In Margery Allingham's 1929 whodunit "The Crime at Black Dudley" we find a classic entry into the gothic "locked room" mystery. A group of friends and acquaintances gather at the gloomy English country manor of Black Dudley, currently owned by renowned surgeon Dr. Gideon Baird. During the performance of a strange ritual, the passing of the Black Dudley Dagger, one of the guests falls dead of a heart attack. When it is discovered that the Black Dudley Dagger has gone missing, suspicions of the guests turn to foul play. Soon the guests realize that the phone lines are dead, that they have been cut off from the outside world, and that they are under the captivity of a menacing threat. Readers of mystery and crime fiction alike will delight in this thrilling story of mystery and mayhem, in which we are first introduced to Allingham's most famous character in a supporting role, the enigmatic and charismatic gentleman sleuth, Albert Campion.
