More Work for the Undertaker: Margery Allingham

I have talked here about how much I like Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series. Since I started blogging, I have reread and reviewed six books in the series, in order. Recently I finished reading More Work for the Undertaker.

This summary of the book is from the Margery Allingham Society website:

Apron Street is a quiet little thoroughfare in west London – and yet . . . Albert Campion is called in to investigate the death of Ruth Palinode, and he finds himself surrounded by as strange a family as he has ever encountered. Not that the other denizens of Apron Street are above suspicion. After all, the undertaker is Magersfontein Lugg’s brother-in-law. But who is writing anonymous letters? Who killed Ruth Palinode? And why are hardened criminals frightened of the very name of Apron Street? 

As the story begins, Campion is pondering whether to accept a government post that has been offered to him. He is reluctant but wants to do the right thing. Fortunately Stanislaus Oates, Chief of Scotland Yard, wants him to work on a case and he accepts that offer instead.

The Palinode family is at the center of the story. Except for one young relative, they are very old and were once very rich.  It appears that the elderly Palinodes are being killed off one by one. One brother and sister are dead; Ruth was poisoned, Edward probably died by natural causes. Three siblings remain: Evadne, Jessica, and Lawrence. They rent rooms in a boarding house that the family once owned and lived in. They are exceedingly eccentric, but that is nothing unusual for an Albert Campion story.

This is not close to my favorite in the series, but it does have plenty to offer. It falls into the category of a fantastical story, with so many weird characters that it is impossible to describe them all. And there is definitely a mystery and plenty of valid suspects. (Some of the stories have very little mystery, and some have much more adventure.)

I have noticed that many of the Albert Campion books have some element of romance. Sometimes it is a small subplot, sometimes it is a major part of the story. This one has just a hint of romance in it, but the young relative of the Palinodes does have her share of admirers.

Charlie Luke is introduced in this book, and he is a very interesting character.  He is a DDI (Divisional Detective Inspector) but welcomes Campion's help; he admits he cannot understand the Palinode family (what they say or what they do).

A description from the book:

The D.D.I. was a tough. Seated on the edge of the table, his hands in his pockets, his hat over this eyes, his muscles spoiling the shape of his civilian coat, he might well have been a gangster. There was a lot of him, but his compact and sturdy bones tended to disguise his height. He had a live dark face with a strong nose, narrow vivid eyes, and his smile, which was ready, had yet a certain ferocity. 

He got up at once, hand outstretched. 

“Good to see you, sir,” he said, and conveyed distinctly that he hoped to God he was.

Amanda is mostly missing from this book, but she does show up at the end, as she did in Pearls Before Swine (or Coroner's Pidgin in the UK).

To summarize, this book is well worth reading if you like Allingham's fantastical writing, but not my favorite of the books I have reread recently.

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Publisher:  Ipso Books, 2016 (orig. publ. 1948).
Length:      255 pages
Format:      Trade paperback
Series:       Albert Campion
Setting:      UK
Genre:       Mystery
Source:      I purchased my copy.