The Tiger in the Smoke

An Albert Campion Mystery

By: Margery Allingham

Narrated by: David Thorpe

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)

Outstanding

Well developed plot and characters. Margery Allingham is at her best. David Thorpe continues to demonstrate his talent and virtuosity as a reader.

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.

Not a Typical Campion Mystery

This story is not a typical Albert Campion mystery. In fact, it’s not really a mystery. It’s more of a thriller than a who-done-it. Also, Albert isn’t a major character, though he plays an important role. Still, for all that, it’s an enjoyable listen.

Allingham does a great job of bringing her characters to life. You might not like them, or you might find their actions frustratingly stupid (shouting, Don’t do that!, as they walk to their doom). But, understand them and why they act as they do.

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...

Loved it!

What a wonderful mystery! Allingham seemed to understand humanity deeply. The story kept my interest and I found the characters compelling.

A powerful presentation of evil and good

Allingham tells a dark, troubling story in this one. Murder isn’t entertaining, it is what it is: evil, twisted, madness, isolated, self centered, unfettered greed: a horror. And she examines goodness. Goodness shows as loving, dedicated, simple and kind, aware of complexity and supportive of joy. The contrasts in this story become the rhythm of the narrative.
Not a “friendly” story! Not light hearted. But well written as always and perhaps more modern in approach than her earlier novels.

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.

The characters have depth and color, and these were brought alive by the narrator’s many accents and voices.

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.

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.