--- title: The Crime at Black Dudley: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books description: Find out why 'The Crime at Black Dudley' by Margery Allingham made the list. canonical: https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-10-03T11:56:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:21:01.696Z og:title: The Crime at Black Dudley: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books og:description: Here’s why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e5b73ba99b806a3/698a408709208f526941abba/TheCrimeAtBlackDudley.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Crime at Black Dudley: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Crime at Black Dudley: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books twitter:description: Here’s why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e5b73ba99b806a3/698a408709208f526941abba/TheCrimeAtBlackDudley.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 03, 2023 # The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  When describing the elements of a mystery novel, Margery Allingham felt the structure was [similar to](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/forgotten-author-no-57-margery-allingham-2073903.html) “a box with four sides—a killing, a mystery, an inquiry, and a conclusion with an element of satisfaction in it.” Published in 1929, Allingham’s first foray into the genre, _The Crime of Black Dudley,_ was exactly that. At the ancient, sprawling Black Dudley country manor, a house party goes awry when an eerie ritual known as the Black Dudley Dagger leaves Colonel Coombe dead. With the smell of foul play in the air, the guests of the party soon realize that the gas has been drained from all of their cars. Now they are stuck in the house with a murderer among them, and it’s up to surly pathologist George Abershaw to end this dangerous game that’s unraveled before them. Filled with Allingham’s signature atmospheric storytelling, the book introduces her beloved mystery character, the deceptively naïve detective Albert Campion, who—while only playing a supporting role in _The Crime at Black Dudley—_would go on to be featured in another 17 of Allingham’s novels and more than 20 short stories. Campion has become one of the most iconic sleuth characters to this day—his adventures have been adapted into numerous movies and TV shows, and, over Allingham’s nearly 40-year career, cemented her standing as a master of detective fiction. —_Rachel Sonis_ **Buy Now:** _The Crime at Black Dudley_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781448216666) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3sxZctd) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/"},"headline":"The Crime at Black Dudley: Best Mystery and Thriller Books","datePublished":"2023-10-03T11:56:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:21:01.696Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e5b73ba99b806a3/698a408709208f526941abba/TheCrimeAtBlackDudley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e5b73ba99b806a3/698a408709208f526941abba/TheCrimeAtBlackDudley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309160/the-crime-at-black-dudley/","name":"The Crime at Black Dudley: Best Mystery and Thriller Books"}}]}] ```