Reviews

Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

ranooshe's review against another edition

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4.0

An early 20th century mystery I listened to. Consistent and comfortably paced. These characteristics along with the narrator's voice and tone, made this an interesting read indeed.

annamccachren's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

vstewart76's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

mimiecherry's review against another edition

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mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

4.0

fhackland's review against another edition

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mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

teresac's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

lory_enterenchanted's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

3.5

Compared to the other theatrical mysteries I've read this month, this was immensely more intelligent and interesting. I can believe in the characters, and the crime and solution come out of believable situations and personality traits. They aren't just cardboard figures being moved around by a manipulative author. The nagging question I had throughout of why a suspect would invite an investigator to his home was cleverly, and movingly, answered at the end. And the glimpse into backstage life rang true, with the unsavory side behind the glamour, as well as the talent that often dances on the edge of desperation.

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

Nice twist at the end, which is set up at the beginning and then lost in the mind games that Albert Campion plays on himself.

lgpiper's review against another edition

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3.0

I had some issues getting into this, and I found it somewhat meandering and confusing. Maybe part of the problem was that I originally thought I was reading Josephine Tey, and wondered how she'd gotten Campion into her book. Maybe part of it was my going on vacation in the middle of the book and getting lost on the back roads of Maine multiple times, so that I was tired for a couple of days. Whatever, I'm pretty sure the other Allingham books I've read previously were more engaging.

tansy's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious tense

3.5

I found this one quite a tough read. There's less focus on the mystery and more on the emotional reactions of everyone involved, including Campion, who is reluctant to investigate the crime due to his powerful attraction to another character. It's strange to have a detective novel where the detective spends a lot of time trying to get out of doing any detecting.