Allingham, Margery - Hide My Eyes (1958)

Another day, another psychopath. The book begins well with Superintendent Luke and Albert Campion, but they are quickly relegated to the sidelines and the story becomes a predictable hunt through central London for a psychopathic killer. A young couple from the country are drawn into the pursuit, and a last-ditch attempt at soul-saving is made by the killer's adoptive mother, but the prevailing atmosphere is one of nastiness and despair. Any mystery is unravelled by Chapter Four and the rest is largely a re-run of The Tiger in the Smoke. For completists only.

Jon.