MINUTE FOR MURDER: Nigel Strangeways Mystery by Blake, Nicholas (Pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis) - 1948

NY: Harper & Brothers, 1948. First edition, so stated, January 7, 1948. Publisher's black boards, letterering is bright red, near fine in damp stained dust jacket, not affecting book and moderately to jacket. Jacket has light wear along top and bottom edges, lightly soiled, lightly chipped at head and foot. Jacket is not price clipped, $2.50 price intact, in protective mylar cover. Nigel Strangeways is seeing out the end of the Second World War at the Ministry for Morale. Surrounded by stories of victory and success, Nigel is itching to return to his life as a private investigator. But he may need to return to that role sooner than he suspects . . . Known as "Our Blonde" to the office, Nita Prince is the femme fatale of the Visual Propaganda Division. Rumored to be having an affair with the married director, tensions in the office rise when war hero, former co-worker, and beau of Nita, Charles Kennington, returns. Long missing and presumed dead, Charles’s return sets the office buzzing with gossip and anxious anticipation. But when Nita is poisoned in plain sight at the celebratory gathering, the excitement quickly turns to suspicion: Anyone in that room could be Nita’s killer. With six suspects to choose from, two spurned lovers on the scene, and government secrets at stake, Nigel will need to navigate more than just office politics to solve the case.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Illus. by Fisher, Carl. Book.