Dancers in Mourning cover art

Dancers in Mourning

An Albert Campion Mystery

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Dancers in Mourning

By: Margery Allingham
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

Jimmy Sutane is London's favorite song-and-dance man, headlining at the Argosy Theatre, and beloved by all. Or almost all - someone has taken to playing increasingly nasty pranks. Albert Campion offers to poke around, but what he finds chez Sutane nearly overwhelms him. The far-from traditional household features a clutch of explosive egos, including a brooding 'genius musician,' and a melodramatic young actress who seems to delight in drawing others into her web of carefully groomed tragedy. Someone here is aiming to hang up Sutane's tap shoes on a permanent basis, and if Campion is to keep Jimmy dancing, he'll have to come up with some pretty fancy footwork of his own.

Margery Allingham was born in London in 1904. Her first novel was published when she was seventeen. In 1929 she published The Crime at Black Dudley and introduced the character who was to become the hallmark of her writing - Albert Campion.

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective Celebrity

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Critic reviews

"Miss Allingham's strength resides in the power of her characterizations, in her striking talent for painting vivid social backgrounds, and in her skillful use of language" ( Guardian)
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Gripping , sufficiently complex and enjoyable, although I did identify the murderer quite early on.

Another case to showcase Campion and Lugg

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loved it all campion series is so good .brilliantly penned. golden age authors are great

campion champion

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Thorpe’s narration is a triumph. His range of accent, delivery, pacing is superb. He lifts the story beyond its historical origins.

Brilliant narrator

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This is a very tricky mystery it you believing you've got it then you have to change your mind. Read brilliantly again by David Thorpe.

Dancers in Mourning

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Good book. Lots of avenues to explore and plenty of red herrings to fall for.

A fine dance for audience

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I found myself listening to this story at every opportunity. It traveled along fairly slowly in the middle of the story. I stuck with it as somehow kept me interested. Twists and turns later the final is revealed.
I much prefer Frances Matthews narration as this Campion sounds odd, but I did grow used to it. Definitely listen to more from Margery Allingham.

A gripping story

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David Thorpe affects accents which detract from, rather than enhance, the story.
The Campion series is one which I enjoy and as this particular narrator is most prevalent it seems that I will just have to put up with him.

Prefer Francis Matthews as a narrator,.

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Interesting twists on the characters - but the usual mixture of mystery and insight. Recommended.

Period piece

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Would you listen to Dancers in Mourning again? Why?

Yes because it is so much more than a crime novel. There is an emotional depth to it that I find very moving and David Thorpe's reading does that full justice. It is quite dark in tone with a lot of people who are bruised by life in some way or another.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They are all vividly drawn. On a slightly shallow note, I am I pleased that Amanda Fitton is entirely absent as I find her presence detracts in other novels.

Have you listened to any of David Thorpe’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No but I would certainly listen to others. I hesitated a long time before buying this because I have a much cherished reading of this book by Francis Matthews and I was concerned that this reading would somehow disappoint me. I needn't have worried. David Thorpe has all the attributes I want in a reader, a beautiful voice and the ability to convey character through different voices as well as a performance to suit the story. There were times when I genuinely forgot this was just one actor reading as the voices were all so different.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I find the whole set up of this particular story moving but the ending particularly so. No matter how many times I listen to it it always moves me (almost) to tears. The reason for this lies in the writing and the creation of characters I really care about. All of this could be lost in performance but David Thorpe conveyed the emotional depth so well. Even the minor characters are vividly portrayed ranging from the comic to the tragic and it is a very satisfying performance which does justice to a novel with more depth than a straightforward whodunnit.

This is the only Campion novel I like because this is a grown up Campion who is not playing the fool as he often seems to be in other novels. He was in emotional turmoil throughout the novel and I truly feel his dilemma

Much more than a crime novel

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Characterisation. Narrator. Tension. Setting. Contrasts. Reveal. Style. Everything tight and relevant with great atmosphere. Each scene very visual.

tension mounts steadily. Narrator is superb. Dickensian drawn characters. plot twists and shocks.

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