In looking back over the many mysteries I have reviewed so far on the Classic Mysteries podcast, I find that I haven't mentioned very many of the excellent and literate mysteries written by "Nicholas Blake," the pen name used by the poet Cecil Day-Lewis for twenty mysteries, sixteen of which feature the work of the amateur detective Nigel Strangeways. I'm going to have to dig out some more, as many of his works do seem to be available now, at least as e-books. Unfortunately, a work I'd have to name as one of my favorites doesn't seem to be in e-book format yet, though there seem to be dozens of relatively inexpensive print copies available through used book dealers. That would be for Thou Shell of Death, a book which I reviewed on the podcast nearly a decade ago. Here's what I had to say about it - again, as always, slightly edited for clarity:
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A war hero’s life is threatened. A detective is dispatched to try to save him – to no avail. But who killed the popular aviator? And why? The answers will prove to be shocking – to say the least. All elements of an excellent puzzle, to be sure, and the situation at the heart of a very fine Golden Age mystery, Thou Shell of Death, by Nicholas Blake.
Cecil Day-Lewis had a long and distinguished career as one of the leading poets of the 20th Century, serving for the last few years of his life as Britain’s poet laureate. Early in his career, however, he needed to supplement his income as a poet in order to support his family. He decided to try his hand at writing mystery stories. And so he began another career, using the pen name Nicholas Blake, with most of his mysteries featuring the amateur detective (and relative of a Scotland Yard commissioner) Nigel Strangeways.
Blake’s second novel, published in 1936, was the poetically named Thou Shell of Death, and I think there is general agreement that it is one of Blake’s finest works. It is a traditional mystery; the reader is given a lot of clues, but the author so skillfully leads us by the nose down side roads in search of those tasty red herrings that we have little chance of solving the puzzle correctly.
Here’s the situation:
Fergus O’Brien, a flying ace and hero of World War I, receives a series of anonymous letters threatening to murder him on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. O’Brien is something of a man of mystery – nothing is known of his activities before the war – but his bravery and skill have turned him into a public hero. Even though he takes the letters to a friend – the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard - O’Brien refuses police help, but he does ask if his friend can send down somebody unofficial, to keep an eye on things. Enter Nigel Strangeways, a scholar and unofficial criminal investigator who happens to be the Commissioner’s nephew.
Strangeways is invited by O’Brien to attend a house party over Christmas in order to observe the other guests and, unofficially, to help protect the airman. Among those guests, according to O’Brien, is everyone who could possibly be responsible for the death threats.
Despite Nigel’s presence, O’Brien is indeed killed on Boxing Day. Strangeways is invited to help first the local police inspector and then the official Scotland Yard detective sent to solve the mystery. And - as additional attacks and another murder quickly follow - Strangeways discovers that in order to make sense of what has happened, he will have to learn a great deal more about Fergus O’Brien’s mysterious past in order to find out who could have hated him – and why. On top of which, there’s an additional complication, as Strangeways finds himself falling in love with one of his primary suspects.
It all makes for an extremely complex and intricate plot, well and wittily told. And while there is a great deal of humor in the writing, the underlying mystery will lead to what Blake describes at one point as a dizzy and melodramatic tragedy in its final scenes.
You might expect a book written by a distinguished poet to be both literate and witty, and you will certainly not be disappointed in that regard by Thou Shell of Death. Another of the central characters in the book is a scholar, a friend and former instructor of Nigel Strangeways at Oxford, and it is that scholar who will help provide some critical clues to Strangeways and to the reader. Blake provides a plot as intricate as any conceived by Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr – and as fairly clued. I’m reluctant to say much more about the plot or its twists, because I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises for you. I will only say that I was quite surprised by the conclusion of the book – and that, in fairness, I should NOT have been.
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You can listen to the original audio review by clicking here.
Next: Bump in the Night, by Colin Watson
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