The Whisper in the Gloom

Oct 27, 2024 7:20 AM

Author:Nicholas Blake

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY

A small boy playing in the park is handed a crumpled piece of paper by a stranger, who then collapses and dies. The boy, realising that he himself is now in danger, flees from the park with the help of detective Nigel Strangeways, only to discover that the mysterious message consists of just his own name and age: Bert Hale 12.

Bert and his young friends are confident that they can crack the case but they soon discover that they will need the help of not just Nigel Strangeways, but of the whole British government...

A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction to the most charming and erudite detective in Golden Age crime fiction.

Reviews

A Christmas cake of a tale, richly mixed with a double portion of murders, kidnapping, adventurous, intelligent, little boys, and assassins

—— Times Literary Supplement

The Nicholas Blake books are something quite by themselves in English detective fiction

—— Elizabeth Bowen

His plots are ingenious

—— Times Literary Supplement

A master of detective fiction

—— Daily Telegraph

The Vault, as a sort-of-sequel is a bold attempt to combine Rendell's two chosen specialties: the police procedural and the psychological thriller. No one hides the clues better than her; no one else creates such a pervasive atmosphere of almost comic disgust and dread.

—— Evening Standard

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