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The Case of the Late Pig (Albert Campion Mystery, #8)

Margery Allingham

Start date: June 15, 2019

Finish date: July 9, 2019

Discussion: Archive: Albert Campion reads

Why we're reading this: Our Campion fans wanted to carry on with the series - this is the next book.
[close] Our Campion fans wanted to carry on with the series - this is the next book.

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Archive: Albert Campion reads

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What Members Thought

May 07, 2025 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england-uk, mystery

A group read for May- even though I read it out of order it was an enjoyable mystery (once I got the cast of characters straight in my head!) and had fingered the culprit but not the whydunnit!

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May 30, 2013 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, myst-fems-project, reviewed, series, vintage, myst-set-andor-auth-uk

1937, #8 Albert Campion, Enquiry Agent, London and rural Kepesake. This is a long novella not an actual novel, and uses, unusual for the series, Campion's own first person narration. A nasty bully is dead (twice), bodies go missing, very strange folks abound in the sweet little village of Kepesake, and then there's Lugg... Wonderful almost-thriller, true classic; four stars.

"Pig" Peters was a much-dreaded bully during Campion's school-years, so when he reads the obituary stating that Peters' fu 1937, #8 Albert Campion, Enquiry Agent, London and rural Kepesake. This is a long novella not an actual novel, and uses, unusual for the series, Campion's own first person narration. A nasty bully is dead (twice), bodies go missing, very strange folks abound in the sweet little village of Kepesake, and then there's Lugg... Wonderful almost-thriller, true classic; four stars.

"Pig" Peters was a much-dreaded bully during Campion's school-years, so when he reads the obituary stating that Peters' funeral is to be held the next day, he's not at all unhappy about it. But then an anonymous letter arrives, and it, too, mentions Peters - and death. Some coincidence - it was mailed a day or two previous to Peters' actual demise... Campion's curiosity is aroused (of course!) and he feels it might be a good idea to go to the funeral and see what's going on, for himself.

Everything goes the way a funeral is supposed to go, although there aren't many mourners, and those that are there are a rather peculiar lot. Campion goes home and promptly forgets about it all. But six months later he is asked by a long-time family friend, a judge, to come down to the little village of Kepesake to help in the investigation of a (possibly) accidental death. Upon arrival he finds that the dead man not only looks a lot like Pig but truly IS Pig Peters. So who was buried six months ago? And why? And as he was undoubtedly murdered, who actually killed him *this* time? Was it, as Judge Leo fears, his beloved Poppy, or one of her many other admirers?

This tasty thriller has enough goings-on for a full novel, but for some reason Allingham chose to not flesh it out enough for that. Nonetheless, it's chock full of wonderful things, including a very strongly woven plot (although the basic premise might be easy to guess now), glorious characterizations - pretty nearly every participant, but IMO the best were Judge Leo, Miss Effie, Poppy, and Albert himself. And the pace is just the good side of frantic, as this novella moves rather similarly to her earliest Campion books, with something peculiar and some sort of chase or active investigatory thing going on at almost every page or so.

Although her style here is almost that of her earlier work, her execution is quite superior to even that good writing, as she fully enthralls the reader in the goings-on in little Kepesake. Nice folks, mean and cruel folks, "difficult" folks, all show up here, and each has something to add to the plot. Not terribly believable even for 1937, but it's wonderful stuff, if a mite frantic in spots.

The TV film made from this in the late 1980s starring Peter Davison was superb, as all the action translated very nicely to the screen. It's all fairly light-hearted and entertaining, as is this wonderful short read (only 165 pages in large print!), although the prose version has nicely dark edges too.
...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

2019: 3.5 stars - Still a fun, lighthearted read - the audiobook increased the almost Wodehouse vibe of this one for me.

8/2009: Fun, and I enjoyed it, but not as much as previous Campions. The story dragged a bit for me, and I'm really not sure why . . . having said that, a three-star Campion is better than most mystery writers best efforts! The scenes between Lugg and Campion, as always, were among my favorites. ...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Becky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: readin2013

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 ...more

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Mar 08, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-fiction-uk, classic-mystery-fiction

I believe this is the only one in the series so far which has Mr. Albert Campion as the narrator of the story.

Campion is reading the newspaper one morning and learns of the possible death of one of his old school fellows. He decides to attend the funeral to see if this is indeed that person, and comes across some rather odd people there. Six months later, he is in the same little village, where a man has just died. Albert goes to look at the dead man and guess what? It's the same man whose fune ...more

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Mar 25, 2020 Carol Evans added it · review of another edition

This is a short read but there’s a lot going on, mistaken identities, a missing corpse, and odd villagers. Entertaining enough, but not my favorite of the series.

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Jul 04, 2019 Shabbeer Hassan rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019, whodunit, brit-lit

A strange book in the Campion pantheon, narrated by himself in a rather Wimsey meets Jeeves fashion. Well-written and funny in parts, this book will not tickle one's fancy in everyone but for some, sure!

My Rating - 3/5 ...more

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