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Nicholas Blake

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The Widow's Cruise (A Nigel Strangeways Mytery Book 13) Kindle Edition

by Nicholas Blake (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 128 ratings

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A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY

When private detective Nigel Strangeways books tickets for a holiday in the Greek islands with renowned sculptor Claire Massinger, he has no idea that the trip will end in tragedy.

From the moment the boat sets sail it becomes clear that many of his fellow passengers - from a neurotic widow to the ship's lecturer - have guilty secrets to hide, but do any of them also have a motive for murder? It will take all of Nigel's insight and flair if he is to uncover the truth.

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

Print length

210 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Vintage Digital
Publication date

May 24, 2012
File size

1605 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicholas Blake is the pseudonym of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, who was born in Ireland in 1904.

--This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007NG92IU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Digital (May 24, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 24, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1605 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 210 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,505,721 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #17,049 in Murder
- #42,153 in Murder Thrillers
- #117,743 in Mysteries (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 128 ratings

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Nicholas Blake

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Nicholas Blake was the pseudonym of Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis, who was born in County Laois, Ireland, in 1904 and raised in London after his mother’s death in 1906. He was educated at Sherborne School and Wadham College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1927. Blake initially worked as a teacher to supplement his income from his poetry writing and he published his first Nigel Strangeways novel, A Question of Proof, in 1935. Blake went on to write a further nineteen crime novels, all but four of which featured Nigel Strangeways, as well as numerous poetry collections and translations.

During the Second World War he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information, which he used as the basis for the Ministry of Morale in Minute for Murder, and after the war he joined the publishers Chatto & Windus as an editor and director. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1968 and died in 1972 at the home of his friend, the writer Kingsley Amis.

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4.2 out of 5

128 global ratings

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Susan

Wonderful! Thank you!

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024

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Wonderful book. Great shipping and packaging. Thank you!

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lawyeraau

CRUISING FOR A BRUISING...

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2017

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I came across this book while watching a British mystery, and one of the characters was reading it. As an avid cruiser, I was intrigued by its title. After checking Amazon, I discovered it really was an actual book. So, I ordered it, and was not disappointed.

One can immediately tell that the author has a decided literary bent, as the book, which is a murder mystery, is exceedingly well-written. As it turns out, the author's name is a pseudonym for Cecil Day-Lewis, who was an Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate for the United Kingdom and the father of Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor.

The book was published in 1959, so it reflects the social mores of the time. It also provides a glimpse into what cruising was like then, a bit different than what it is like in the present. The mystery and murder take place during the cruise, when one of two sisters is bumped off. The only question is, "Who dunnit"?

Fans of the British mystery genre, should definitely enjoy this book. This is one of many such books written by the author, and I look forward to reading them, as well.

13 people found this helpful

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Pat Black

ok. but the characters were all odd.

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2022

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I’ve never been on such a cruise so perhaps I’m wrong. But for example the two sisters being so opposite didn’t altogether make sense. The bishop having such a busybody nasty gossip of a wife seemed unlikely. But I read it through so it gets a three and I’m willing to try another.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A British Master

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2011

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Nicholas Blake, author in the classic British tradition of erudite, classically educated, writers, who write clear, clean, but not pretentious, prose, here puts his hero, Nigel Srangeways, Scotland Yard detective, and his sculptor girl-friend, Clare, separate cabins, on a cruise ship touring the Greek Islands. On board are the usual set of characters, some congenial, some shady, and some a mite peculiar. Pre-ship board animosities, loves, hates come into play as do emotions generated by the interactions of likes and unlikes in the foreshortened perspective of a ship.
Then comes a day in which there is a murder and a disappearance. Strangeways, as the only professional aboard, takes charge with the Captain's blessing until the boat returns to a Greek port where the Greek police will assume authority. The plot lines are tricky, the characters suitably distinctive and the action absorbing. Most readers of detective stories will find this book, written about a half century ago, not in the least bit dated, still in every respect, a product of fine British craftsmanship.

8 people found this helpful

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Ela

Fun Read

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018

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Provided an interesting excursion into another era and another type of culture.

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2020

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Loved this book! I actually saw it on an episode of Midsomer Murders. One of the characters on the show was reading it, and I wondered if it was just a prop or if it was a real book. After checking on Amazon, I found the actual book, and I ordered it for my Kindle. It's a fast and interesting read, and I highly recommend it. I plan to read other books in this series.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

jacket

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022

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thx for including jacket. i'm really happy with book. it's in good shape for an old book. i never dreamed i'd get a jacket that wasn't torn. thx again. got anymore? keep them coming. it cam early, too.

