Buy used:
$13.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery May 19 - 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 18 - 20
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Zoom Books Company
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime!

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Margery Allingham
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The White Cottage Mystery Paperback – January 24, 2017

by Margery Allingham (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,193 ratings
See all formats and editions

Classic Crime from the Golden Age. Margery Allingham is J.K. Rowling's favorite Golden Age author.

Eric Crowther collected secrets and used them as weapons. Delighting in nothing more than torturing those around him with what he knew, there is no shortage of suspects when he is found dead in the White Cottage. Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry will have to look deep into everyone's past--including the victim's--before they can be sure who has pulled the trigger. The fact that Jerry is in love with one of the suspects, however, might complicate things.

The White Cottage Mystery was Margery Allingham's first detective story, originally written as a serial for the Daily Express in 1927 and published as a book a year later. This new Bloomsbury edition is the only US edition currently in print.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    176 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Paperbacks
  4. Publication date
    January 24, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    5.06 x 0.46 x 7.86 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1408880202
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1408880203
  8. See all details
Next page
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. Look To The Lady
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of Allingham's very best." ―The Observer

"Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light." ―Agatha Christie

"Margery Allingham is notable for the energy and inventiveness of her writing." ―P.D. James

About the Author

Margery Allingham is ranked among the most distinguished and beloved detective fiction writers of the 'Golden Age' alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. Allingham is J.K. Rowling's favorite Golden Age author, and Agatha Christie remarked that out of all the detective stories she remembers, Margery Allingham 'stands out like a shining light'. Born in London in 1904, Allingham published her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, at the age of 19. The White Cottage Mystery was her first detective story, written first as a serial for the Daily Express in 1927.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 24, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1408880202
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408880203
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.46 x 7.86 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,193 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Margery Allingham

Margery Allingham

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Margery Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family immersed in literature. Her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, was published in 1923 when she was 19. Her first work of detective fiction was a serialized story published by the Daily Express in 1927. Entitled The White Cottage Mystery, it contained atypical themes for a woman writer of the era. Her breakthrough occurred in 1929 with the publication of The Crime at Black Dudley. This introduced Albert Campion, albeit originally as a minor character. He returned in Mystery Mile, thanks in part to pressure from her American publishers, much taken with the character. Campion proved so successful that Allingham made him the centrepiece of another 17 novels and over 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
1,193 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gypsi
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Golden Age Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
Eric Crowther is found dead in his neighbors' cottage and Chief Inspector W.T. Challenor is called to investigate. Everyone in the cottage, plus two of Crowther's employees, had reason to kill him. Challenor finds himself involved in a case with too many suspects and no reasonable solution.

This short novel is well-written, tightly plotted, and thoroughly engaging; I finished it in one sitting. The solution is perfectly plausible, as are the characters and their stories. While I am crazy about her Campion adventures, I do wish Allingham had written a few more like this fantastic mystery.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Vivienne
4.0 out of 5 stars A Surfeit of Suspects
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a very intriguing murder/mystery. I took careful note of all the clues (and red herrings), trying to sort which was what as I read.

A man, in his neighbour’s house, is murdered by a shotgun blast to the chest. The local constable and Jerry Challoner, son of Detective Chief Inspector W.T. Challoner, just happen to be only a very short distance away and are very quickly on the scene. W. T. is soon on the case and quickly comes to the conclusion that everyone in the house is hiding secrets.

When the murdered man’s companion/secretary bolts to France, W.T. and his son, Jack, follow. When they find him, courtesy of the French police, the plot gets murkier instead of clearer and W.T. doesn’t know quite which way to turn next. The problem is that a circumstantial case can be made against every person in the house, but nothing can actually be proven against any of them.

The murdered man, Eric Crowther, was NOT a nice man and everyone in the house had reason to hate him. The house-owner and his wife, Roger and Grace Christensen; Norah Bayliss, Grace’s sister; Estah, the old nurse to the Christensen’s daughter, Joan; Kathreen, the parlourmaid; and the cook, Doris. Quite a good clutch of suspects (although Kathreen and Doris were not really under suspicion); plus Crowther’s valet, William Lacy, aka Clarry Gale, an old lag well-known to the detective.

W.T. and Jerry come across Grace and Norah in France and soon after that meeting, Gale shows up. The dialogue is fantastic once the story gets to France and it is a delight to read, especially the dialogues between W.T. and Gale. I have marked several passages so I can refer to them when I need cheering up. Of course, with the arrival of these three in France, all sorts of things come out and W.T. finds all the theories he comes up with are soon blown out of the water. Finally, one day sitting in his hotel room he idly opens a book he always carries with him “Gross’s Criminal Psychology” and his eye alights on a phrase that starts a train of thought that shortly galvanises him into action and he leaves for London.

