The Classic Collection of Nicholas Blake (4 Books). Illustrated: The Private Wound, A Tangled Web, A Penknife in My Heart, The Deadly Joker brings together four compelling mysteries by Nicholas Blake, the acclaimed crime writer and poet Cecil Day-Lewis, creator of the thoughtful and unconventional detective Nigel Strangeways. Blending psychological insight with the traditional elegance of Golden Age detective fiction, Blake’s novels go beyond simple puzzles to explore motive, character, an...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYThe annual Sports Day at respected public school Sudeley Hall ends in tragedy when the headmaster's obnoxious nephew is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was despised by staff and students alike, but English master Michael Evans, who was seen sharing a kiss with the headmaster's beautiful young wife earlier that day, soon becomes a prime suspect for the murder. Luckily, his friend Nigel Strangeways, nephew to the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard,...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYFergus O'Brien, a legendary World War One flying ace with several skeletons hidden in his closet, receives a series of mocking letters predicting that he will be murdered on Boxing Day.Undaunted, O'Brien throws a Christmas party, inviting everyone who could be suspected of making the threats, along with private detective Nigel Strangeways. But despite Nigel's presence, the former pilot is found dead, just as predicted, and Nigel is left to aid the lo...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYRespected crime writer Frank Cairns plots the perfect murder - a murder that he himself will commit.Cairns intends to murder the hit-and-run driver who killed his young son, but when his intended victim is found dead and Cairns becomes the prime suspect, the author insists that he has been framed. An old friend of Cairns calls in private detective Nigel Strangeways, who must unravel a fiendishly plotted mystery if he is to discover what really happen...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYPrivate detective and poet Nigel Strangeways is invited to address the Maiden Astbury literary society. The picturesque Dorset town is home to Bunnett's Brewery, run by the much disliked, and feared, Eustace Bunnett and shortly before Nigel's visit, Bunnett's dog Truffles, was found dead in one of the brewery's vats. The culprit was never caught - although there was no shortage of suspects - but when a body is then found in the same vat, boiled down to its b...

Detective Nigel Strangeways, and his explorer wife Georgia have taken a cottage in the countryside. They are slowly beginning to adjust to a more relaxed way of life when Georgia finds a mysterious locket in their garden and unwittingly sets the couple on a collision course with a power-hungry movement aimed at overthrowing the government.It will take all of Nigel's brilliance and Georgia's bravery if they are to infiltrate the order and unmask the conspirators.

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYThe Second World War has just finished and amateur detective and poet Nigel Strangeways is working at the Ministry of Morale in London, in the Visual Propaganda Division.With war over, life seems to be calm again, that is until the Director's beautiful secretary is poisoned in full view of seven members of the division, including Nigel himself. Who could have killed her? And how?A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction to the...

First published in 1958, A Penknife in My Heart tells the story of how two men - total strangers - establish the perfect alibis by arranging to switch victims. Ned Stowe will kill Stuart Hammer's wealthy uncle for which service Hammer is to eliminate Stowe's neurotic wife, Helena. The men plot and the plan - with its horrifyingly simple premise - is solidified...'More convincing, more detailedly thought-through than Highsmith's [Strangers on a Train].' - The N...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYThe government's security department have asked private detective Nigel Strangeways to keep a discreet eye on Professor Alfred Wagley, a research scientist who is spending the Christmas holidays in the South-West of England. But someone else is also very interested in the professor and his work, and when his young daughter is kidnapped, Nigel finds himself in a race to avert a tragedy.A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction ...

In The Deadly Joker, Nicholas Blake delivers a finely constructed mystery in which wit and menace walk hand in hand. What begins as a curious and seemingly harmless situation soon takes on a darker edge when a cruel practical joke spirals into tragedy. Beneath the surface of civilized society, tensions simmer, and the line between amusement and malice proves dangerously thin. As suspicion spreads, old rivalries and hidden grievances come to light. The investigation reveals that what appear...

In A Tangled Web, Nicholas Blake weaves a subtle and atmospheric tale of suspicion, deception, and hidden motives set against the backdrop of post-war England. What begins as a seemingly ordinary gathering gradually darkens into a study of psychological tension, where every glance and every word carries weight. Beneath the surface of polite society lies a network of secrets waiting to be exposed, and Blake masterfully draws the reader into this intricate design. At the heart of the story i...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYSomeone is sending poison pen letters in the small village of Prior's Umborne, and they have already driven one of the inhabitants to suicide.Private detective Nigel Strangeways is commissioned to find the source of the letters by arrogant financier Sir Archibald Blick, whose two sons live in the village, only for Sir Archibald to meet an untimely end at the bottom of the dreadful hollow...A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect ...