Cameron Trost
Written on Feb 17, 2020
Bookhype may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.
‘My very favourite of the four Queens of Crime is Allingham’ – J.K. Rowling
The slashing of a valuable painting at the renowned Ivory Gallery in London, one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world – followed by the murder of the proprietor’s son-in-law, Robert, sets the stage for another finely tuned Allingham mystery. The proprietor’s mother, 90-year-old Gabrielle Ivory, holds the key to the web of intrigue and danger that permeates the gallery.
Gabrielle Ivory was once a society beauty. But now, nearing 90, she’s largely disregarded by the younger members of the Ivory clan, who like to imagine Granny as rather a relic of a dead era. That’s a mistake, and it’s not their only one. A series of malicious attacks is threatening the Ivory Gallery in London. Robert Ivory and his high-strung wife, frantic to preserve the status-quo, want to chalk it all up to practical jokes gone wrong. But Gabrielle is not inclined to collude in this delusion.
A brilliant standalone mystery from the author of the beloved Campion books. Golden Age Crime at its intriguing best.
Reviews
‘The best of mystery writers’ – The New Yorker
‘Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance’ - Agatha Christie
‘Margery Allingham has precious few peers and no superiors’ - The Sunday Times
‘Allingham’s work is always of the first rank’ – New York Times
‘Unforgettable.’ – A.S. Byatt
‘Margery Allingham deserves to be rediscovered’ - P.D. James
‘The real queen of crime’ - Guardian
‘As addictive as cocaine’ – Independent
‘Allingham has that rare gift in a novelist, the creation of characters so rich and so real that they stay with the reader forever’ – Sara Paretsky
‘Allingham’s characters are three-dimensional flesh and blood, especially her villains’ – Times Literary Supplement
‘Always of the elect, Margery Allingham now towers above them’ – Observer
‘Spending an evening with Campion is one of life’s pure pleasures’ – Saturday Review
‘The Dickens of detective writing’ - The Telegraph
‘Allingham captures her quintessential quiet detective Albert Campion to perfection... For those who relish classic crime fiction’ - Daily Express