Minute for Murder (1947)
Blurb:
My review:
Good, but not outstanding, Blake. Although Strangeways, now an employee of the Ministry of Morale, head of the Editorial Unit of the Visual Propaganda Division, is now a widower, his grief has not interfered with his detection: his keen introspection of character and psychology, particularly of the participants in the adulterous romantic triangle that ends in the murder of the director's lover and secretary, is masterly. Our sympathies are with her, not with the husband or his cuckolded wife; as Strangeways says, 'I really prefer the people who bite off more than they can chew, the people who don't make reservations about love.' This sympathetic treatment of adultery is a recurring theme in Blake's books; indeed, Strangeways ends his career as an adulterer. The mystery, however, is not as strong as in other Blake novels; the reader should be able to solve the mystery without too much difficulty, and the murder method does not entirely convince: the trick of concealing the capsule in the back teeth is extraordinarily risky, and works only because the policeman performing the searches neglects his duty. For this reason, there are, despite a number of exciting scenes, several plateaux, particularly in the middle section of the book.