This is the final adventure for Albert Campion.

Campion is called upon by an old friend to help locate a man who has suddenly disappeared, a Mr. Makepeace. Makepeace is well respected for his geographical knowledge of oil sources around the world. He has worked for Omega Oil for a long time and Omega is afraid Makepeace may be considering selling his knowledge to a competitor.

A Mr. Porteous is searching for something a Mr. Matthews, and Porteous is a man who gets what he sets out to get. His methods are not gentlemanly. But Mr. Matthews has suddenly died and Miss Anthea Peregrine is now handling Matthews’ affairs. She also finds she must deal with Porteous.

As Campion goes about unravelling Makepeace’s disappearance, he find there is much more than oil secrets involved and missing persons. There is a question of relationships between Makepeace, Matthews and Porteous. There are double agents, murder, and kidnapping. It isn’t a simple last case.

With multiple threads going on, it can be quite a tangle to undo. Campion may seem laid back and maybe a bit slow, but that is just a front. He checks each possible lead — good ones and dead ends — until he can finally weave a solid solution to the mystery and the parties involved. ( )

This was better than The Tiger in the Smoke but still had lots of loose ends and obscure turns that seemed more like poor writing than actual obsfucations. I'm not sure about what I'll do with my Allingham collection but I might still cross it. Just not super enjoyable.

One of two books written by her husband after the death of Margery Allingham. Albert Campion investigates the death of a man who had information of great importance to a number of people.He is also following up a kidnapping which is connected.
A fair attempt to write a story in the style of Allingham,but one which ultimately fails in that attempt. One or two flashes of her splendid wit do come through but at the end of the day neither the story-line or the characters come to life. ( )

Written by Margery Allingham's husband, after her death. Carter also finished "Cargo of Eagles" and wrote "Mr. Campion's Farthing".
'Matthew James Matthew is a famous geologist. What's more, he's a human divining-rod where the riches of the earth are concerned. So it's not surprising that his irresponsible behaviour stirs up a nest of greedy hornets.' (Penguin jacket notes). When old Matty is found dead, Albert Campion comes to the aid of the young heiress Anthea Peregrine, sorts out the secretive villagers, smugglers, menacing industrial spies, and rescues Miss Peregrine's young man. A good story, with interesting archaeological details, which are Carter's area of expertise. Not as likeable as the vintage Allingham mysteries, but still a good read. ( )