End of Chapter by Nicholas Blake SPOILER Thread (Feb/March 2020)

[Susan]

Welcome to our buddy read of End of Chapter - the twelfth in the Nigel Strangeways series by Nicholas Blake and first published in 1957.

This mystery sees Strangeways investigating a libel case at a prestigious London publishing firm and unearthing secrets which end in murder...

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Judy]

I've finished this now and really enjoyed it - Nigel is back on form here, despite his sinus troubles! I did guess the nose drops were going to be poisoned when Nigel kept leaving them lying around, but Blake totally hoodwinked me as to the likely culprit for this.

I'm also enjoying his romance with Clare.

[Susan]

Yes, those nose drops were ready to be poisoned, weren't they? How odd, at dinner, to lie on the sofa and put them in, as well!

[Judy]

Susan wrote: "Yes, those nose drops were ready to be poisoned, weren't they? How odd, at dinner, to lie on the sofa and put them in, as well!"

Definitely very odd - but then Nigel has always been eccentric!

[Susan]

One of the interesting things about this mystery, was that Nigel really liked Stephen Protheroe, even thought I think he suspected him from the start. Again, we have a poem - Protheroe's great work, 'Fire and Ash' (? Think that was the title) central to the plot.

[Jason]

Susan wrote: "Yes, those nose drops were ready to be poisoned, weren't they? How odd, at dinner, to lie on the sofa and put them in, as well!"

The 1972 Pan paperback edition goes so far as to show a liquid eye-dropper with its contents burning a smoldering stain on a rug. Nothing would have made me more on guard about what's to come than that image!

[Susan]

Love those old book covers, Jason. I adore my kindle (especially as I get older and the larger print allows me to read without reading glasses!) but I do miss the artwork - the same with album covers...

[Judy]

I love the old book covers too, but it's a bit of a shame when they include spoilers, like this one did - although not that much of a spoiler as the drops were fairly obvious anyway! ;)

[Susan]

I often think, with the Strangeways novels, that it is a series where the joy is in the journey, rather than the mystery. I just like the feel of the books and spending time with Strangeways and his odd ways. The actual crimes come sort of secondary...

[Jason]

Judy, yes, I don't like dustjacket image spoilers either -- they should tantalize but not give the game away. Although, as you mention, Blake foreshadowed it pretty heavily in the text that the drops Nigel was always leaving about would become a weapon. (And has a mystery writer ever given a character a pronounced ailment where the medicine wasn't then poisoned?)

Susan, I agree that reading the series is very comfortable, and I am certainly not one who demands a baffling puzzle as long as prose and characters are engaging. I know a few bloggers who are ALL about the puzzle, and the story stands or falls on those merits alone. That said, I thought End of Chapter was one of his best-plotted later books. It really does conform to the best whodunit narratives of the 1930's Golden Age heyday.

[Susan]

Absolutely. I loved the setting too, Jason.

Having been caught out by Amazon before and vanishing kindle books, I have treated myself to the last two Strangeways books on kindle. I now have the complete set, so am looking forward to reading on.

[Jason]

Susan wrote: "Having been caught out by Amazon before and vanishing kindle books, I have treated myself to the last two Strangeways books on kindle. I now have the complete set..."

Excellent! I hadn't started out to do so, but will likely have all 16 of the Strangeways books represented with reviews on my site. I'm nearing the halfway point, and this Goodreads group has inspired me to revisit some of these later Blake titles.

[Leslie]

Susan wrote: "One of the interesting things about this mystery, was that Nigel really liked Stephen Protheroe, even thought I think he suspected him from the start. Again, we have a poem - Protheroe's great work..."

For a long time I suspected that Stephen hadn't written that poem but stolen it from someone (his brother maybe)! I thought that was going to be the motive... that Millicent knew his secret. Of course, she did but it was a different secret.

[Sandy]

Leslie wrote: "Susan wrote: "One of the interesting things about this mystery, was that Nigel really liked Stephen Protheroe, even thought I think he suspected him from the start. Again, we have a poem - Prothero..."

The stolen poem was a great idea; it would have explained so much.

[Leslie]

Yes, and I was so excited when Nigel discovered Stephen's poor attempts of another work! I was sure that I was going to be proved correct ;)

[Judy]

Leslie wrote: "Yes, and I was so excited when Nigel discovered Stephen's poor attempts of another work! I was sure that I was going to be proved correct ;)"

You were on the right track that it was an important clue, anyway! Which is more than I was.

[Susan]

I think your plot idea was better than the authors, Leslie. Well done :)

[Jason]

Hello! I enjoyed reading this later Strangeways story. I have a review up on my site, and considering its spot in the 16-book series, I was very happy with the successful mix of plotting, character, and setting found here. From the review:

End of Chapter is a satisfyingly solid later book in Nicholas Blake's series of Nigel Strangeways mysteries. For me, much of its success is due to its clean emulation of the narratives found in detective stories of the genre's Golden Age two decades before.
While both elements are present here, this story doesn't get bogged down in either tone or character psychology, but instead focuses on cleverly tactile clues (the manuscript page not perfectly aligned in the typewriter; marks on a window jamb that hint at a recent staple, now removed) and a very well-drawn circle of suspects.

While other late-period entries like The Worm of Death (1961) and The Sad Variety (1964) can't seem to shake a sort of era-emanating nihilism (which likely mirrored poet Cecil Day-Lewis's worldview as he pushed forward into his 60s during the 1960s), End of Chapter is a return to a simpler time and genre style. The story and its revelations are sufficiently twisty to keep the reader engaged, and Blake makes the rare but rewarding choice to stage Millicent Miles' murder from the (unidentified) killer's perspective. As we are allowed to be a witness to the act, Nigel's uncovering of clues at the crime scene pays double dividends: we think we know how and why the murderer staged the crime in this particular way, and yet Strangeways discovers multiple details that let him see through the subterfuge.

https://www.jasonhalf.com/blog/book-r...

[Susan]

Totally agree, Jason - loved this and think the author had a second wind with the series.

[Judy]

Thank you for posting your thoughts on this one, Jason - I will head over shortly to read your full review. I do agree that this has a lighter and more GA-style feel to it than some of the others which are a bit more bitter in flavour.

[Jason]

Thanks for offering this group reading event, which gives me the opportunity to revisit the Strangeways titles again after years away from them! Thanks for all the work that you do with the discussion group ---

[Judy]

Great review, Jason. I liked your comments about Cyprian Gleed, who as you say is quite pitiable despite everything.

Thanks to Susan who is a Strangeways fan and organised these reads - I'm very glad to have got to know the character and am looking forward to finishing the series.

[Leslie]

Jason wrote: "Hello! I enjoyed reading this later Strangeways story. I have a review up on my site, and considering its spot in the 16-book series, I was very happy with the successful mix of plotting, character..."

I agree that the presentation of Millicent's murder was rewarding! Blake did a great job not giving away anything that might identify the murderer to the reader prematurely. And as you remarked, it enhanced the reader's interest when Nigel was uncovering the clues (or hearing about them from the police).