoffany, a French actress took Margot in as a one-year old infant, after the death of Margot’s parents. It was Genevieve, Zoff’s maid/dresser, who actually loved the baby and brought her up, and it is Genevieve whom Margot thinks of as Maman, although she is very fond of Zoff. Zoff has two grandsons, Denis, the elder, whom she loathes, and Victor, who she wants to marry Margot. As the story begins, Margot has broken her engagement to Victor upon her return from a successful tour of America, and she is hurrying to tell Zoff before Victor can get in first, but she is too late, as Victor is already there. Zoff is murdered and the number one suspect is her elder grandson, Denis, but…it soon becomes apparent that all in the house had a motive, apart from Margot. Inspector Lee is in charge of the case and his methods are unorthodox, to say the least, in fact, he is a bully. Margot was my favourite character, and for me, the most likeable, with Sir Kit a reasonably close second. The solving of the mystery is quite startling, to say the least.
The writer gives marvellously evocative descriptions so the reader can immediately visualise the surroundings, inside and out, as well as the characters. Allingham had a quirky sense of humour that really tickles me, and she used it to good effect in these novellas. These two mysteries are not merely curtailed novels, but purpose-written novellas and as such they perfectly fulfil the requirements of a novella. Recommended to those who enjoy Golden Age mysteries/crime that are shorter than a novel, and two in one is a great deal. Although I really like these two stories, I did prefer the first one.
Wanted: Someone Innocent:
In this story, written in the first person, twenty-year old Gillian Brayton, brought up as a lady, but now earning a very precarious living as an assistant milliner, attends her school reunion as the old headmistress is retiring. At that reunion she meets up with Rita Fayre, who was classes ahead of her at school. Rita greets Gillian as if they had been close friends and chats about how they did this and that, when Gillian knows they did nothing of the kind. Then Rita offers Gillian what seems to be an easy job for an extremely good salary. Of course, the reader is now suspicious, but Gillian is very naïve, for all that she thinks she is cynical. Even her landlady, the cockney Mrs Austin (splendid characterisation and one I wish had a bigger role), is suspicious, until Gillian tells her that they were at school together. It is when they arrive at the house that Gillian feels the first stirrings of uneasiness. The main protagonist, strangely enough, wasn’t my favourite character. If Rudkin, the butler, is a great character, then Mrs Munsen, the housekeeper, is a wonderful one, but the most marvellous character in the story for me is Superintendent McNaught, and it is a pity he didn’t get his own series, or at least a full-length novel. This is a well-thought-out story that fulfils all the requirements of a satisfying murder-mystery.
Last Act:
This story is told in the third person from the point of view of the main protagonist, Margot Roberts, a young actress. The opening paragraph draws the reader in immediately, and one must simply keep reading. Mathilde Zoffany, a French actress took Margot in as a one-year old infant, after the death of Margot’s parents. It was Genevieve, Zoff’s maid/dresser, who actually loved the baby and brought her up, and it is Genevieve whom Margot thinks of as Maman, although she is very fond of Zoff. Zoff has two grandsons, Denis, the elder, whom she loathes, and Victor, who she wants to marry Margot. As the story begins, Margot has broken her engagement to Victor upon her return from a successful tour of America, and she is hurrying to tell Zoff before Victor can get in first, but she is too late, as Victor is already there. Zoff is murdered and the number one suspect is her elder grandson, Denis, but…it soon becomes apparent that all in the house had a motive, apart from Margot. Inspector Lee is in charge of the case and his methods are unorthodox, to say the least, in fact, he is a bully. Margot was my favourite character, and for me, the most likeable, with Sir Kit a reasonably close second. The solving of the mystery is quite startling, to say the least.
The writer gives marvellously evocative descriptions so the reader can immediately visualise the surroundings, inside and out, as well as the characters. Allingham had a quirky sense of humour that really tickles me, and she used it to good effect in these novellas. These two mysteries are not merely curtailed novels, but purpose-written novellas and as such they perfectly fulfil the requirements of a novella. Recommended to those who enjoy Golden Age mysteries/crime that are shorter than a novel, and two in one is a great deal. Although I really like these two stories, I did prefer the first one.
