Author:Margery Allingham
A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY
Agatha Christie called her ‘a shining light’. Have you discovered Margery Allingham, the 'true queen' of the classic murder mystery?
Just returned from years overseas on a secret mission, private detective Albert Campion is relaxing in his bath when his servant Lugg and a lady of unmistakably aristocratic bearing appear in his flat carrying the corpse of a woman. At first Campion is unwilling to get involved, but he is forced to bring his powers of protection to bear on the case, and to solve not only the mystery of the murdered woman but also the alarming disappearance of some well-known art treasures.
As urbane as Lord Wimsey…as ingenious as Poirot… Meet one of crime fiction’s Great Detectives, Mr Albert Campion.
Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world
—— TatlerThe real queen of crime
—— GuardianMargery Allingham has precious few peers and no superiors
—— Sunday TimesFast-moving, acerbic, occasionally tasteless but never dull, this will delight anyone who thinks old people get a raw deal…A great comic romp with deft touches.
—— Mail on SundayThe wild man of literature… [The Sunshine Cruise Company is] Fast and furious and, characteristically, brutal in places.
—— Independent[I was] hooked by this tale of rampaging women growing old disgracefully…An enjoyable romp spiced up by the author’s sharp and perceptive eye.
—— Literary ReviewFeaturing the greatest female duo since Thelma and Louise, John Niven’s novel is a total gem.
—— StylistThis is a bawdy, gaudy, rock ‘n’ roll spree of a book. The first chapter reads like a Radio 4 afternoon play, but we’re soon off and running (or should I say lurching?), burping, boozing, cursing and carousing our way through the high jinks. It’s as filthy as a weekend in Clacton-on-Sea, with the requisite pain and loss hidden just beneath the bedsheets.
—— SpectatorA rollicking road caper…hugely enjoyable.
—— MetroA broad tongue-in-cheek comedy that rattles along.
—— Sunday MirrorA hysterically funny book…and [it] combines the humour with a tight, gripping plot.
—— The BookbagThis is a high-speed comedic chase novel which shows women entering their later years misbehaving in the most fantastic way…The Sunshine Cruise Company enthusiastically smashes stereotypes of women heading into retirement and it’s a funny fast-paced thriller.
—— Lonesome Reader[A] hugely enjoyable comic crime romp.
—— Mail on SundayAnd for his next trick, Johnson delivers a taut, Conrad-by-way-of-Chandler tale about a spy who gets too close to the man he's shadowing in Africa . . . As in any good double-agent story, Johnson obscures whose side Roland is really on, and Roland himself hardly knows the answer either: Befogged by frustrations and bureaucracy, his lust for Davidia and simple greed, he slips deeper into violence and disconnection. Johnson expertly maintains the heart-of-darkness mood . . . his antihero's story is an intriguing metaphor for [post-9/11 lawlessness]
—— KirkusA dangerously good thriller
—— Wegener Dagbladen (Holland)This thriller gets under your skin and won't let you go. One thing is very clear at the end: we want to read more about Holger Munch and Mia Krüger!
—— Booksection.de (Germany)A very sophisticated and terrifying thriller, which keeps the reader guessing and gasping to the very last page. The story is powerful, the style is fluent, and the cast of characters is simply irresistible
—— Thrillermagazine.it (Italy)