The Tiger in the Smoke (Albert Campion Mystery) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an atmospheric tale of a psychotic killer lurking in The Big Smoke (London). On the eve of her wedding, beautiful, but rather dim Meg Eginbrodde is given reason to believe that her first husband, who supposedly died in the war, might still be alive. She calls in Allingham's serial detective, Albert Campion. Our detective's silly antics are a thing of the past in this grim, postwar mystery, where he is a relatively minor character.
Three of the major characters in "The Tiger in the Smoke" are the serial killer, who is on a treasure hunt that started during the war, Meg's father, Canon Avril, who is a saintly old Church of England priest, and lastly the thick fog that smothers London during the course of this tale:
"The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water. It had hung over London all day and at last was beginning to descend."
A band of misfits and mutilated soldiers pursues Campion and Meg through the fog, playing loud, discordant music, as they drive to the rail station to meet the man who claims to be her husband.
Meg's fiancé is later kidnapped by the band, and Campion's wife, Amanda has a close brush with the killer after Meg drags her out to see a deserted house in the middle of the night. Meg's fiancé is the next person to encounter the killer, and finally Meg's father, Canon Avril, who delivers a stern sermon and gives away the location of the treasure, before the killer stabs him.
"The Tiger in the Smoke" is more metaphorical thriller than mystery. Canon Avril and his daughter, Meg function as a latter-day Prospero and Miranda, taunting their Caliban (the serial killer) with their innocence and knowledge of a treasure, which he can never hope to share.
In her book "Talking about Detective Fiction," mystery writer P.D. James selects "The Tiger in the Smoke" as her favorite Campion novel, possibly because of its religious overtones. Good and evil are at war in this book, which is why Campion must fade into the background and let Canon Avril take charge on the side of the angels.
Here is a complete list of the Campion novels that Allingham wrote ("Cargo of Eagles" was completed by her husband after her death in 1966). There are also short story collections and Campion novels that were written by her husband, Youngman Carter, which I didn't include in this list.
1.The Black Dudley Murder aka The Crime at Black Dudley (1929)
2.Mystery Mile (1930)
3.Look to the Lady aka The Gyrth Chalice Mystery (1931)
4.Police at the Funeral (1931)
5.Sweet Danger aka Kingdom of Death aka The Fear Sign (1933)
6.Death of a Ghost (1934)
7.Flowers for the Judge (1936)
8.The Case of the Late Pig (1937)
9.Dancers in Mourning aka Who Killed Chloe? (1937)
10.The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
11.Traitor's Purse aka The Sabotage Murder Mystery (1941)
12.Pearls before Swine (1945)
13.More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
14.The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
15.Estate of the Beckoning Lady (1955)
16.Tether's End (1958)
17.The China Governess (1963)
18.The Mind Readers (1965)
19.Cargo of Eagles (1968)


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Tiger in the Smoke Review

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(More customer reviews)Tiger in the Smoke is the almost unbearably tense story of a homicidal maniac on the loose in fogbound London. Although her stock characters (Campion, Amanda, Lugg, Luke, et al) are all present, this story is utterly unlike Allingham's other mysteries (only Tether's End is even remotely similar). The villain, whose identity is known early on, is possibly the most terrifying in all of the classic British mystery genre.
I could go on, but you probably get my drift. It's astonishing that the same author who gave us leisurely, almost light-comedy mysteries such an More Work for the Undertaker and The Beckoning Lady (two more of her best) could, using the same cast of characters, produce such a taut, no-words-wasted chase tale as this. Allingham was certainly the most versatile, and probably the most gifted, of all the classic British mystery writers.
One last general comment for those of you unfamiliar with Allingham's work. Her cast of characters ages along with the author. Albert Campion was born in 1900; in the first book (The Crime at Black Dudley), published in the early 20s, he appears as a slightly silly recent college graduate. By the time of Ms. Allingham's death in the early 60s, Campion was in *his* 60s, and fading a bit. The other characters age correspondingly (except for the inimitable Lugg, who couldn't). We watch Campion fall in love, experience rejection, fall in love again, get married, raise a family, and become a grandfather - his character showing added depth and breadth all along the way. So, my second time through (which I just completed), I read them in order of publication, and I recommend that you do the same. You'll appreciate her extraordinary gift for character development all the more.

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Jack Havoc, jail-breaker and knife artist, is on the loose. It falls to Albert Campion to pit his wits against the killer and hunt him down through the city s November smog before it is too late.

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The Tiger in the Smoke: Albert Campion, #14 Review

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(More customer reviews)"Tiger in the Smoke" is Margery Allingham's 14th Albert Campion mystery, and it is a mystery masterpiece peopled by a cast of fascinating characters. World War II has ended and, after 5 years, war widow Meg Elginbrodde is planning to re-marry. But she receives photos that seem to show her first husband still alive and living in London. She meets with Campion, who brings in his old friends at Scotland Yard.
Thus begins a series of events that include characters from previous Campion stories and a new group of characters from London's darker side. (Incidently, "Smoke" is Cockney slang for London.)
It is wonderful to see how family and friends from previous Campion adventures have moved on in the world. And the street people and more accomplished crooks that have emerged from WWII are truly frightening.
There are several mysteries to be solved: Is Meg's first husband still alive? If not, what is behind the photos? How do the relatively lawless street people know Meg's upstanding first husband? What has happened to Meg's fiance? Who is Jack Havoc and where did he come from?
Allingham moves from group to group, and event to event, defining the characters as she goes. She intricately weaves two very different groups together to deliver a final clash of worlds.
Margery Allingham is one of the giants of British mystery writers. She died over 40 years ago. But her books and characters are still exciting today. I hope the Albert Campion series will soon be available on Kindle.

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London, 'the Smoke' to Cockneys and the hipsters who appropriate their slang, is living up to its nickname: an unusual cold snap has combined with the fug from coal-fires to produce the 'Great Smog', blanketing the city in choking shadow. And lurking in those shadows is Jack Havoc, a killer with a particular fondness for knives. Havoc is by far the most dangerous villain that Albert Campion has ever encountered, and his startlingly realistic menace, combined with the light touch common to all the Campion novels, gives the book a modern feel, as it straddles a line between Golden Age detective fiction and contemporary psychological suspense.

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