I tried to follow his reasoning, but was hamstrung because I wasn’t privy to the phrase in the book that started it. The ending is …. Well, I can’t say without giving it away.

This is a very well-written book, with some great dialogue and a touch of humour here and there, for instance, a useless detective at the Yard with the name of Deadwood, plus the name of the author of ‘Criminal Psychology”. This is a very good Golden Age murder/mystery and I have no problem recommending it.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Christos Kaitatzis
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not Great
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2012
Verified Purchase
The White Cottage Mystery is a crime/mystery novel that leaves you wanting more. More dialogue, more plots, and more character development. I had to read this book for a creative writing course and there was no urge to turn the page and continue as a wanting reader. Instead, I was forced to read it for class and didn't enjoy it very much. The reader is one step ahead of the detective and the ending is poor. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. Quick read and you won't lose much time, but it is a little disappointing. It was ok, but not great.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Scully
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read While Traveling.
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
I read this soft-cover book while on a tour of Germany because I didn't want to take a chance on taking my Kindle overseas. It was a very pleasant read and gave me interesting dreams every night after reading myself to sleep after a full day. I was staying at the Regent Hotel in Berlin and when I came back to my room one evening, someone had inserted a bookmark in my book that said "A room without books is like a body without a soul." Nice to know someone else (and in Germany, no less) appreciates books as much as I do - and it was in German on the other side.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Glynn Young
4.0 out of 5 stars A window into how newspapers once serialized fiction
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
Margery Allingham (1904-1966) published her first novel in 1923, when she was all of 19 years old. Although the novel didn't do well financially, she continued to write and publish plays, verse and stories. And then, in 1929, she struck gold with a new detective Albert Campion, and it was Campion that rocketed his creator into the front ranks of the Golden Age of Mystery writers.

Two years before Campion's first appearance, Allingham wrote a serialized story for the Daily Express, entitled "The White Cottage Mystery." It was published in book form in 1928. It's a complete story, but it has the feel of a serialized narrative - dramatic, cliffhanging chapter endings and sudden narrative developments that keep the reader guessing.

Jerry Chaloner is a young man with a fast sports car. Driving through a small town, he gives a pretty girl a lift; she's walking with a limp from a blister on her foot. She lives with her sister and brother-in-law at what's called White Cottage. The girl goes inside, and Jerry begins to talk with a passing policeman, until they hear a gunshot. They rush inside the house and discover a body with a gunshot to the chest. The victim turns out to be Eric Crowther, the next-door neighbor.

As it turns out, just about everyone has a motive, and the opportunity, to have shot Crowther. The suspects include Norah Bayliss, the young woman with the blister; Eva Christenson, Norah's sister and mistress of White Cottage; Eva's husband Roger, confined to a wheelchair because of a war injury; several servants at White Cottage; and even several members of Crowther's household next-door.

As it turns out, Jerry Chaloner's father is Detective Chief Inspector W.T. Chaloner of Scotland Yard, which Jerry announces rather breathlessly and dramatically at the end of the first chapter. And DCI Chaloner is known for catching his villains. And in this case, he will chase suspects from rural England to the French Riviera and back again.

Except this time, he might not catch his villain. By choice.

"The White Cottage Mystery" is a fast-paced, fun read, occasionally verging on the melodramatic but stepping back before it becomes too unbelievable. It also offers a small window into how newspapers once serialized fiction.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

arti
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very interesting book, I especially liked the way the author has handled all the characters... The mystery was intriguing and the twist at the end was unexpected which made the reading all the more interesting. Would recommend this book to all crime mystery stories readers
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The White Cottage Mystery
Reviewed in Germany on October 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
Typical Margery Allingham Mystery. Been reading it without stopping. Got me to the point of worrying about power on my reader. So i decided to use Ebooks aswell as real books. Why not getting both if you can have it.
Margery Allingham always is nice to read for native as not native english speaking readers. Must love to read her books.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Richard Trahair
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on August 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
Of historical interest
One person found this helpful
 Report
SMC Derby
4.0 out of 5 stars Jolly good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
Typical Allingham novel a very gentle detective mystery very much of its time and author! A pleasant and well written novel requiring no effort to read and enjoy.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Pauline Lloyd
4.0 out of 5 stars not bad st all
Reviewed in Australia on June 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this book. The identity of the murderer took me by surprise. I look for others to read.
One person found this helpful
 Report