''The Deadly Joker'' is a 1963

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

by the Anglo-Irish writer Cecil Day-Lewis, under his pen name of Nicholas Blake. It was one of four stand-alone novels he wrote under the name alongside the Nigel Strangeways detective novels. It is unusual for the author for being written in a

first person narrative A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-telle ...

from the prospective of the protagonist John Waterson.Bargainnier p.149

Synopsis

A man and his younger wife settle in the English countryside, but find the village is teeming with tensions. Things come to a head when one of the inhabitants is killed during a

flower show Flower shows are horticultural exhibitions with an emphasis on flowers. For flower festival A garden festival is a festival and exposition held to celebrate the arts of gardening, garden design, landscaping and landscape architecture. There ...

References

Bibliography

* Bargainnier, Earl F. ''Twelve Englishmen of Mystery''. Popular Press, 1984. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. * Stanford, Peter. ''C Day-Lewis: A Life''. A&C Black, 2007. 1963 British novels Novels by Cecil Day-Lewis British mystery novels British thriller novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in England {{1960s-mystery-novel-stub