Flowers for the Judge

and in the Barnabas family lately that luck has turned all bad. In the 19th century Jacoby Barnabas founded a publishing house, one that prospered and, in due time was passed along to his decendents who, for the most part carried on the business quite conventionally. The third generation was a different matter. One grandson refused to enter the business at all, another was 'to be looked after' and his brother simply disappeared... Read Full Review

This is a most excellent mystery, written by one of Britain's premiere writers. Beginning with a murder (naturally) and a missing person, Campion and his companion (with the barely pronounceable first name) Lugg, set to uncover what happened. Some of the old "English/British" expressions might send one to the closest OED (Oxford English Dictionary, of course) and a line of "French", literally, at the end of the last chapter... Read Full Review

With "Flowers for the Judge" Margery Allingham signals the change in her writing style which was first hinted at in "Police at the Funeral." Campion has matured a bit and changed from a hapless zany to someone just a bit more like a friend of the family. Still occasionally fatuous, but, more often, showing flashes of brilliance. In keeping with this, the stories themselves are shifting away from adventure tales and becoming... Read Full Review

Albert Campion, universal uncle and amateur detective, is invited into the family circle of staid British publisher Barnaby. There he finds an enmeshed family system, and a series of mysteries. Twenty years before one of the brothers vanished into thin air, while walking down a London street. Now Paul has been found dead in the manuscript vault. His cousin Mike (who is fond of the widow) is prime suspect. It was his car,... Read Full Review