The Tiger in the Smoke

By: Margery Allingham

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Jack Havoc, jail-breaker and knife artist, is on the loose on the streets of London once again. In the faded squares of shabby houses, in the furtive alleys and darkened pubs, the word is out that the Tiger is back in town, more vicious and cunning than ever.

It falls to Albert Campion to pit his wits against the killer and hunt him down through the city's November smog before it is too late.

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Miss Allingham is one of the few writers who can deal with art. Both her passions and her patterns are beautiful, accurate and serene" ( Daily Telegraph)

"Margery Allingham has worked her way up to a worthy place among the tiny hierarchy of front-rankers in the detective world" ()

"[Allingham] captures her quintessential quiet detective Albert Campion to perfection... For those who relish classic crime fiction" ( Daily Express)

Not really a mystery-unique among Campions

Where does The Tiger in the Smoke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm not answering these questions Audible asks, I'm just writing my review.
SPOILERS IN HERE!! SPOILER ALERT!!! In discussing the book you may think I reveal too much if you don't like to know anything about it!! SPOILERS!!
I have read in discussions of Margery Allingham that this is her masterpiece; it is certainly very different from any of her other books that I have encountered so far. Though there are some mysteries in this book, and a number of murders, it isn't really a murder mystery as I see it. Campion is of course in it, but it's not really about him, either. It seems to me to be a meditation on the second world war, and upon loss and grieving and change and how to accomplish these things well (or poorly). Also, and this grows as the story continues, it seems to be a meditation on the nature of good and evil, and upon what God is and what God isn't and most of all what a person becomes when God is lost to them. It's not surprising that someone who was born in 1904 in England would have thought extensively about these things, and their thinking about those points always speaks deeply to me, even though I was born in 1961 in the United States.
There is a scene in the second half of the book, where Meg's father (a minister of the church) goes deliberately out to talk to the murderer. This action on his part is certainly distressing from a pragmatic point of view, but that's part of the point of the story if the story is more than a murder mystery. He believes that he is called to do so by God in order to offer salvation to the murderer, and what he says to the murderer about the path he (the murderer) is on I found to be greatly moving. I also found the final scenes at Sur la Mer extremely moving for the same reason (though more so the second time I listened to it, because the first time I was too anxious to find out what would happen to think deeply about what Allingham was really trying to say.) This is a book I will listen to more than once, especially the second half, for what Allingham has to say about spirit and loss and redemption and faith, rather than because it's a comforting golden age mystery. It's not a preachy book, but I think it has to be understood from the point of view of a discussion of what's real and what's not, rather than as a simple murder mystery. (I'm not advocating what the old man did, either, it usually turns out more like the girl in Patch Adams than how it did in this book when we are talking about real life it seems to me, but I'm just saying that it has a function as part of the philosophical discussion Allingham is illustrating and also of course, people thought differently in a different time and place).
As always, I like the reader. I think he has a remarkable facility for indicating different characters clearly, I had to laugh when I read another review that said they found the difference between Campion and Luke wasn't clear. To me it seems SO clear, Campions voice is clearly older, deeper, not hoarse, more precise, and with a completely different accent (being aristocratic rather than working class, like Luke). In general I feel Thorpe has done a brilliant job with these books as I listen my way through all of them, and since I didn't like Frances Mathew's readings, it's a blessed relief to me not to have to put up with him in order to get unabridged Margery Allingham. I also noticed that as the series is going on and Campion is getting older, Thorpe is making Campion's voice deeper with time, which is a thing that does actually happen with age. This is the kind of attention to detail and fidelity to the writer that is unusual in a reader, and that I so appreciate about Thorpe.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Not a Great Narrator for Voices

What did you love best about The Tiger in the Smoke?

The story is Margery Allingham's best of all the Campion series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Albert Campion because the entire story revolves around him.

What didn’t you like about David Thorpe’s performance?

Anyone who knows these characters knows that DDCI Luke is a big man, over 6' 3" and educated. Mr. Thorpe makes him sound like a 12 year old cockney boy - I had to go back to reading the book rather than listening to the audio.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Could not listen to another minute after hearing DDCI Luke's "voice." But I wanted to finish 'reading' the book in one sitting, yes.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very very good, not great.

Unlike many of the other reviewers, in my opinion David Thorpe makes the characters live. His ability to create both male and female roles, who one recognizes without having to refer back to their names, is indeed an art. I often think that Americans have great difficulty with accents other than a broad American accent and actually cannot understand some narrators, especially if the narrator is familiar with regional accents in his own country.

