The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

Albert Campion narrates this story. I liked the interactions between Campion and Lugg, his butler, reminded me of Wooster and Jeeves. The story starts with the announcement of R I Peters funeral in the 'Deaths' column in the newspaper and an anonymous letter addressed to Campion about Peters' death. 'Pig' Peters was a school bully whose funeral Campion promised to attend after an unpleasant bullying incident in school.

Few months later, Campion starts a murder investigation. Who do you think is dead, this time? It's our late Pig Peters again. So what is happening here? Who killed Peters? Who is sending the anonymous letters to Campion? If Peters was dead this time, who died before? Whose funeral did Campion attend?

I worked out the mystery before the end. There were a few surprises though. Didn't realize that Lugg would play such a huge role in the mystery. About the methods for investigation Campion points out that,

I am not one of these intellectual sleuths, I am afraid. My mind does not work like an adding machine, taking the facts in neatly one by one and doing the work as it goes along. I am more like the bloke with the sack and spiked stick. I collect all the odds and ends I can see and turn out the bag at lunch hour.

Published in 1937, The Case of the Late Pig is a very short novel, enough to whet my interest into reading more Campion mysteries.

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