MARGERY ALLINGHAM – The Case of the Late Pig. Mr. Campion. Avon, paperback; July 1989. First published by Hodder, UK, paperback, 1937, and in Mr. Campion: Criminologist (Doubleday, US, hardcover, 1937).

   The three earlier Albert Campion books recently reprinted by Avon have all been mystery “thrillers,” without a lot of detection involved. This long novelette is the real thing, however, and what’s more, Campion, now a well-established character, tells it himself.

   The Pig in the title is an old boyhood friend who seems to have died twice, six months apart. The second time is definitely murder. While part of the solution is obvious, and another merely clumsy, it takes sharp eyes to figure out the rest before Campion does.

[FOOTNOTE.]   This book has only 140 pages of large print. Avon should be ashamed of themselves, charging the same $3.50 for this as for the other novels in the series. They could easily have included the short stories [that appeared in Mr Campion: Criminologist], couldn’t they?

–Reprinted in slightly revised form from Mystery*File #14, July 1989.