do not remember if I actually read this but know for certain that I watched it on PBS - and more than once - remember it vividly - the actors were so well cast - and Allingham made a far fetched story seem quite believable - I do wonder if it was originally published under a different title - must look it up ( )

Summary: Campion and friends seek to prove a rural family to be the rightful heirs of Averna, an oil-rich see side village on the Adriatic while pursued by an unscrupulous financier.

Campion and his friends Guffy Randall, Eager-Wright, and Farquharson meet up in the scenic village of Averna, on the Adriatic coast. The district is rich in oil. Campion is seeking proof that the Fitton family are rightful heirs. Their pursuit of proof takes them from Averna to a rural village, Pontisbright, in Suffolk, where they arrange to stay as paying guests of the Fitton family.

Campion isn’t the only ones seeking proof of their ownership. An unscrupulous financier, Savanake, also wants to lay claim to Averna, and along with a band of thugs is in hot pursuit, attacking and rifling the contents of the family home. Amanda Fitton captures Campion’s attention. She is a spirited red-head, seventeen and an adventurous tomboy who runs the mill and has even hooked up an electric generator. She’s clever, resourceful, and determined. She leads Campion to clues involving a crown, a drum, and a bell.

For a time, Campion abandons the scene, supposedly to go to Peru, only to show up unexpectedly in woman’s garb. Interestingly, Campion takes out an insurance policy leaving a tidy sum to Amanda. Along the way Campion and friends encounter a crazy doctor and Campion will face a fight for his life with Savanake. Meanwhile, we wait with baited breath to see if the clues will lead to decisive proof that the Fittons, and particularly Amanda’s older brother Hal, are the rightful heirs of Averna.

Allingham’s plotting is especially twisty in this book, and the reader does well to follow closely, or spend a lot of time re-reading. Campion’s attraction to Amanda, and his recognition of her resourcefulness and courage bring energy to the plot and makes me wonder if we haven’t seen the last of her. Of the “Queens of Crime,” Allingham strikes me as the least conventional, the most likely to leave the reader wondering, “where is this going?” And therein lies the fun. ( )

What was Albert Campion up to in the Hotel Beauregard, Mentone? Posing as the king of a tinpot Balkan state looking for his lost crown. It was all too intriguing for Guffy Randall, so he joined in the treasure hunt ... to the bitter end. Even when it got very nasty indeed.

First (actually it turns out to be the second) of the Campion books I've read, and whilst good, this wont necessarily put him up there with Alleyn and Rhoddenbarr.

A small portion of land has suddenly become very attractive and important to a number of parties, including the British Government, who charge Campion with sorting it out in their favour.

Throw in Campion's friends, pretty young girls, rich businessmen and their cronies, rural English Villages, psycho doctors and a quest, and that pretty much covers it in a really short book. Some twists are heavily signpointed, but little to dent the story. ( )

This is my favorite of all the Margery Allingham I have read.

As you can see, reviewer opinions vary. If you like a serious mystery, this is probably not for you. It's not intended to be taken seriously.

But if you like something closer to Indiana Jones, this might be what you're looking for--a fun ride, some really interesting characters, and a lot of humor in how they interact, and Albert pulls one rabbit out of the hat after another.

I find that I don't really like the Margery Allingham novels where she was trying to be serious. They're mostly rather staid, boring things that are, well, serious.

The other one of Allingham's that comes the closes to this is Mystery Mile: also very funny, Albert at his comedic best, and lots of other interesting characters to boot. If she had kept writing light stories like that, she'd be far and away my favorite novelist. But then she had to write those boring, serious things. ( )

I like the way that, so far, these have all been very different books. They're not all murders, this one is a bit of a treasure hunt under increasingly dangerous circumstances. The list of characters in the front of the book gives away who the major villain of the piece is, but that doesn't detract from the increasingly unlikely events. Campion's identify remains a mystery, who or what is e under the cover of this assumed persona? ( )