Audiobook Review: The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

The Crime at Black Dudley
Author: Margery Allingham

Narrator: Paul Panting
Series: Albert Campion (Book 1)
Publication: SNR Audio (February 27, 2025)
Length: 7 hours and 38 minutes

Description: First published in 1929, now public domain in the US and Canada. A house party is under way at the remote Black Dudley, and among the guests are some very shady characters. As they merrily recreate the ritual of the Black Dudley Dagger, Colonel Coombe dies. Pathologist George Abbershaw suspects foul play, and when a vital item is mislaid, a gang of crooks hold the guests hostage. Will they escape the house – what did happen to the Colonel – and just who is the mysterious Mr Campion?

My Thoughts: This classic mystery introduces Allingham's major character Albert Campion. Although he isn't the main character in the country house mystery, his presence is felt.

A group of people have been invited to a country house named Black Dudley for a weekend. The viewpoint character is George Abbershaw who is a pathologist who has sometimes worked with the police. He is there mainly because a young woman he is pursuing is also invited to the party. 

When a parlor game involving the historic Black Dudley Dagger ends with the death of the host of the weekend, Abbershaw finds himself trying to solve the mystery. Things get even more complicated when he and some of the other guests realize that a number of the guests are criminals. They find themselves held hostage by the criminals until a missing item is returned to them.

Abbershaw had found the missing papers and burned them for some mysterious reason making the return impossible. The criminals aren't willing to believe that the papers are gone and threaten the guests. 

I found this an interesting story but with some problems. First of all, there was such a large cast of characters that I couldn't keep the villains and victims clear in my mind. Second, some things happened that didn't really make sense like Abbershaw burning the papers for no apparent reason. 

I did enjoy Campion's appearances and his character which reminded me of the character of the Scarlet Pimpernel though set in modern times. I also had some problems with the racial prejudice running rampant through the story which automatically classified the Germans as villains. I could set that aside considering that the book was published in 1929, but I still found it jarring. 

I was intrigued enough by Albert Campion that I'll be looking for more books in the series. 

I bought the Kindle copy January 18, 2025, and the audiobook December 24, 2025. You can buy your copy here.