December 28, 2016
Wanted:Someone Innocent
Gillian is struggling along with her educated background working in a hat shop but all that is about to change. She takes a job with a former Schoolmate in a large imposing house and her one task is to feed an invalid coffee at night. But why is it so important? The invalid turns out to be a once handsome man desperately ill who trusts no-one.
Margery Allingham is a master at building a sense of mystery and horror. She fine tunes tension until you can feel the characters are at a turning point. Yet there is a piquant old- fashioned charm about many of them that more than retain your interest. The characters help build the story and they are strong and memorable.
Last Act
I don’t know how Margery Allingham can write such beautiful descriptions and atmospheric people. You wish you were there or knew them. But she never fails to delight. In this murder mystery we have several...strong, quirky characters who are likeable. But could they commit a murder? For Death is lurking in the wings.
Zoff has been a famous Actress in her day and has the temperament to go with it. She is charming, but can be cruel on occasion. She has a devoted Admirer and Servants which build the story with their french customs and disdain of the English.
Add an adopted Grand-child and two Grandsons and tensions erupt over money and romance. All in all a very smoky, London filled Mystery which makes it quite enjoyable.
Gillian is struggling along with her educated background working in a hat shop but all that is about to change. She takes a job with a former Schoolmate in a large imposing house and her one task is to feed an invalid coffee at night. But why is it so important? The invalid turns out to be a once handsome man desperately ill who trusts no-one.
Margery Allingham is a master at building a sense of mystery and horror. She fine tunes tension until you can feel the characters are at a turning point. Yet there is a piquant old- fashioned charm about many of them that more than retain your interest. The characters help build the story and they are strong and memorable.
Last Act
I don’t know how Margery Allingham can write such beautiful descriptions and atmospheric people. You wish you were there or knew them. But she never fails to delight. In this murder mystery we have several...strong, quirky characters who are likeable. But could they commit a murder? For Death is lurking in the wings.
Zoff has been a famous Actress in her day and has the temperament to go with it. She is charming, but can be cruel on occasion. She has a devoted Admirer and Servants which build the story with their french customs and disdain of the English.
Add an adopted Grand-child and two Grandsons and tensions erupt over money and romance. All in all a very smoky, London filled Mystery which makes it quite enjoyable.
December 28, 2016
*****I received an advance copy from the Allingham Estate in return for an honest review*****
Two non-Campion novellas from Margery Allingham and they're crackers. The first sees a woman in financial difficulties offed a job by a former schoolmate. But what is really going on at her house? The second sees a young actress caught up in the affairs and rivalries of her elderly adopted mother who is preoccupied with disposing her inheritance.
Both as twisty and full of suspense and very, very readable. I thought on several occasions that I had the solution worked out, but Allingham is great at throwing curve balls and as a modern reader, used to shock twists or simple solutions this can be extra effective.
Definitely worth your time.
Two non-Campion novellas from Margery Allingham and they're crackers. The first sees a woman in financial difficulties offed a job by a former schoolmate. But what is really going on at her house? The second sees a young actress caught up in the affairs and rivalries of her elderly adopted mother who is preoccupied with disposing her inheritance.
Both as twisty and full of suspense and very, very readable. I thought on several occasions that I had the solution worked out, but Allingham is great at throwing curve balls and as a modern reader, used to shock twists or simple solutions this can be extra effective.
Definitely worth your time.
December 7, 2016
Two non-series novellas by Golden Age queen Allingham feature damsels in distress, and lovelorn to boot.
November 4, 2017
Margery Allingham never fails to satisfy.
October 10, 2023
I did! I read this little book of two sort of novellas all in one evening. Okay, I may have stayed up until 2am to do it, but I couldn't very well stop so close to the end, could I?
This was a great little duo.