One person found this helpful

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SusanHAH

Classicists at sea (1959: Blake)

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2018

Nigel Strangeways and his girlfriend Clare Massinger have booked passage aboard the cruise ship Menelaos for a tour of the Aegean islands. Clare, a sculptor, hopes to find new inspiration in the sculpture and culture of ancient Greece. Several well-known scholars will give a series of lectures on board, and the passenger list includes a number of classicists, both amateur and professional. Shipboard gossip, less intellectual, quickly focuses on a pair of women traveling together.

Melissa Blaydon and Ianthe Ambrose are such an odd couple that everyone has noticed them. They are so much opposites that they couldn't possibly be friends, so they must be sisters. Only sculptor Clare can discern that the bone structure of their faces is very similar. In fact they are the daughters of a famous classical scholar. Melissa, the "merry widow" is rich, attractive and well-dressed; Ianthe, a classics teacher in a girls' school, is plain, drab, and unappealing. With so little in common, It's a mystery why they would go on holiday together, but it turns out that Ianthe is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and Melissa has generously provided this cruise, hoping it will help. After meeting the sisters himself, Nigel concludes that, while Melissa has the beauty, Ianthe has the brains.

With so many classicists on board, it's not surprising that one or two of them have encountered Ianthe before. One of the lecturers is aware that she has written withering reviews of his books in the Journal of Classical Studies. A young girl, traveling with her father and brother, is terrified of her. She had been Ianthe's best student, until a certain incident took place between them. They gave conflicting accounts of what happened, but it resulted in both being sacked from the school. This was the cause of Ianthe's breakdown. By the second day of the cruise, Melissa realizes it's doing harm to her sister, rather than good. She fears Ianthe is becoming suicidal.

The next night, out at sea, there is a murder. A child traveling with her psychoanalyst parents is found strangled to death. No one knows who killed her but everyone can guess why: she had been much too inquisitive, in imitation of her parents, about the activities of grown-ups. About the same time Ianthe goes missing; it's feared she went overboard. Did she murder the child, was she a witness, or was her disappearance unrelated? After a futile search, the captain turns the ship back towards the port of Athens.

This is a well-written and constructed mystery, though dark. The setting is promising, shipboard and the Greek islands, with accounts of visits to ancient sites (though I would have liked more). The murder plot is rather ingenious, and the characters are well-drawn, especially the two sisters. There's some social satire, with all the passengers crowded together like sardines in a can, commenting frankly and sometimes maliciously on each other. Overall, the tone tends toward the sour and bitter for a novel about a holiday cruise. It might make you feel you're better off staying home.

.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great

Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2021

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Wonderful old school mistery

Intheamazone

Widow' s Cruise Takes Deadly Turn....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2018

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Thoroughly enjoyable. A first class whodunit, penned perfectly by Nicholas Blake. Set aboard a cruise ship, characterisation is excellent as is plot and denouement. Lovers of Golden Age, classic vintage crime will certainly enjoy.

One person found this helpful

S Riaz

The Widow's Cruise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2020

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This is the thirteenth in the Nigel Strangeways series, written by Nicholas Blake, a pseudonym for Cecil Day-Lewis. I am sad that I am coming towards the end of these books now, as I have enjoyed most of the books – especially those at the beginning, and end, of the series (admittedly, there was a bit of a dip in the middle, but Blake seems to have got a second wind around this period; this particular book was published in 1959.

Strangeways goes on a Greek cruise with sculptor, Clare Massinger. Of course, there are mixed group of passengers, all with their secrets and motives for murder. From the beginning, you feel that Nigel Strangeways suspects something will go wrong and, indeed, murder does seem to follow him about. I liked the cruise setting and the interplay between those on board – from a rather overly curious child, to a bullying ex-schoolmistress and a Greek expert humiliated by a passenger during a lecture. Of course, Strangeways solves the crime, but the journey is very enjoyable.

Damaskcat

The Widow's Cruise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2016

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Nigel Strangeways books a cruise to the Greek Islands with sculptor Claire Massinger only to find himself involved with a group of people who seem to have a lot of secrets between them. Some of them seem to know each other but don't want to admit it. It is a classic scenario for murder to take place and it will keep the reader guessing.

I enjoyed the cruise background to this story and as ever Nicholas Blake makes the characters believable and interesting. There are plenty of clues to keep the reader trying to fit everything together. The murder doesn't happen until half way through the book so if you prefer books where the murder takes place near the beginning you won't like the scene setting.

The book is well written as are all Nicholas Blake's Nigel Strangeways series. The series can be read in any order though if you want to read them in the order in which they were published then this is number thirteen.

One person found this helpful

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Classy crime

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2015

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This novel of shipboard murder is beautifully written, not surprisingly since the author was Poet Laureate Cecil Day Lewis. The plot is equally clever, and kept me guessing right to the end. Day Lewis wrote nineteen 'Nicholas Blake' thrillers, most featuring amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, and all of them are superb exercises in the whodunnit genre. A special mention must be made of "The Beat Must Die" and "The Private Wound", but crime buffs will find any of the books more than satisfying.

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