More Work for the Undertaker by Margery AllinghamMore Work for the Undertaker by Margery Allingham
The story takes place in Apron St., 'a strange decayed sort of neighbourhood', Dickensian London-at once entertaining and disquieting. Due to Allingham's unique gift for making place as vivid as character, the atmosphere is one of frozen in time, unchanged since the Victorian era. London is described as a series of villages in which the Palinodes act as squires. The characters are, as usual, quite wonderful, and the villains are true 'Margery Allingham evil.' Nobody does this quite like her.
The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery AllinghamThe Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham
Allingham, a contemporary of Agatha Christie, wrote highly detailed, stylish mysteries. Like Christie's Hercule Poirot, Allingham's Albert Campion became a dominant character in her many novels. In The Fashion in Shrouds, Campion finds himself caught up in a series of murders that surround the well-known actress Georgia Wells. As the story progresses, suspects abound. Even Campion's sister, Val, begins to look guilty. After all, Georgia's latest conquest had been Val's beau.
The State Counsellor by Boris AkuninThe State Counsellor by Boris Akunin
The reactionary Adjutant General Khrapov, newly appointed governor-general of Siberia and soon-to-be minister of the interior, is murdered in his official saloon carriage on his way from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The killer, disguised as Fandorin, boards the train at Klin, where it has been delayed by snowdrifts on the line.
It's summertime in Monaco and Oz Blackstone is sitting on the verandah of his opulent mansion - one of three homes - idly gazing at Roman Abramovich's luxury yacht as it gently cruises into the harbour. Life doesn't get much better than this. But somebody knows where he lives.
Oz Blackstone didn't go looking for fame: it jumped out of an alleyway and mugged him with a fist full of high denomination notes. Movie stardom, wealth, a successful marriage - Oz is standing on the brink of the Seriously Big Time and life just seems to keep lining up the cherries... He should have known it couldn't stay that good for that long - don't the juiciest fruit always go sour?