This book is a mixed bag. Allingham's short stories that are mysteries and that feature Campion are delightful. Unhappily they are too few. The majority of stories in the book are not mysteries and are rather pedestrian.

The book is enlivened though by three essays. The first, an introduction, talks about Allingham's early life, and why (and how) she came to write mysteries. The other two are humorous. The first deals with how Campion came on the scene. The second is a humorous portrait of Campion and Lug done in the late 1950's.

Although I wish it had just been Campion stories, some is a real treat.

This is a good set of short stories written by a doyen of the mystery genre. I enjoyed them all although it was a shame the festive story was a repeat of one of the four released in a book as recently as last November. Some of the settings and backgrounds seem a little more dated than those of other murder and mystery writers of the past but the further into the book I got the less noticeable it seemed. There was also a tendency for the text to be less PC than would be acceptable from a new author but as this was an advanced copy that may change.

I was able to read the advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and think it would appeal to anyone who enjoys mysteries from yesteryear when life, heroes and villains were all very different to today.

I really enjoyed this book by Margery Allingham although I didn't realise it was short stories and not a novel and not all had Albert Campion in them. I also found that some of the stories I had previously read in other Margery Allingham books, not sure if this was a genuine error by the publishers or not. However I would still recommend this novel.

A rather motley selection of pieces of various lengths, a few featuring Albert Campion. They are very variable in quality. The best is "The Case is Altered", followed by "The Beauty King" which is just too long.

All of them appeared in the 1989 volume of the same title. This latest edition also has "Mystery Writer in the Box", but does not have the Introduction, Appreciation and Notes which the 1989 book contained.

My view is that the stories are very much for Allingham fans, but would not be a good starting point for new readers, as they are far from the best work by the greatest of the Queens of Crime.

Whilst I enjoy all Margery Allingham books, I prefer to read the ones that feature Mr Campion, these short stories are a bit of a mixed bag. There are a few Campion ones, some classic Allingham stories, which I suspect she enjoyed writing the best. There are some self-speak conversation with the characters and insights into the process and difficulties of writing the Campion book.