English writer Marjorie Allingham and her hero, private detective Albert Campion, have so far not been widely known to Russian readers. Mr. Campion is very different from his American counterparts—for example, Michael Shayne from the novels of B. Холідей. The young detective is intelligent and noble, like a true English gentleman; at the same time, he has a slyness and the ability to feel confident and free in any environment—whether it’s an aristocratic drawing room or a gang hideout.
Marjorie Allingham’s books don’t belong to the so-called “hard-boiled” detective novels. The investigations and crimes are described in the style of novels about good old England—an undoubted strength of the work.