Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our buddy read of the next in the Albert Campion series, The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham. This thread will open in mid-June.

Unusually, this short mystery is narrated by Campion himself!

Kepesake was the perfect village. Perfect for murder.

Albert Campion is summoned to the village of Kepesake to investigate a particularly distasteful death. It takes all Campion's coolly incisive powers of detection to unravel the crime .

Please do not post spoilers in this thread.

This discussion is now open - who is joining in? I found this very short mystery a lot of fun - more so than I had remembered from past readings.

It's unusual to have Campion as narrator, but I think it works well here, with a lot of witty one-liners - he doesn't tell us much about his feelings or theories, etc, but just drops terse hints! The start, with the funeral, is very intriguing.

This is also a book where Lugg comes in a lot - great if you enjoy this most unusual sidekick, as I do.

I zipped through it earlier in the week and had a blast! Signature Campion, full of eccentric characters and odd twists. I was a bit put off by Campion as narrator, though--felt he cheated a bit in what he withheld, while a third-person narrator could withhold things on the grounds of not knowing what was in Campion's head, if you get me. (Of course, that's an artificial distinction.) I'm one who likes Lugg as a character, he's so no-holds-barred, very cathartic in a British context.

I also enjoyed this romp. While Campion 'cheated' by holding back, he knows how to keep our interest and I liked his confession of how much he misunderstood early on.

I will be starting this shortly.

Hope you enjoy it, Frances. I found it a lot of fun - it's nice that the writing is so tight here, as I've read a few slightly waffly and repetitive books lately!

Many reviewers mention that there are echoes of P.G. Wodehouse in this one, and I agree - the humour and the banter have definite touches of PGW. I've just read a Wodehouse book (Joy in the Morning, which was wonderful) and noticed the similarities.

This is a reread for me, but it’s been years - so along with reading my paperback, I thought I’d give the Audible a try - with the Wodehouse vibe, I thought would be entertaining! I find Lugg very funny, and enjoy his scenes with Campion, but sometimes I don’t follow what Allingham is trying to say - I don’t know if it’s because it was written in 1937, or it’s a cultural thing, or what - I’m hoping the audiobook, and context provided by the narrator, will make for a more satisfying read, and I’ll enjoy it more - my previous rating was 3 stars, I didn’t love it.

Susan I enjoyed this one. Like Judy mentioned, there are some humorous Wodehouse like moments. Lugg us my favorite.

S Dizzy wrote: "Susan I enjoyed this one. Like Judy mentioned, there are some humorous Wodehouse like moments. Lugg us my favorite."

I’m glad you liked it - I read several of the Campion books years ago and enjoyed them so much, I bought them! I don’t remember much, though, about the plots, and was ready to reread them. I gave this one three stars years ago, so I guess it didn’t knock my socks off! We’ll see how I like it this time.

An explanation for the title 'Flowers for the Judge'?

"All this happened in January. By June I had forgotten the fellow. I had just come in from a session with Stanislaus Oates at the Yard, where we had been congratulating each other over the evidence in the Kingford shooting business which had just flowered into a choice bloom for the Judge’s bouquet, when Janet rang up."

I do not understand Leo's following comment: "‘Harris,’ he said unexpectedly and with contempt. ‘Oswald Harris. More money than was good for him and the manners of an enemy non-commissioned officer. Can’t put it too strongly. Terrible feller.’"

To which nation would these NCOs belong to? Germans of the 1st World War? Famous for their ill-manners?

Bicky wrote: "An explanation for the title 'Flowers for the Judge'?

"All this happened in January. By June I had forgotten the fellow. I had just come in from a session with Stanislaus Oates at the Yard, where ..."

I noticed this reference and wondering if the earlier book took place between January and June. I don't remember if either Kingford or shooting apply to 'Flowers for the Judge' and I never followed up.

I wonder if some judges looked on their cases as a growing bouquet. A picturesque analogy, starting with a single rose ...

I thought it had more to do with tradition. Courts could smell badly in the old days when the poor were being tried, so a posy of flowers were carried by people, to smell rather than the filth.

Jill wrote: "I thought it had more to do with tradition. Courts could smell badly in the old days when the poor were being tried, so a posy of flowers were carried by people, to smell rather than the filth."

I remember that now: knowledge in, knowledge out ... after a few trips through some bits are retained.

Jill wrote: "I thought it had more to do with tradition. Courts could smell badly in the old days when the poor were being tried, so a posy of flowers were carried by people, to smell rather than the filth."

