ISBN: 0745157270 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
An amusing mystery with an appealing sleuths, a set of wonderfully quirky characters, and some entertainingly bold villains, this book is an implausible but enjoyable book.
Reviewed by David on October 06, 2003
Genre: Mystery (Amatuer Sleuth)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of More Work for the Undertaker.
Albert Campion, the English gentleman and a scion of a highly-positioned if never quite revealed family, is about to receive a coveted goverment position. However, his strange hobby—helping Scotland Yard with some of the more obscure mysteries—is much more to his taste. At last, Campion gives in to temptation, and forgoes the official position in favor of a truly bizzare murder mystery.
A run-down London neighborhood is still overshadowed by its once affluent local gentry. Now, poor, brilliant and almost unbelievably eccentric, the Polinodes, live in a world of their own, and most of the neighborhood contrives to keep it that way. When one of their number dies under suspicious circumstances, the police ask for Campion's help. Working with a likable police inspector, Campion delves into this strange atmosphere, filled with colorful characters.
Full Review: Despite taking place in London, the neighborhood of Apron Street resembles that of a small English village. With most characters interacting within the neighborhood, and unconsciously conspiring to preserve anachronistic habits of decades ago, the society is full of gossip and unwritten rules. Campion, himself a bit eccentric and brilliant, is an excellent viewpoint to observe the colorful characters. The investigation proceeds with a set of clues and twists, hampered by wonderfully inventive and clearly suspicious undertaker. The resolution is fanciful but very satisfying, but the path there is more than half the fun.
A very pleasant book with more than its share of colorful and strangely appealing characters, this mystery shows some of the very best aspects of an English cozy.
Overall: 6; Plot: 6; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 6; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 1949, Chivers Audio Books, 1988, Audio cassette, 6 cassettes
ISBN: 0745157270 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com