A review by rhonaea
The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

4.0

In the fourteenth Campion novel, Campion takes a smaller role in a mystery in which his cousin starts to receive photographs of her late husband, whilst he carries on living in London, as she plans her second wedding. What is going on here? Is Meg imagining this and suppressing unresolved angst? Can it be that he isn’t dead - a ‘Reggie Perrin’-type fake death, amnesia/PTSD, closet homosexuality- or, is something more devious going on. Why would anyone torture a war widow? Campion determines to find out. Many of Allingham’s favourite characters get another outing - Amanda, Lugg, Yeo and Luke. The reader is treated to some brilliant new characters too. I especially liked Canon Avril (Meg’s father). And especially didn’t like Mrs Cash, the local moneylender.

This is a bit dated now, but giving it a refresh in a modern context and it’s a lovely thriller, full of mystery, intrigue, double dealing and building uncertainty.