Black plumes (original 1940; edition 1950)

Abridged on 3 CDs and read by Philip Franks. A murder mystery set in the Ivory Gallery, a family-owned art gallery that has more than one source of tension and intrigue even before the proprietor's son-in-law is murdered. An enjoyable listen, but I found it rather confusing in places, I think perhaps because of the abridgement necessary to get it down to three CDs. ( )

It's different from most mysteries in that the main character is just worrying about the murder not trying to solve it. Didn't find the characters that interesting or likable. I want one or the other.
The cover of my bantam edition incorrectly describes it as a Albert Campion mystery. He's not mentioned in the book at all. I kept wondering if he would show up at the end. ( )

I see from the other reviews that Allingham's characters here made some a little uncomfortable. Actually, I relished in them. Allingham was reared in a time when Victorian matriarchs were still visible in society, and she deftly captured one. Gabriele Ivory's actions and interactions give us as full a characterization of what intelligent women of that era were like. For that alone, it's priceless.

Allingham wrote this in 1940, but she was getting her inspiration from the bewteen-the-wars period. The characters, mores, and adventures fit the period. Inspector Bridie may be a little over the top, but this was an era in which cultural and linguistic differences were much more evident than they are now in the age of television. This is a period piece, pure and simple. ( )

This stand-alone mystery was originally published in 1940. Not surprisingly, the behaviors and attitudes of some of the characters are decidedly foreign to modern sensibilities. That said, you get a classic Golden-Age British mystery. The murder of an upper-crust gallery owner horrifies the Ivory family associated with that gallery. Gabrielle Ivory, a Victorian matriarch, dominates the action although her granddaughter, Frances, is the ingenue love interest that we follow. Multiple bodies and a spot of blackmail add additional interest. Lightweight, but certainly well-done! ( )

While the director of the Ivory Art Gallery has been out of the country, someone has been vanadalizing the gallery. As if that weren't enough, someone's gone and killed the acting director, Mr. Robert Madrigal, the director's son-in-law. With a long list of suspects, the police certainly have their hands full, especially when another dead body turns up.

The book seemed to drone on and on -- Allingham is very into her characters and she seems to have done them to death here. Her characterization of Phillida (the wife of the dead assistant art gallery director) as a blithering ninny had me wanting to reach into the pages and slap her. And I couldn't believe her characterization of the police inspector from Scotland was nothing but a major stereotype and cariacture. I put this book down several times, and returned to it only because I just couldn't leave it unfinished. By the time I got to the end of this one, I just didn't care. In short, it wasn't one of my Allingham favorites.

This one I would very guardedly recommend to those who are fans of Margery Allingham; it's not a Campion novel but a standalone. Maybe readers of British mystery would like it, but I didn't care for it all that much. ( )