The Smiler with the Knife (1939)
Blurb:
My review:
If The Beast Must Die is quite dull, The Smiler with the Knife is the best cure, for this is one of Blake's most exciting books, and one of the two best thrillers ever written (the other is Mitchell's The Dancing Druids, 1948). This book shows with touches of Orwellian genius how easy it would be for a dictator to rise to power in Britain, the motives for supporting that person and for ignoring the threat, a lesson that is especially important today. Although a Nicholas Blake novel, it is upon the shoulders of Georgia Strangeways, Nigel's wife, that the fate of civilisation as we know it rests; she infiltrates the Fascist Conspiracy behind the crank cult of the English Banner. The book is thoroughly entertaining, although somewhat episodic in feel; and the Flemingesque tortures are rather nauseating. Georgia plays Mrs. Peel to perfection, ferreting out the plans of the crazed super-villain Lord Chilton Canteloe, "the most popular man in England," who organises a man-hunt for her at the end. This chase has several diverting incidents on the way, such as the diverting Father Christmas incident and the hilarious Radiance Girls, before Georgia confronts her enemy in a dramatic and tense showdown; a case of “The Game Played in the Dark”. This is a superior thriller, with outstanding characterisation (even the usual mad scientist seems original), a tense finish, and a fascinating depiction of the political background.