• Police at the Funeral

  • An Albert Campion Mystery
  • By: Margery Allingham
  • Narrated by: David Thorpe
  • Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (256 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Police at the Funeral  By  cover art

Police at the Funeral

By: Margery Allingham
Narrated by: David Thorpe
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.36

Buy for $16.36

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

When Albert Campion is called in by the fiancee of an old college friend to investigate the disappearance of her uncle, he little expects the mysterious spate of death and dangers that follows among the bizarre inhabitants of Socrates Close, Cambridge. He and Stanislaus Oates must tread carefully, and battle some complex family dynamics, to solve the case.

AuthorMargery 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

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"Allingham's work is always of the first rank" ( New York Times)
"Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world" ( Tatler)
"Margery Allingham deserves to be rediscovered" ( P.D. James)

What listeners say about Police at the Funeral

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    157
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    138
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    144
  • 4 Stars
    59
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not particularly exciting

Misses four stars from me as I grew tired of the action as being pretty much contained within a family with whom I didn't connect. Otherwise, it's a decent story. Some might care that Lugg is absent here (left behind in London). New to series? Don't start here.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

tremendously enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. the right amounts of intrigue, scene description and red herrings

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful sense of place

One important component of an enjoyable cozy mystery for me, is the locale and how well the author is able to set that scene.
Allingham is a master at creating an ambiance without making it obvious she is doing so. You are given a sense of place that is as vivid as a photograph and you never feel like it was forced at you.
David Thorpe does a decent job of differentiating between characters and I am becoming used to his, in my opinion, poor ability to reproduce the female voice. Other than being rather jarring at times, overall I enjoy his performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Allingham is dated, narrator awful.

I forget that these were written when using the N word was acceptable...that is lamentable. But the narrator is truly awful, flubbing Campions voice with a variable falsetto that grates, and failing to exhibit either consistency or control over his characters. Audible has access to myriad talent - voice acting and narration are skill sets - shame to have Allingham’s period pieces so audibly mangled.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb Campion

Best of them all, I believe! Excellent narration, a wonderfully convoluted but not improbable plot.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Finally, a mystery

This is the fourth Campion book. It is also the first one that is truly a mystery. Despite a stereotypical cast of English eccentrics, the plot is engaging and the solution worthy of Christie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great mind twister

Who done it? That's the question. You are left in suspense til the end. Good characters, good story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Plot identical to one of Christie's

I found this title to be ho-hum. And then I felt a bit cheated, jaded, curious? The gun death is identical to one used in an Agatha Christie novel. The rest of the novel is also similar, although I think Christie's was a bit more dramatic and less "atmospheric". There are better Allingham novels to choose.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

First time with this author

Fascinating characters in an intriguing setting with lots of plot twists. I love period stories set in early to mid 20th century. I’m not as picky about narration as some reviewers but I agree that the feminine voices were jarring at times. The solution to the mystery was a bit convoluted

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite allingham books

Clever plotting, set in Cambridge in the 1930-40s. This mystery is a touch lighter than some of her stories (where Campion is in more danger or in a state of. If JT Mariah confusion). Uncle William is one of my favorite Allingham characters. He also makes an appearance in The Beckoning Lady.
David Thorpe is an excellent reader for these works. I do miss Francis Matthew’s’ version, though.
Enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!