It continues to be interesting to pick out Allingham's personal opinions put into the mouths of her characters. Such as the one in which she describes a fog settling on London for days, sufficiently unpleasant enough to make contemporary Londoners wonder why their ancestors insisted own building a city in a swamp - which may make Americans, who live and visit Washington, D.C., also wonder if there was a DNA requirement for the Colonists to want to build their capital in a swamp

Sometimes Allinghams characters are so foolish as to make me to lose patience with them, such as the Vicar, but, then, he may very well represent many of the foolish we also meet today, so one just has to take a deep breath and hope he doesn't do any more harm than he does.

This is not one of her best plots but it is still entertaining and I continue to be hooked on Campion and his friends and relatives.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Help! I can't get through this!

I'm going to try again because I read reviews of the book and nearly everyone seems to like it, but the reader is so dramatic. It's very annoying because it's not how I would read the book in my head at all. Every 3rd or 4th word is over-emphasized and is very difficult to listen to, but I will open my mind before I completely give up because I love this genre...

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Abrupt Ending, But Interesting Story

Very abrupt ending, but interesting story, characters and locations for Mr. Campion and his friends.

Not only suspenseful, but profound

Not sure how I missed this Campion book before. It's surely a winner. The depiction of the spirituality of Canon Avril adds a deeper dimension to the story, which reminds me of the spiritual undertones of "The Nine Taylors," by Allingham's friend Dorothy L. Sayers. Once again, what hurts the performance is this reader's inability to voice Campion as airy without bring imbecile. Such a tightrope has been walked by other performers, including Francis Matthews, Ian Carmichael, Edward Petherbridge, Anthony Andrews, and Peter Davison.

Great characters and storyline

intriguing storyline and well developed characters. audible narration is quite good and easy for Americans to understand

Allingham gets better and better!

The series started as the poor man's Lord Peter Wimsey, with its English manor houses and Bright Young Things. But as with the Harry Pitter novels, each Campion mystery is a bit darker than its predecessor. In this one, the guilty party is clear fairly early on, and the central problem is whether the murderer will be
Caught before killing again. Allingham had a gift for creating realistic characters, and the criminal in this case is chilling.

Too great!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The crime is that a novel can be this good! I ignored my work, family and chores last night and laid on the couch for three hours listening to it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Tiger in the Smoke?

The discussion between Geoff and the "band". It started with the power on one side and swung around gracefully. Her characterizations were fabulous.

Which character – as performed by David Thorpe – was your favorite?

Probably Dahl. I think David Thorpe is fabulous. Frances Matthews is, too, in a different way. Thorpe is colorful and lively. People criticize how he voices Campion, but, in fact, that's how the author describes his voice in Black Dudley.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just amazement, as well as enjoyment. Wikipedia says that she started writing these books to parody Lord Peter Wimsey. If that's the only reason, how can they be so sublimely good?

Any additional comments?

The Campion series are hot and lukewarm for me. This one was red hot.

Love Allingham, but David Thorpe, not so much

Where does The Tiger in the Smoke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love Tiger in the Smoke as a book. I really wish it were the Francis Matthews version though.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The canon was definitely the most prominent and favorite character.

Did David Thorpe do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not really - it was sometimes hard to tell Campion from Luke. Other characters were okay.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes - because I love the book.

Any additional comments?

If they ever release the Francis Matthews version, I would definitely pick it over the David Thorpe one. Francis Matthews will always be Campion to me.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Much loved story - narration dubious

I first read this book 40 years ago and love all the Campion novels (even the ones that r for want of a better wword 'silly'), This one is my favourite. However it was spoiled for me by the narration.The accent and intonation do not fit with the narrative voice in my head. I know it is a personal thing but I wont be buying any more as I found it too jarring..

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

part of this story was on TV about 40 years ago .

Where does The Tiger in the Smoke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

in the top half - its a good story and well read.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

As with many Audio books, the end is ruined by the production company announcing who they are IMMEDIATELY at the end of the story, thus one cannot remember how the story ended, and my end of story meditation is ruined.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I liked the Vicar - his encounter with the villain was brave,

Any additional comments?

I may go back and read more of this series.

fantastic campion

loved it all campion series is so good .brilliantly penned. golden age authors are great