The Smiler With the Knife (Nigel Strangeways, #5) in Reading the Detectives

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The Smiler With the Knife (Nigel Strangeways, #5)

Nicholas Blake

Start date: June 15, 2018

Finish date: July 10, 2018

Why we're reading this: The next in the Nigel Strangeways series, which some of us are buddy reading together. This series doesn'…more
[close] The next in the Nigel Strangeways series, which some of us are buddy reading together. This series doesn't have to be read in order, though.

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Oct 27, 2013 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Nicholas Blake was the pseudonym for Cecil Day-Lewis, who, as well as being the poet laureate, wrote this fantastic Golden Age crime series featuring Nigel Strangeways and his explorer wife, Georgia. This is the fifth book in the series and was published in 1939, when Britain was facing war for the second time in most of the populations lifetime. It is Georgia who takes the lead here as her and Nigel discover a locket while cutting the hedge of a cottage they have taken in the country.

Despite t Nicholas Blake was the pseudonym for Cecil Day-Lewis, who, as well as being the poet laureate, wrote this fantastic Golden Age crime series featuring Nigel Strangeways and his explorer wife, Georgia. This is the fifth book in the series and was published in 1939, when Britain was facing war for the second time in most of the populations lifetime. It is Georgia who takes the lead here as her and Nigel discover a locket while cutting the hedge of a cottage they have taken in the country.

Despite the rural idyll, it is obvious that a sense of unease lies over the whole book. The locket leads them to a group of fascist sympathisers, who aim to overthrow the government. Nigel's uncle, Sir John Strangeways, asks Georgia to go undercover and try to help discover their leader and their plans. This is a novel about patriotism, loyalty, responsibility and other old fashioned values. There is lots of undercover spying, scenes of torture, chases and secret plans, in a book which literally has non stop action from start to finish. Very different from the previous books in the series, this is obviously aimed at both reassuring the public and promototing patriotism as a time of great national difficulty. Both as a novel in it's own right, and as an example of how writers attempted to influence the public mood, this is an interesting read (a similar book in style and theme is Above Suspicion (Helen MacInnes), where a couple have to undertake tasks for their country which they would never normally be asked to do).

In order, the Nigel Strangeways series is as follows:
A Question of Proof (1935)
Thou Shell of Death (1936)
aka Shell of Death
There's Trouble Brewing (1937)
The Beast Must Die (1938)
The Smiler with the Knife (1939)
Malice in Wonderland (1940)
aka The Summer Camp Mystery / The Malice with Murder
The Case of the Abominable Snowman (1941)
aka The Corpse in the Snowman
Minute for Murder (1947)
Head of a Traveler (1949)
The Dreadful Hollow (1953)
The Whisper in the Gloom (1954)
aka Catch and Kill
End of Chapter (1957)
The Widow's Cruise (1959)
The Worm of Death (1961)
The Sad Variety (1964)
The Morning After Death (1966) ...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Bev rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, was-mine, vintage-mystery, mount-tbr-2015, british-mystery, thriller

Nigel and Georgia have just settled into a life of rural domesticity in Devon when they notice some dubious goings-on in the little village. It all starts when Georgia's sharp eyes spot a tarnished locket while trimming their hedge. The locket holds a photo and a strange circular badge...and apparently belongs to Major Keston. Then the Major entertains some rather unusual visitors and seems to be indulging in a spot of smuggling under the cover of a local ghost legend. But what exactly is being
Nigel and Georgia have just settled into a life of rural domesticity in Devon when they notice some dubious goings-on in the little village. It all starts when Georgia's sharp eyes spot a tarnished locket while trimming their hedge. The locket holds a photo and a strange circular badge...and apparently belongs to Major Keston. Then the Major entertains some rather unusual visitors and seems to be indulging in a spot of smuggling under the cover of a local ghost legend. But what exactly is being smuggled? Nigel consults his uncle Sir John Strangeways who is also the head of Scotland Yard's C-Branch. Sir John needs someone to infiltrate what looks to be an underground Nazi-sympathizer organization located in the heart of England. Nigel's reputation as an investigator with close ties to the police make him unsuitable--so a plan is hatched to distance Georgia from the Strangeways so she can go on one more adventure. An adventure that will not only put her life in danger--but an adventure that will also decide the fate of England. She will have to use all her resources as an adventuress to make her way through the affair.

After I adjusted to the fact that Nigel was not the hero of the piece, I settled down to enjoy this political thriller with a very resourceful heroine indeed. Georgia handles herself rather well among the hush-hush cloak and dagger types and uses great ingenuity to get herself out of some rather tight places. She dresses up as everything from Father Christmas to a Radiance Girl (a cross between an interpretative dancer and a New Age devotee) and is aided by adventurer-wannabes like the manager of a well-known department store and a plucky vicar's wife. There's a cross-country chase and Georgia manages a rather MacGyver-style escape. It's all great fun and a thrilling adventure all in the name of foiling the fascist bad guys. No great mysteries here, just a straight political thriller complete with evil master mind and henchmen. A topical story for the times which has held up very well. 鈽呪槄鈽� and a half.

First posted on my blog . Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

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Nov 02, 2017 Leslie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, mysteries, thriller-suspense

3.5*

Nigel Strangeways barely appears in this entry in the series. Instead his wife has the feature role in this suspense novel (it isn't really a mystery). My biggest complaint is the frequent use of phrases such as "looking back a year later" which takes some of the suspense out of the story by assuring the reader that the main characters will survive, no matter how black things might look. ...more

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Jun 04, 2018 ShanDizzy rated it it was amazing

I loved this story, not so much what it was about (although very edge-of-the-seat) but more so for the beauty of the written word. The descriptions of locations/places were poetically written. Also, in describing the feelings of the characters in their respective situations was very powerful and engrossing. In my opinion, Nicholas Blake was an amazing, artistic writer and this story shows it.

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