The first story had to do with a girl taking a mysterious job in the house of an old school mate, but things are not at all what they seem, to anyone. It is a twisty thing with a lovely ending. I enjoyed every minute of it.
The second story was more tense, and had an ending which is not my favorite type, but still, it was a decent ride to get there. You see how fingers point to just about everyone - everyone looks so suspicious!
Of the two, the first was my favorite.
The writing in this is just superb, and the stories are crafted airtight and well-paced. I loved them both, and they were different enough that I won't confuse them, even having read one right after the other. I picked this up at 7pm and only took a break to watch the weather. Oh and maybe scroll IG for an hour or so. This is a great little nightcap that makes me even more eager to gobble up more Allingham. This was only my second book by her. Lovely.
This was a great little duo.
The first story had to do with a girl taking a mysterious job in the house of an old school mate, but things are not at all what they seem, to anyone. It is a twisty thing with a lovely ending. I enjoyed every minute of it.
The second story was more tense, and had an ending which is not my favorite type, but still, it was a decent ride to get there. You see how fingers point to just about everyone - everyone looks so suspicious!
Of the two, the first was my favorite.
The writing in this is just superb, and the stories are crafted airtight and well-paced. I loved them both, and they were different enough that I won't confuse them, even having read one right after the other. I picked this up at 7pm and only took a break to watch the weather. Oh and maybe scroll IG for an hour or so. This is a great little nightcap that makes me even more eager to gobble up more Allingham. This was only my second book by her. Lovely.
August 31, 2020
Can't say these were better..
I like Christie because you can pick up the clues and red herrings along the way and form your own determination as to who did it and why. Christie painstakingly embeds clues, some more devious than others, throughout her work.
Allingham by contrast doesn't. She leaves you unable to substantiate your feelings about who did it by leaving vital information hidden until the denouement. She also has a predilection for the occult and in many of her shorts the ghost did it. I don't understand why she's considered by some to be above Christie for this alone.
Moreover her characters are uninspiring or unlikeable, do not engender warmth from the reader. Although I will accept that Gillie, whilst a somewhat wet and naïve blanket was to be pitied for it, that's only one character out of one novel, two novellas and a plethora of short stories.. it's not a good record!
I like Christie because you can pick up the clues and red herrings along the way and form your own determination as to who did it and why. Christie painstakingly embeds clues, some more devious than others, throughout her work.
Allingham by contrast doesn't. She leaves you unable to substantiate your feelings about who did it by leaving vital information hidden until the denouement. She also has a predilection for the occult and in many of her shorts the ghost did it. I don't understand why she's considered by some to be above Christie for this alone.
Moreover her characters are uninspiring or unlikeable, do not engender warmth from the reader. Although I will accept that Gillie, whilst a somewhat wet and naïve blanket was to be pitied for it, that's only one character out of one novel, two novellas and a plethora of short stories.. it's not a good record!
October 25, 2021
I enjoy Marjory Allingham's crime fiction and enjoyed these two short stories, although I found the first one to be more cohesive. The first story, "Wanted - Someone Innocent", is about a young woman who is more or less gaslighted into going to work for someone who attended her old school. She finds that this woman's retinue of servants view her a a threat and treat her very coldly. She is expected to look after the woman's husband, who is a virtual invalid. However, it soon becomes clear that there are machinations afoot and all is not as it seems.
The second story, "Last Act", I found quite tiresome in that I felt that the characters were more thinly drawn, apart from the old French actress, and all were fairly unlikeable. As a result, I found myself to be far less invested in the outcome of whodunnit.
The second story, "Last Act", I found quite tiresome in that I felt that the characters were more thinly drawn, apart from the old French actress, and all were fairly unlikeable. As a result, I found myself to be far less invested in the outcome of whodunnit.
