The Sad Variety (Nigel Strangeways #15)

The Sad Variety is the 15th (and penultimate) Nigel Strangeways mystery by Nicholas Blake. Originally released in 1964, this reformatting and re-release by Agora books published 11th July 2019 is 238 pages and available in ebook format. Earlier editions are available in other formats. Fun factoid: the author, Nicholas Blake, was the pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate and father of multiple academy award winner Daniel Day-Lewis.

Nicholas Blake's fictive amateur detective Strangeways stars in one of those classic civilized British series that I revisit again and again. I've reviewed a number of the books previously and it's just a very entertaining and meditative read. The situations are outlandish, the characters often caricatures, the dialogue is quippy, but despite all that, they're always fun to read. 

This installment finds Strangeways on the hunt for international communist agitators and kidnappers, trapped in a country house with a small stable of potential communist moles. Although the plot (and denouement) are foreshadowed heavily, the characterizations, especially abductee Lucy (clever child) kept me reading late into the night.

The book was written in the early 60s, in the middle of the 'Red Menace' and as such, may be a little dated for modern audiences. As long as the reader keeps in mind that at the time, people were seeing communist agitators under every flower pot, and the dramatic tension in the book makes more sense.

For Kindle Unlimited subscribers; this title, as well as the much of the author's oeuvre is available in the KU subscription to borrow and download for free.


Really entertaining British cold war mystery. Four stars.


Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.