Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our buddy read of the next in the Albert Campion series, The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham .

Unusually, this short mystery is narrated by Campion himself!

Kepesake was the perfect village. Perfect for murder.

Albert Campion is summoned to the village of Kepesake to investigate a particularly distasteful death. It takes all Campion's coolly incisive powers of detection to unravel the crime .

Feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I didn't much like the plot of this one, although I did enjoy Campion's narration. Allingham does tend to have a lot of similar endings too - the girl that Campion likes, who then goes off with someone else, seems a recurring theme.

The plot worked for me because it was short, it would have been hard to drag it out any further. I also enjoyed Campion's narration, and I liked the initial scenes at the funeral which were very mysterious.

I do agree about the similarity of outcomes though - Campion seems to have more lives than a cat as he habitually blunders into the villain's path, gets caught and then escapes (often helped by someone else). There must be an easier way!

Campion is definitely unlucky in love in these early books! I think this is only the second time that he has fancied a girl who then goes off with someone else - it's clearly much more serious with the first one though, who breaks his heart.

In this book I think his friendship with Lugg is more important than the tentative romance with Janet to be honest.

Camption also definitely gets captured and in danger a lot towards the end of the books, as you say, Pamela!

It's nice to see Allingham moving away from the shadowy crime syndicates of the earliest stories, though. I feared for what the mole would prove to be, and laughed aloud when (view spoiler)[the mole was revealed as being an insurance company! (hide spoiler)]

I think Allingham trotted out the attraction to girls trope because Campion otherwise comes off as rather bloodless. Of course, no ordinary girl would do for him, and (view spoiler)[when the right girl does come along at last, it's worth it. (hide spoiler)] **spoiler for other books in the series**

I liked this one alot,, and I do like Lugg. I did think that Lugg didn't seem to take Campion's idea of him self as a puzzle solver as a known fact. I sort of felt that this book should have been elsewhere in the series because of this attitude by Lugg.

3.5 stars - a half-star up for this reread. The audiobook helped, and the narrator’s Bertie Woosterish reading kept the tone light and funny, but given the rather gruesome murders, it seemed inappropriate at times. I kept feeling like I was supposed to know who Leo, Janet and Poppy were, but I didn’t - old family friends, I guess, but I wasn’t sure if they were from a previous book or what. Fun in parts, but not my favorite; and I agree, Campion does seem star-crossed in life, doesn’t he? I always enjoy Lugg, though!

I don't think Leo, Janet and Poppy had featured in previous books - I think that impression is given slightly because they are old friends of Campion's. I think they may appear again in a future book though.

Thanks, I wasn’t sure if I was missing something- it has been years since I read this the first time.

That was another reason I thought this book was out of sequence

I wonder where Allingham got the inspiration for Lugg? Certainly not your average sidekick!

I have the sense that the village of Kepesake appears elsewhere, though I don't remember in what book.

I also felt this was a lesser book than others so far in the series, except for the rather ingenious murder for which everyone can have an alibi. The Doctor started to seem suspicious from the moment Campion started telling him "secrets" and appearing to take him into his confidence. I also agree that the narrator shouldn't be hiding things from the reader, although obviously several well known GA authors have taken advantage of the unreliable narrator!

He is a hoot, and certainly unexpected- a former criminal (was he a cat burglar? Safe cracker? I don’t recall if we are ever told), as the sidekick of a wellborn (indeed, it’s hinted Campion is actually an aristocrat, isn’t it?), young private detective.

It's actually hinted that Campion is related to royalty. He supposedly looks a lot like the king.

Abigail wrote: "It's actually hinted that Campion is related to royalty. He supposedly looks a lot like the king."

That’s right, I forgot about that!

I thought the first person narrator worked well, yet this is the only time it was used apparently.

I am also pleased that the series has moved away from crime syndicates.

Susan in NC wrote: "He is a hoot, and certainly unexpected- a former criminal (was he a cat burglar? Safe cracker? I don’t recall if we are ever told), as the sidekick of a wellborn ..."

I have often wondered whether we are ever told how they got together, but I don't think we are!

In this book, Leo asks Campion if Lugg saved his life during the war, and he is astonished and says no - I wondered if this was a little throwaway reference to Wimsey and Bunter?

Abigail wrote: "It's actually hinted that Campion is related to royalty. He supposedly looks a lot like the king."

Interesting! I missed that entirely.

The royalty hint is in one of the first two books (or possibly both), I don't quite remember.

As for Leo's query about Lugg, I read that as Leo trying to fit a personage he found bizarre into a familiar frame of reference. In those days single gentlemen who had served as officers sometimes hired their batman as their valet after the war. Leo can't begin to fathom why a gentleman would associate with such a person otherwise! He clearly has no idea of the life Campion actually lives. And let's be real, Lugg would be pretty hard to explain in any country house or city flat! I loved that deft little interchange, ships passing in the night.

I like your explanation of Leo’s. comment, Abigail.

Thanks, Judy! I love Leo as a character--such a relic of the Old World. And the recurring Heigh-Ho shtick never failed to make me laugh.

The Doctor was the obvious suspect once we guess that the burial was false but I did not guess the method despite Campion clearly referring to the significance of the lichen being damp.

And you have to admire Whippet!

Did anyone guess that Campion is pretending to be fooled by the doctor? I remembered this from previous reads and have no idea whether I would have guessed it if I didn't already know! This is one of the bits where the first-person narration doesn't work all that well, maybe?

Yes, I felt Campion was overdoing it with the confidences to the doctor, so I suspected a "keep your enemies closer" scenario. Plus there were not that many characters connected to both "deaths" and I didn't fancy anyone else as the perp. And if the first death was fake, as it seemed to be until the idea of a brother was floated, the doctor had to be involved.

Judy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "He is a hoot, and certainly unexpected- a former criminal (was he a cat burglar? Safe cracker? I don’t recall if we are ever told), as the sidekick of a wellborn ..."

I have of..."

I missed that - problem with audiobooks while knitting!

Abigail wrote: "The royalty hint is in one of the first two books (or possibly both), I don't quite remember.

As for Leo's query about Lugg, I read that as Leo trying to fit a personage he found bizarre into a fa..."

That makes sense, and actually helps me understand Leo better.

Bicky wrote: "The Doctor was the obvious suspect once we guess that the burial was false but I did not guess the method despite Campion clearly referring to the significance of the lichen being damp.

And you h..."

I just felt like pickings were getting slim for a murderer!