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The Tiger in the Smoke (Albert Campion Mystery)

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This is an atmospheric tale of a psychotic killer lurking in The Big Smoke (London). On the eve of her wedding, beautiful, but rather dim Meg Eginbrodde is given reason to believe that her first husband, who supposedly died in the war, might still be alive. She calls in Allingham's serial detective, Albert Campion. Our detective's silly antics are a thing of the past in this grim, postwar mystery, where he is a relatively minor character.

Three of the major characters in "The Tiger in the Smoke" are the serial killer, who is on a treasure hunt that started during the war, Meg's father, Canon Avril, who is a saintly old Church of England priest, and lastly the thick fog that smothers London during the course of this tale:

"The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water. It had hung over London all day and at last was beginning to descend."

A band of misfits and mutilated soldiers pursues Campion and Meg through the fog, playing loud, discordant music, as they drive to the rail station to meet the man who claims to be her husband.

Meg's fiancé is later kidnapped by the band, and Campion's wife, Amanda has a close brush with the killer after Meg drags her out to see a deserted house in the middle of the night. Meg's fiancé is the next person to encounter the killer, and finally Meg's father, Canon Avril, who delivers a stern sermon and gives away the location of the treasure, before the killer stabs him.

"The Tiger in the Smoke" is more metaphorical thriller than mystery. Canon Avril and his daughter, Meg function as a latter-day Prospero and Miranda, taunting their Caliban (the serial killer) with their innocence and knowledge of a treasure, which he can never hope to share.

In her book "Talking about Detective Fiction," mystery writer P.D. James selects "The Tiger in the Smoke" as her favorite Campion novel, possibly because of its religious overtones. Good and evil are at war in this book, which is why Campion must fade into the background and let Canon Avril take charge on the side of the angels.

Here is a complete list of the Campion novels that Allingham wrote ("Cargo of Eagles" was completed by her husband after her death in 1966). There are also short story collections and Campion novels that were written by her husband, Youngman Carter, which I didn't include in this list.

1. The Black Dudley Murder aka The Crime at Black Dudley (1929)
2. Mystery Mile (1930)
3. Look to the Lady aka The Gyrth Chalice Mystery (1931)
4. Police at the Funeral (1931)
5. Sweet Danger aka Kingdom of Death aka The Fear Sign (1933)
6. Death of a Ghost (1934)
7. Flowers for the Judge (1936)
8. The Case of the Late Pig (1937)
9. Dancers in Mourning aka Who Killed Chloe? (1937)
10. The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
11. Traitor's Purse aka The Sabotage Murder Mystery (1941)
12. Pearls before Swine (1945)
13. More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
14. The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
15. Estate of the Beckoning Lady (1955)
16. Tether's End (1958)
17. The China Governess (1963)
18. The Mind Readers (1965)
19. Cargo of Eagles (1968)

The Tiger was that rarity, a genuinely wicked man. He was no lunatic, no unfortunate betrayed by disease or circumstance, but a much more scarce and dangerous beast, the rogue which every herd throws up from time to time. Lingering about him was the ancient smell of Evil, acrid and potent as the stench of fever. His face looked like a design for tragedy. Grief and torture and the furies were all there naked, and the eye was repelled even while it was violently attracted.

The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice water. It had hung over London all day and at last was beginning to descend. The sky was yellow as a duster and the rest was a granular black, overprinted in gray and lightened by occasional slivers of bright fish color as a policeman turned in his wet cape.