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The Mind Readers
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The Mind Readers
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The Mind Readers
Ebook335 pages5 hours

The Mind Readers

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

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About this ebook

A mysterious invention causes mayhem in a coastal English village—from “my very favourite of the four Queens of Crime” (J. K. Rowling).
 
The ancient hamlet of Saltey, once the haunt of smugglers, now hides a secret rich and mysterious enough to trap all who enter . . . and someone in town is willing to terrorize, murder, and raise the very devil to keep that secret to themselves.
 
When a transistor thought to be the key to telepathic communication is found, Albert Campion is called to sort fact from fiction. But the device at the center of the mystery is in the possession of two schoolboys, and whether they stole it or invented it, there are others who will kill to get hold of it.
 
“Allingham has a strong, well controlled sense of humour, a power of suggesting character with a few touches and an excellent English style. She has a sense of the fantastic, and is never dull” —Times Literary Supplement
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2015
ISBN9781504048781
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The Mind Readers
Author

Margery Allingham

Margery Louise 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 favourite Golden Age author and Agatha Christie said of Allingham that out of all the detective stories she remembers, Margery Allingham 'stands out like a shining light'. She was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a very literary family; her parents were both writers, and her aunt ran a magazine, so it was natural that Margery too would begin writing at an early age. She wrote steadily through her school days, first in Colchester and later as a boarder at the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, where she wrote, produced, and performed in a costume play. After her return to London in 1920 she enrolled at the Regent Street Polytechnic, where she studied drama and speech training in a successful attempt to overcome a childhood stammer. There she met Phillip Youngman Carter, who would become her husband and collaborator, designing the jackets for many of her future books. The Allingham family retained a house on Mersea Island, a few miles from Layer Breton, and it was here that Margery found the material for her first novel, the adventure story Blackkerchief Dick (1923), which was published when she was just nineteen. She went on to pen multiple novels, some of which dealt with occult themes and some with mystery, as well as writing plays and stories – her first detective story, The White Cottage Mystery, was serialized in the Daily Express in 1927. Allingham died at the age of 62, and her final novel, A Cargo of Eagles, was finished by her husband at her request and published posthumously in 1968.

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Reviews for The Mind Readers

Rating: 3.2058823647058823 out of 5 stars
3/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was really enjoying this book but I found the ending confusing and unsatisfactory. I thought there were too many characters - particularly the "bad guys" and it wasn't clear what was happening.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Mind Readers is the last book completely written by Margery Allingham; her husband finished up Cargo of Eagles (next in the series). So basically I've come to the end of the original Allinghams and it's a sad day. However, the good news is that I have each and every Campion story on my British reading room shelves (and all of the PBS dvds!) that I can read again if I so choose. Although this particular edition was published in 1990, the original was written in 1965 -- during the Cold War, and the book's subject matter reflects the angst of the time. There are numerous references to postwar science, spying and ultimately, the biggest concern of all -- someone hitting the button without any warning to the other side. Although it was not received well at its original publication (and if you look on Amazon, by some of its modern-day readers), I liked it. I thought it was a fine story, and unlike the last few books in the series, Campion is not on the sidelines but in the thick of the action like when he first began. The basic plot: Helena Ferris is the wife of scientist Martin Ferris, mother to young Sam, and a relative of Amanda Fitton (Mrs. Campion). As the story opens, she is supposed to picking up Sam and his cousin from the train, since they are due home at their half-term break. However, at the last minute, Martin's boss decides that no one will leave the island where the scientists are working. As a result, when the train stops, the boys are met by a woman who claims that she's been sent to pick them up. They walk with her until they notice a policeman, and start yelling that the woman is a spy and that she's trying to kidnap them. Later, when asked how they knew, they produce a device that they claim can read thoughts and feelings. Then, when Sam's cousin disappears, a series of events brings Campion into the picture in his role as an agent for British security. The book is a fun read and yes, it's a bit far-fetched, but consider that in real life the CIA was experimenting with psychic abilities, and then it doesn't seem so crazy. Allingham has done a fine job not only with the plot, but with her characters (her forte) as well. There are bits of humor interjected throughout the novel, and a Campion that I haven't seen in a while -- no sending him off to the sidelines in this book!Those readers who have been following the series will most likely enjoy this one; others who enjoy classic British mystery will definitely like it. Others who may find it interesting are readers who are interested in the Cold War era research programs in ESP and psychic abilities. Overall, a very good, fun read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A device that lets the wearer read minds is the MacGuffin in this mystery with Campion, now married and with a son at Harvard. I would have liked even more discussion of how mind-reading would change the world.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A late book in the Albert Campion series; arguably science fiction; it assumes a demonstrable physical confirmation of telepathy is discovered. Allingham herself regarded it as credible.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good but not the best of the Albert Campion stories.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Some boys stumble on a high tech device that could just lead to the end of the world as we know it.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I usually don't use this phrase, but this book has such terrible vibes. I was so stressed out reading it. I gave it a good 70–80 pages to redeem itself but ugh. Maybe it's a sign of the power of the writing that it evoked a strong feeling, but it's not very pleasant for the reader to be played upon like this.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was dubious about The Mind-Readers; I didn't remember much about it. I apparently read through the Allinghams years ago (ten?) and never since – I hadn't thought it to be so long. My impression of MR was of an improbable, not to say idiotic, premise, and a slight reluctance to read it. Happily, I was mostly wrong. It was an improbable premise – but it was handled very nicely. This was written in the 60's, which I happily missed entirely but for four short oblivious months; 1965 to be exact – the Space Race was on, science was exploding in every direction, science fiction was coming to the fore – it seems like if someone had said "I have invented a device that will allow me to read minds" it wouldn't have been so very surprising. There was an element of World Criminal Conspiracy, which is something I despise, but I found the characters to be enjoyable, the suspense involved in the kidnapping (or was it?) to be well managed, and overall the book to be a lark. Not one of the best – but not bad.