Review of THE TIGER IN THE SMOKE (1952)
Posted on March 1st, 2010
Fans of Margery Allingham’s mysteries already know about The Tiger in the Smoke, a 1952 installment of the author’s Albert Campion series. Here, however, is a different perspective:
Campion—the London gentleman who frequently dabbles in criminal investigations with the forbearance of Scotland Yard and city authorities—makes an obligatory though somewhat superficial and irrelevant appearance in this tale, one that offers itself as a murder mystery, morality play, and treasure quest. Without revealing too many details (i.e., plot spoilers), I offer the uninitiated Allingham reader this brief summary to whet the appetite: A World War II soldier, Martin Elginbrodde, had been presumed dead but after more than five years seems to have reappeared on the streets of London, much to the alarm of his widow Meg who has most recently been planning her marriage to the gentleman Geoffrey Levett. Albert Campion, because of his closed connections to the would-be bride’s family, and the London police join forces to investigate the curious shenanigans surrounding the resurrected soldier, but when the anxious (jealous?) Levett does his own careless sleuthing, plenty of ingredients combine—several murders, a kidnap, an escaped convict, a group of Army veterans, a family’s mysteriously hidden fortune, and another family’s unpleasant, long held secret—making The Tiger in the Smoke an effective thematic study of Manichean dualism (the conflict between good and evil) and Calvinist predestination.
Allingham’s recommended novel succeeds more as a modern morality tale than as a Golden Age mystery (which it seeks to emulate), but nevertheless it remains entertaining, provocative, and stylish.
Tags: Albert Campion, Army Veterans, Calvinist, City Authorities, Criminal Investigations, Different Perspective, Golden Age Mystery, Levett, London Police, Margery Allingham, Morality Play, More Than Five Years, Murder Mystery, Plot Spoilers, Scotland Yard, Streets Of London, Thematic Study, Tiger In The Smoke, Treasure Quest, World War Ii
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