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.