That’s what I thought it might refer to - I read a lot of medieval mysteries, and things were rather smelly! Plus, they believed in bodily humors and disease floating around, so if you carried a posy, or a bouquet of healing herbs and kept them to your nose (they even had masks with a long false nose to tie on the face and hold the herbs close to the nose), you might be able to protect yourself from the terrifying and recurring Black Death.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/im... This was actually a plague doctor’s costume worn in France or Italy in the 17th century - sorry, don’t know how to stick in images.

Intriguing question about the Kingford shooting - I've just had a quick Google and it looks to me as if this is the only mention of this case in Allingham's books, so possibly one of those extra cases that we never learn about, as in Sherlock Holmes?

Judy wrote: "Intriguing question about the Kingford shooting - I've just had a quick Google and it looks to me as if this is the only mention of this case in Allingham's books, so possibly one of those extra ca..."

I haven't read all, or even most, of the Rumple books but he often refers back to a case of which he is very proud. Always keep the audience wanting more.

In re: message 12, from Bicky, about another rich Leo comment. He might mean a German or, considering his age, an opponent in the Boer War. To someone like Leo, for the NCO to be foreign is enough, the specific nationality wouldn't matter too much. It's another of his utterances that's rich with layers of class and national prejudice. His reference to an NCO rather than a commissioned officer means he's talking about a lower-class person of little education, but the person he's comparing to the foreign NCO is wealthy. So he's castigating a parvenu.

I'm starting to feel like the Leo whisperer! Says all too much about the sort of people I grew up around.

Sandy wrote: "I haven't read all, or even most, of the Rumple books but he often refers back to a case of which he is very proud. Always keep the audience wanting more. ..."

Oh, yes, I love Rumpole! And in the end John Mortimer actually wrote up one or two of those cases which had often been mentioned, like the Penge Bungalow Murders!

Abigail wrote: "In re: message 12, from Bicky, about another rich Leo comment. He might mean a German or, considering his age, an opponent in the Boer War. To someone like Leo, for the NCO to be foreign is enough,..."

Hey, we appreciate it! and if you speak “fluent rich snooty folk”, as you say, that says more about people you were raised around not you! Also, my grandparents were solidly working class, first generation immigrants in Chicago, and I would over hear things that made no sense until I was older - I think most people had their prejudices...

LOL, I hope that's true! I like to think of myself as a recovering rich snooty person. :-)

Abigail wrote: "LOL, I hope that's true! I like to think of myself as a recovering rich snooty person. :-)"

🤣

Abigail wrote: "In re: message 12, from Bicky, about another rich Leo comment. He might mean a German or, considering his age, an opponent in the Boer War. To someone like Leo, for the NCO to be foreign is enough,..."

Thanks for the explanation.

Does anybody else find it strange that the women characters are so stereotypical, lifeless and helpless? I cannot imagine Allingham coming up with Miss Marple, though Sayers could have!

Bicky wrote: "Does anybody else find it strange that the women characters are so stereotypical, lifeless and helpless? I cannot imagine Allingham coming up with Miss Marple, though Sayers could have!"

True - Sayers not only gave us Harriet Vane, she also gave us Miss Climpson, who helped Lord Peter with his early cases!

Well, other books in the Campion series feature a female character who is anything but! I admit to liking those books best, even though Campion is one of my favorite GA heroes.

I loved Miss Climpson and, indeed, Harriet - although the on/off relationship went on rather too long...

Susan wrote: "I loved Miss Climpson and, indeed, Harriet - although the on/off relationship went on rather too long..."

Yes, it got to be a bit much, Peter constantly moping about, tossing off erudite bits of poetry and Latin tags...

Abigail wrote: "Well, other books in the Campion series feature a female character who is anything but! I admit to liking those books best, even though Campion is one of my favorite GA heroes."

True - I enjoyed those Campions and must revisit them, soon...

I look forward to reading on. We have another one coming up soon. along with the first Ellis Peters. We must fit another in before the end of the year:

August/September
Dancers in Mourning (1937)
aka Who Killed Chloe? by Margery Allingham
A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Susan wrote: "I look forward to reading on. We have another one coming up soon. along with the first Ellis Peters. We must fit another in before the end of the year:

August/September
Dancers in Mourning (1937)
..."
Yay! Those are some tempting reads, I look forward to them all!

Rats! I gave away all my Ellis Peters books about ten years ago. Guess I'll have to get a Kindle copy. Fortunately, I kept all my Allinghams. My gratitude to this group for all the comfy rereads.

Abigail wrote: "Rats! I gave away all my Ellis Peters books about ten years ago. Guess I'll have to get a Kindle copy. Fortunately, I kept all my Allinghams. My gratitude to this group for all the comfy rereads."

Second that!

We've started a few series, but many have petered out. I am enjoying Campion, Nicholas Blake and the Midsomer Murders. I am also looking forward to re-reading Cadfael, as I haven't read them for years.