I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Margery Allingham's The Case of the Late Pig. This was my first introduction to Albert Campion, and I just have to say that I love him! I do! I love him. This mystery had me hooked from the very beginning. The first sentence reads, "The main thing to remember in autobiography, I have always thought, is not to let any damned modesty creep in to spoil the story. This adventure is mine, Albert Campion's, and I am fairly certain that I was pretty nearly brilliant in it in spite of the fact that I so nearly got myself and old Lugg killed that I hear a harp quintet whenever I consider it. It begins with me eating in bed." Isn't that a WONDERFUL way to start a book, a mystery?! Old Lugg, by the way, is his valet. The book begins with Lugg reading aloud the deaths in the Times to his master as he's eating in bed. Albert isn't exactly thrilled at this 'new' behavior of his valet which he picked up from keeping company with another valet. Albert is glancing through his own letters as well. Suddenly he makes a connection: one of his old school mates has died. A man with the nickname of Pig Peters. (R.I. Peters is his real name.) Pig Peters was a bit of a bully--almost always a bully. But. Campion did promise himself (and Peters, I believe) that he would attend his funeral. So off to the funeral they go. It's a very strange funeral--little attended. And all would be well, except that Pig Peter's funeral was in January...and his body turns up again in June! And it's obvious to Campion that the death is only a few hours old...This mystery delights cover to cover. I absolutely LOVED the writing, the dialogue, the characterization. IT was just a joy to read this one!!!
I'm picked up this book for two reasons: I want to read and become acquainted with more of the classic literary detectives, and because it is written in the first-person narrative, the same style as one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels - THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD.On the first point, the novel[ette] was somewhat successful. I had a decent introduction to Albert Campion. Now, to read a few more of her Margery Allingham's acclaimed novels to firmly cement my opinion of the man, his style and his flare. Any suggestions?On the second point, THE CASE OF THE LATE PIG is a fail. I was distracted. I didn't follow the flow of the story or the case well. Narrative involving simpleton speak in the vernacular makes for very difficult reading in my opinion. It's a technique Agatha Christie employs, but her use is not as 'thick' as in this case; It's the difference between Louisiana Bayou and Kentucky Blue Ridge.Good plot. I enjoyed seeing it all unravel at the end. The plot certainly is not the element that cooled me to this work. [Kindle edition review]PLEASE edit this and reissue it to those of us who spent money on it. Granted, there is 'simple speak' narrative which mandates improper spelling. However, when hideous misspellings occur apart from the vernacular, something is definitely wrong. There is even a case where a character's name is broken with a space in the middle of it. Seriously, we expect better, especially from classic literature.
What do You think about The Case Of The Late Pig (2005)?
Another entry in the Quest-for-a-Christie-Like Series: Margery Allingham.This is my first Allingham. I've been informed that she has a rather varied corpus, and I picked this one as it was characterized as a standard fairplay mystery. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. It didn't have any rug-pulling twists, and I had the culprit, method, and much of the motive pegged around the same time that Campion seems to have figured it out. That said, kudos for being fairplay. The book gets the extra star up from "just good" on the merits of the intangibles. Here's a mystery that- at 150 pages or so- maintains its focus and doesn't overstay its welcome. The minor subplots efficiently establish character and add levity to the proceedings without interrupting the focus. Ultimately, she's a strong substitute for Christie up to the point of the reveal, at which point, you've either got Christie's brains and capacity for misdirection or you don't.Allingham may surprise me yet, but for now, she's quite good fodder in between Christie's so that I can further delay that inevitable day when I have no Christie novels left.
—William
I LOVE Albert Campion! This character is smooth, unassuming, a little bit of a geek, but surprisingly tough and doesn't mind getting his feet wet when it comes to saving the day. While Campion himself is not particularly funny, there is comic relief in Campion's "sidekick" Lugg. While I don't remember the exact plot of this story, the mysteries themselves are intelligent and generally difficult to figure out until the end when you say, "of course!" Allingham has created a really great detective in Albert Campion.
—Sara
Whaaah? Who switches from 3rd to 1st person a dozen books into a series?1st person really doesn't work with the pattern Allingham has established of strangers not taking Campion seriously until too late, or with the way the jokes are set up.Aside from this bit of strangeness, The Case of the Late Pig is a pretty typical installment. I saw the main plot twist coming from the beginning, but it seemed like she pretty much tipped her hand at the funeral in the beginning of the story. Also saw the minor romantic twist coming, since it works pretty much the same way in several books: some girl who we've never heard of before (or will again) is asserted to be part of a family of Old, Dear Friends of Campion's, and some romantic interest between them is asserted, but not demonstrated by interaction or emotion, or acted on by the characters, and by the end the girl has found someone new. As I mentioned in my review of Sweet Danger, these tiny and irrelevant love elements seem tossed into the story to make it clear that Campion is straight.In additional to no real romance, there are also no real pigs. But there are dead bodies, some of which are real.
—Miriam
