Description

A family vacation in Tuscany leads to intrigue and mystery in a Masterpiece Theatre presentation written by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey) and starring Sir John Gielgud in an Emmy Award(r)-winning role.

The minute she sets eyes on it, Molly Pargeter (Susan Fleetwood) knows that the Tuscan villa she has found to lease is perfect for her family's summer holiday. She is powerfully drawn to its rustic beauty and to the enigma of its absentee landlord. Never mind that her husband and teenaged daughter are vocally unenthusiastic and that her outrageously extroverted father (Sir John Gielgud) tricks them into taking him along.

As the family goes sightseeing and gathers for candlelit dinners on the terrace, Molly becomes increasingly obsessed with unraveling the secrets of the villa's owner and of the British expatriates and locals they encounter. Her father lends a hand with the sleuthing while remaining on the prowl, zeroing in on a certain rich widow with whom he shares a romantic past. ... Read more

Description

When an eminent American judge has his life threatened by a ruthless gang of mobsters, Albert Campion comes to the rescue and hides him away in the remote village of Mystery Mile.But when the judge disappears and a strange Turkish art expert arrives at Mystery Mile, the village locals begin to panic and Campion agin is in the thick of kidnapping and sinister deeds. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The normally unflappable sleuth Albert Campion (played by a former Doctor Who, Peter Davison) loses a bit of his objectivity when murder strikesamong some good friends, the bohemian enclave that's built up around adeceased artist who decreed that every year after his death one of his12 last paintings should be unveiled. At the annual event, a suddenblackout gives someone the opportunity to stab an abrasive young artistwith a pair of ornate scissors. As is usual with Margery Allingham'smurder mysteries, the suspects in Death of a Ghost are a collectionof eccentric personalities; their tics and accents are as entertaining asthe elaborate unraveling of the improbable murders. This particularmystery is weakened by the small role of Campion's crusty manservant Lugg(Brian Glover), whose earthy attitude generally provides a much-neededcounterbalance to Campion's smooth facade. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Description

Averna, a tiny Dalmatian state of equally small significance, has attracted interest from a bold, bad baron of commerce, Brett Savanake.But its rightful heirs are the once noble, but now depleted Fitton familyWhoever can trace ownership by showing possession of the Pontsbright crown and documents will own Averna. With the help of the Fittons, especially the beautiful, young Amanda Fitton, Campion and Lugg, together with assorted companions, set off on a fine old fashioned treasure hunt. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Case of the Late Pig, one of the best of the BBC adaptations ofMargery Allingham's mystery novels of the 1930s, takes her whimsicalgentleman sleuth Albert Campion (Peter Davison) and his cantankerousex-con manservant Lugg (Brian Glover) into the British countryside, wherethey encounter the usual collection of ridiculous personalities,improbable murders, and unexpected narrative twists--this time featuring achildhood bully, mysterious poetic letters, a human corpse replaced by adead pig, and some very important ice cubes. Thanks to particularly sharpwriting and dramatic flair, The Case of the Late Pig achieves theperfect mix of suspense and self-satire that marks Allingham's mysteries;and since one of the suspects is an old flame of Campion's, it allowsDavison the opportunity to play more than just his usual investigativerelish and slightly macabre humor. Topnotch. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Amazon.com

In Police at the Funeral, Margery Allingham's genial but impishlymorbid sleuth, Albert Campion (Peter Davison, a former Doctor Who),accompanied by his ex-burglar manservant Lugg (Brian Glover), investigatesa murder among an upper-crust family of bickering middle-aged siblings andtheir imperious mother. Allingham's series, set in 1930s England, has aslippery tone--some mysteries seem to view the class system with blithereverence; Police at the Funeral treats the wealthy, aimlesssiblings as near-idiots, all waiting for the death of their fearsomemother, who's the only one with any wit or fiber. The Campion stories areless about whodunnit than howdunnit--the roundabout plots featureimprobable killings that poke fun at the conventions of murder mysteries,while simultaneously providing all the comfortable pleasures of the genre.Meanwhile, a cast of fine British thespians sink their teeth intoAllingham's gloriously eccentric characters. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Do you take the long road?" a gruff restaurant manager asks a haplessdrifter, and thus is launched one of the serpentine mysteries featuring a1930s sleuth by the name of Albert Campion, created by Margery Allingham.Look to the Lady centers around the attempted theft of a1000-year-old golden chalice from the upper-class family entrusted with itscare; along the way are woven in witchcraft, a vast criminal organization,strange rituals, and a murderous horse. Peter Davison, a former Doctor Who,stars as Campion, a bland-faced and genteel fellow with an almost ghoulishrelish for crime. His interplay with his crusty manservant/assistant, Lugg(Brian Glover), a former burglar with an almost impenetrable Cockneyaccent, is the series' strongest element. The stories slip in and out ofself-satire and seem to tweak the classic mystery genre, yet always stayfirmly within its confines. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Description

Jimmy Sutane, a brilliant star of musical comedy and the toast of the West End theatre scene, has become the victim of a series of malicious practical jokes, which are beginning to affect his performance.Campion and Lugg are recruited backstage to discover the perpetrator.Campion's investigations lead him to Sutane's Sussex residence, where matters take a more serious turn with the death of one of Suntane's friends and fellow actors. ... Read more

Description

A highly valuable Congreve manuscript stored in the Golden Quill publishing company'ssafe, leads to murder. Campion, determined to prove his friend's innocence, digs deep and discovers hidden secrets of the company's staff.But will Campion find out who the murderer is before the murderer gets to him? ... Read more