James, who greatly admired his work.Įach of his books has its own tone. They have an individuality and inwardness that few characters in detective fiction do, and in many ways anticipate P.D.
Because of his interest in the emotional pressures that lead to murder, the culprit is sometimes obvious before the end, but this surprisingly does not detract from their interest.īlake himself downplayed his characterization he argued that they were neither “ciphers” nor “portraits in depth”, which would overwhelm the story and reveal its artificiality, but rather had “the simple vividness of poster-painting”. The murderers are often sympathetic human beings, driven to crime in order to avenge a loved one or by some strong passion. His plots are character-driven, and never arbitrary. He could be inspired with clues, both physical and psychological (as in The Widow’s Cruise), and some of his solutions ( Thou Shell of Death) are brilliant.
As Barzun & Taylor’s Catalogue of Crime said, ‘he never shirks clueing and thinking’. Like Agatha Christie, Blake struck a balance between detection and characterization. His detective stories featuring Nigel Strangeways, one of the most likeable sleuths in all fiction, are scrupulously plotted formal detective stories that mix complex plots and ingenious solutions with compelling characterization. One of the greats, combining technical mastery with fine writing. But detection writers do sometimes get impatient at composing what are, after all, no more than elaborate puzzles we yearn to explore at greater depth the behaviour of people under abnormal stress. Most of my crime stories have followed the pattern of the ‘classical’ detective story: I like its blend of steely logic and pure moonshine I like the way it encourages one to break out now and then into wild fantasy.
Born: 27 April 1904, County Laois, Ireland.
0 kommentar(er)
