The Aardvark Blog

A is for Alibi, Ames, Allingham and Ambler
9/01/2016

A is for Alibi, Ames, Allingham, and Ambler

No good detective story is without its suspects, and nothing is more critical to a detective’s procedure than working out flaws in a suspect's alibi. There are many great novels that feature creative use of the alibi ( Sue Grafton even called the first of her alphabetical stories ‘A is for Alibi’),  but my favourite is probably ‘The Hollow’ by Agatha Christie.

Delano Ames is one of the best post-war detective writers, but his books are so difficult to find that they have become the life-time goal of many detective fiction addicts (of whom I count myself one). Fortunately the easiest to procure – ‘Corpse Diplomatique’ – is also one of the best. Reprinted as a green Penguin, this is the place to start to see whether Ames is for you or not.

An expatriate American Ames wrote about two detectives Dagobert Brown and Juan Llorca. Dagobert is a brilliant wastrel, whose manipulative relationship with his wife Jane is not to every-one’s taste. The books are very modern, and not for those who are allergic to irony, but the humour and quality of writing mark them out as first class. I am ashamed to say that I have never had the opportunity to read any of the Juan Llorca titles (also known as the ‘Man in the Tricorn Hat ‘ series),  as I have not been fortunate to find any for sale. Recently I found a hardback copy of ‘She Shall Have Murder’, the first novel Ames wrote published in 1949, and I felt very much as Speke must have felt when he discovered the source of the Nile. I was not disappointed in its quality, and the characters of both Jane and Dagobert emerge fully formed as I have come to know them from the later novels.

Marjorie Allingham is one of the first detective writers I read, and I instantly fell in love with Albert Campion her aristocratic detective and his ex-criminal manservant Lugg. The books vary considerably and I am particularly fond of the more action packed titles such as ‘Sweet Danger’ and ‘Look to the Lady’. Allingham did age her detective, and some of the later titles I found a little too psychological for my taste. I would also steer clear of the books produced by her husband Philip Youngman Carter, none of which I enjoyed when I read them. There are some new Campion titles produced by Mike Ripley which I have not read, and about which I would welcome reports.

Finally Eric Ambler’s novels push detective fiction to the edge of the world of spies and crime, and are radically different from those discussed above. Indeed many of his novels are outside our purview. In Ambler there are no locked rooms, and characters are almost always broken, morally deficient or generally unlikable. My favourites are probably  ‘Uncommon Danger’ and ‘Journey into Fear’, but all his books are worth reading, and indeed very well written. The writer he most closely resembles is probably Patricia Highsmith (about whom more in subsequent blogs).