July 25, 2021
The first story in this duo had a touch of gothic - invalid husband, evil wife, unsuspecting ingenue, close-mouthed resentful servants - but didn't suffer too much on account of that and Allingham's writing is (always) enough to keep one engaged. The second story was stuffed with characters who were impossible to care about and had a plot that didn't bear close scrutiny. Or even scrutiny from a distance. I'm not a fan of spunky heroines, who mostly need a good slapping down, but the heroines in this duo would have benefitted from a little more assertiveness. No matter how bad my circumstances I can't imagine accepting employment and accommodation from someone who wove a tissue of lies about having been a close chum at school. As I said, a touch of gothic.
Read
October 7, 2022Well, two novelettes with twisted little plots. I admit that I thought I had the plots spotted, but I didn't have any idea how they would work out. Cozy mysteries, though the second was a bit closer to the bone emotionally-- the first was more of an intellectual five-finger exercise. Allingham does always seem to insert a young lady and her swain in these, doesn't she? Not as gothic as the original readers might have feared when reading them, though. The great actress is still a great character, and yes, I do know such difficult and yet adorable women in my life. A little relief from her utterly rigid detective. I read both novelettes with pleasure.
October 15, 2023
These two stories were written in 1950 but not published until 1959 and seem to have been aimed at the American audience: "To all those Americans for whom these two tales were written this book is respectfully dedicated".
Were these stories first published in American magazines? The stories are quite light, the first is 85 pages long the second just over 100, and neither has the feel of the Campion stories, say. They are similar in feel, if not quite in execution. The two stories do have the feel of trying to appeal to a certain type of reader, a reader very dissimilar to me.
Interesting but a not essential read for Allingham fans.
Were these stories first published in American magazines? The stories are quite light, the first is 85 pages long the second just over 100, and neither has the feel of the Campion stories, say. They are similar in feel, if not quite in execution. The two stories do have the feel of trying to appeal to a certain type of reader, a reader very dissimilar to me.
Interesting but a not essential read for Allingham fans.
February 4, 2022
I knew nothing of Allingham, but my local secondhand book dealer recommended several women crime writers after I had completed my Christie collection, and this had been sitting on my shelf ever since. A good introduction, two short-ish stories, twists and turns , well drawn characters and interesting plots.
March 22, 2020
Excellent as usual. The mysteries are not overly complex but quite ingenious . The last act specially is very well executed . The way Allingham creates the atmosphere and fleshes out the characters is incomparable .Extremely engrossing and pulls you in immediately .
December 17, 2020
No Campion
Two novellas featuring two mysteries come love stories, as only Allingham can write them. The second is less exhuberante than usual for an Allingham, but it's post WW2, and all but one character and the police are French.
Two novellas featuring two mysteries come love stories, as only Allingham can write them. The second is less exhuberante than usual for an Allingham, but it's post WW2, and all but one character and the police are French.
January 4, 2021
Intriguing Mysteries Plus Romance
These two stories are free standing mysteries with no ties to each other or to Allingham's famous amateur detective Campion. Both combine serious romance between characters with the who done it murder. They are highly enjoyable.
These two stories are free standing mysteries with no ties to each other or to Allingham's famous amateur detective Campion. Both combine serious romance between characters with the who done it murder. They are highly enjoyable.
January 15, 2019
I especially like Last Act. It seemed in a different style than the other stories by her that I have read. You get a real feel for the personality of the narrator. Plus, a decent mystery.
April 23, 2019
There wasn't anything wrong with these stories and I read them with pleasure... but they didn't set me on fire like Tiger in The Smoke.
January 13, 2020
I liked the first story (Wanted: Someone Innocent), but didn't really take to the 2nd one (Last Act).
February 13, 2021
Slight. But Margery Allingham is a really lovely writer, my favorite of the Queens of Crime.
July 27, 2021
Good
Never fails to capture and keep the characters become real with a very clever twist to the storyline with a very suitable finale!
Never fails to capture and keep the characters become real with a very clever twist to the storyline with a very suitable finale!
May 2, 2023
Two novellas. Enjoyable enough but a bit predictable. Not as good as her later Campion books.
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