I have finally read another Golden Age mystery by a writer that’s new to me! And the more I read of these lesser-known works (like Mitchell, for instance), the more I think that it was a pity that these authors are not more widely read.
Flowers for the Judge starts with the detective being called in for a missing person’s case. Paul, one of the directors at Barnabas Limited has been missing for a few days, and the family thinks that Mr Campion can help. But sadly, before anything can happen, Paul is found dead in the strongroom of the firm. The curious thing is that one of his family was in the room the day before Paul was discovered, and he claims he didn’t see anything!
The book does start off by implying that this could be related to an earlier disappearance, but that line of inquiry wasn’t really followed. If anything, this book traces what happens as the police investigates, and as Mr Campion continues his investigation after Paul has been arrested. The judge, as you can guess, is the judge that presides over Paul’s case.
Although this was my first introduction to the Albert Campion mysteries, I enjoyed it very much and found it easy to follow. It probably helped that the mystery felt like a standalone, so even though I’m probably missing something when it comes to more established characters like Campion’s assistant, the former criminal Lugg I didn’t feel like I lost their plot. In fact, I found their banter amusing and thought it helped to bring some light-heartedness into the mystery. I assume that the people in Barnabas Limited are new to the book, but I loved the way that Allingham brought them to life – the characterisation in this book is definitely top-notch.
The only place where this book fails is at the end. After all that dogged detective work, there is no great reveal, and hence no real climax. The murderer is found and the method of murder uncovered, but I was left a bit confused as to why the murder happened and why certain steps were taken after the murder. Perhaps it was intentional, but it was not wholly satisfying to read.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction to Margery Allingham, and I am definitely going to lookout for more of her books.
Sounds interesting! Definitely an author I haven’t read either! I always mean to read mysteries, but, you know, so many books to read….
There are so many books to read that my TBR is more of a fantasy than a plan at this point…
You picked a good one to start with, as it‘s one of the few entries in the series where the chronology of Campion‘s personal back story arc matters little — and also, Allingham‘s style had evolved to the point that she was really on top of things and able to create characters and plots that are fully fleshed out and intricate (as opposed to the first book in the series especially, „The Crime at Black Dudley“, which is a mess in a whole number of ways).
That being said, I‘d recommend that at some point you do go back and, at the very least, read book 5(„Sweet Danger“) — not because it‘s good (which it isn‘t IMHO, at least not very), but because this is where Campion starts to meet certain characters who will make recurring appearances in the series (especially one of them) — in addition to Lugg and Oates, that is.
The first really good book in the series, I think, is no. 4 („Police at the Funeral“), which is basically a classic British country house murder mystery, complete with slightly looney aristocrats, a stately mansion, etc.
As for the solution of „Flowers for the Judge“, the motivation behind it all — and also the importance of the past missing persons case mentioned at the beginning — is explained, but obscurely enough so it‘s easy to miss. Hint: There‘s a TV adaptation starring Peter Davison as Campion, and though this particular episode isn‘t entirely faithful to the book (though most of the other episodes are), it does a fairly good job conveying the why and wherefore of it all which remains a bit obscure in the book.
Oooh, I will have to find the TV adaptation (fingers crossed)
And thank you for the recommendations! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find the books (can you believe that the library does not have any of Allingham’s books in English?) but if I do see these, I’ll buy them!
It sounds like the series itself is promising but why no explanation for the crime?!?! Noooo!!!
Well the book did explain the mechanics, but honestly I’m still so confused as to why it was happening!!