Sweet Danger

With gentleman sleuth Albert Campion on the case and plenty of European intrigue, “ Sweet Danger is for the connoisseur of detective fiction” ( Sunday Times ).
Nestled along the Adriatic coastline, the kingdom of Averna has suddenly—and suspiciously—become the hottest property in Europe, and Albert Campion is given the task of recovering the long-missing proofs of ownership.
His mission takes him from the French Riviera to the sleepy village of Pontisbright, where he meets the flame-haired Amanda Fitton. Her family claim to be the rightful heirs to the principality, and insist on joining Campion's quest. Unfortunately for them, a criminal financier and his heavies are also on the trail. The clock is ticking for Campion and his cohorts to outwit the thugs and solve the mystery of Averna.
“Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance.” —Agatha Christie
“The best of mystery writers.” — The New Yorker **

Who is Albert Campion? A youngish man who seems equally at home with majesty and mystery, yet he goes by an assumed name. In The Fear Sign, Campion and two of his friends have been posing as the "Hereditary Paladin of Averna" and escort. They have done such a good job of impersonation that they have attracted assassins. As Campion becomes more entangled in the search for the lost regalia of the kingdom of Averna a small, strategically located and petroleum-rich piece of the British Empire he finds his life and the lives of his friends threatened. Francis Matthews excellently portrays the various characters. Allingham (The Fashion in Shrouds) keeps the suspense high in this delightful period novel, capturing the feel of rural England in the 1930s. Sure to be popular with those who prefer a cozy, erudite mystery, this is recommended for all public libraries. Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An extremely entertaining nightmare of sensational events. Like all for which Margery Allingham is responsible, it is thoroughly original. --Daily Telegraph

Allingham has that rare gift in a novelist, the creation of characters so rich and so real that they stay with the reader forever --Sara Paretsky

Sweet Danger is for the connoisseur of detective fiction. --Sunday Times