The Mind Readers

An Albert Campion Mystery

By: Margery Allingham

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Fact catches up with fiction when the secret of telepathic communication is discovered. But the device at the centre of the mystery is in the possession of two schoolboys and whether they stole it or invented it, there are powerful interests who will kill to get hold of it.

Albert Campion faces as deadly a challenge as any in his career. As urbane as Lord Wimsey.as ingenious as Poirot. Meet one of crime fiction's Great Detectives, Mr Albert Campion.

©2008 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. Everything she writes has a definite shape...each book has its own separate and distinctive background" ( Agatha Christie)

"Miss Allingham has a strong, well controlled sense of humour, a power of suggesting character with a few touches and an excellent English style. She has a sense of the fantastic, and is never dull" ( Times Literary Supplement)

"The real queen of crime" ( Guardian)

mainly a spy thriller

The secret weapon that is the center of the story is ESP. a prevailing subject of the time. but the spy story is the main attraction. as always beautifully plotted with lots of interesting characters.

Satisfying!

One of the best, featuring Canon Averill who played such a big part in Tiger in the Smoke.

Somehow her women faded in this later novel

I enjoy Allingham in part for her refreshingly clear view of the genders. In this story, writing in 1965, the roll of the women characters is suddenly subservient to the men and the children involved in the story. The men and boys take center stage, the women are entirely in support roles. It was unpleasant to be confronted with neurotic, clinging, limited women from a writer who’s “Amanda” was a capable partner to Campion in sleuthing, and later a loving and practical mom while right along an accomplished aeronautical engineer.
She’d previously written male characters who were evidently gay without disparagement, the one gay male in this account is written in a less favorable manner as well. Unpleasant to feel that cultural shift. Campion himself felt dated, and I missed Lugg, too.
Allingham died in 1966, the year after this was published, and it feels as though “her light was fading” in this last completed piece.
Her earlier material will remain for me well worth re-reading, and she is - along with Josephine Tey- one of my favorite classic mystery writers. but this last story I’m not likely to pick up again.

Ridiculous premise, cumbersome plot.

Allingham’s plots have always been implausible, but in other books the charm of the characters allows belief to be suspended. Not in this case, however. The characters are irritating rather than charming and cannot obscure the clumsy plot.

not one of the best

rather hard to follow and fairly boring. reader was great. recommend other allingham books-this one can take a miss.

very disappointed

This book was very disappointing--a big build-up and big letdown for an ending. Read very well.