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Inspector West #24
Strike for Death
Malcolm Munro, the son of the Chairman of Munro Motors drove into a hostile situation. The workers were being whipped up to fever pitch by the antics of a Union official, Mike Grannett. Violence ensued and there was an altercation between Munro and Grannett’s younger brother which resulted in the latter being rushed to hospital, where he died. All of the striking workers were, of course, going to provide hostile testimony as to Munro’s actions. Chief Inspector Roger West of Scotland Yard is charged with the investigation. Can he save Munro from a murder conviction, or have the workers got it right? Just what is the truth?
The Born in Surrey, England, into a poor family as seventh of nine children John Creasey attended a primary school in Fulham, London, followed by The Sloane School. He did not follow his father as a coach maker, but pursued various low-level careers as a clerk, in factories, and sales. His ambition was to write full time and by 1935 he achieved this, some three years after the appearance of his first crime novel ‘Seven Times Seven’.
From the outset, he was an astonishingly prolific and fast writer, and it was not unusual for him to have a score, or more, novels published in any one year. Because of this, he ended up using twenty eight pseudonyms, both male and female, once explaining that booksellers otherwise complained about him totally dominating the ‘C’ section in bookstores. They
Gordon Ashe, M E Cooke, Norman Deane, Robert Caine Frazer, Patrick Gill, Michael Halliday, Charles Hogarth, Brian Hope, Colin Hughes, Kyle Hunt, Abel Mann, Peter Manton, JJ Marric, Richard Martin, Rodney Mattheson, Anthony Morton and Jeremy York.
As well as crime, he wrote westerns, fantasy, historical fiction and standalone novels in many other genres. It is for crime, though, that he is best known, particularly the various detective ‘series’, including Gideon of Scotland Yard, The Baron, The Toff, and Inspector Roger West, although his other characters and series should not be dismissed as secondary, as the likes of Department ‘Z’ and Dr. Palfrey have considerable followings amongst readers, as do many of the ‘one off’ titles, such as the historical novel ‘Masters of Bow Street’ about the founding of the modern police force.
With over five hundred books to his credit and worldwide sales approaching one hundred million, and translations into over twenty-five languages, Creasey grew to be an international sensation.
He travelled widely, promoting his books in places as far apart as Russia and Australia, and virtually commuted between the UK and USA, visiting in all some forty seven states.
As if this were not enough, he also stood for Parliament several times as a Liberal in the 1940’s and 50’s, and an Independent throughout the 1960’s. In 1966, he founded the ‘All Party Alliance’, which promoted the idea of government by a coalition of the best minds from across the political spectrum, and was also involved with the National Savings movement; United Europe; various road safety campaigns, and famine relief.
In 1953 Creasey founded the British Crime Writers’ Association, which to this day celebrates outstanding crime writing. He won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his novel ‘Gideon’s Fire’ and in 1969 was given the ultimate Grand Master Award.
There have been many TV and big screen adaptations of his work, including major series centred upon Gideon, The Baron, Roger West and others. His stories are as compelling today as ever, with one of the major factors in his success being the ability to portray characters as living – his undoubted talent being to understand and observe accurately human behaviour.
John Creasey died at Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1973.
The Born in Surrey, England, into a poor family as seventh of nine children John Creasey attended a primary school in Fulham, London, followed by The Sloane School. He did not follow his father as a coach maker, but pursued various low-level careers as a clerk, in factories, and sales. His ambition was to write full time and by 1935 he achieved this, some three years after the appearance of his first crime novel ‘Seven Times Seven’.
From the outset, he was an astonishingly prolific and fast writer, and it was not unusual for him to have a score, or more, novels published in any one year. Because of this, he ended up using twenty eight pseudonyms, both male and female, once explaining that booksellers otherwise complained about him totally dominating the ‘C’ section in bookstores. They
Gordon Ashe, M E Cooke, Norman Deane, Robert Caine Frazer, Patrick Gill, Michael Halliday, Charles Hogarth, Brian Hope, Colin Hughes, Kyle Hunt, Abel Mann, Peter Manton, JJ Marric, Richard Martin, Rodney Mattheson, Anthony Morton and Jeremy York.
As well as crime, he wrote westerns, fantasy, historical fiction and standalone novels in many other genres. It is for crime, though, that he is best known, particularly the various detective ‘series’, including Gideon of Scotland Yard, The Baron, The Toff, and Inspector Roger West, although his other characters and series should not be dismissed as secondary, as the likes of Department ‘Z’ and Dr. Palfrey have considerable followings amongst readers, as do many of the ‘one off’ titles, such as the historical novel ‘Masters of Bow Street’ about the founding of the modern police force.
With over five hundred books to his credit and worldwide sales approaching one hundred million, and translations into over twenty-five languages, Creasey grew to be an international sensation.
He travelled widely, promoting his books in places as far apart as Russia and Australia, and virtually commuted between the UK and USA, visiting in all some forty seven states.
As if this were not enough, he also stood for Parliament several times as a Liberal in the 1940’s and 50’s, and an Independent throughout the 1960’s. In 1966, he founded the ‘All Party Alliance’, which promoted the idea of government by a coalition of the best minds from across the political spectrum, and was also involved with the National Savings movement; United Europe; various road safety campaigns, and famine relief.
In 1953 Creasey founded the British Crime Writers’ Association, which to this day celebrates outstanding crime writing. He won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his novel ‘Gideon’s Fire’ and in 1969 was given the ultimate Grand Master Award.
There have been many TV and big screen adaptations of his work, including major series centred upon Gideon, The Baron, Roger West and others. His stories are as compelling today as ever, with one of the major factors in his success being the ability to portray characters as living – his undoubted talent being to understand and observe accurately human behaviour.
John Creasey died at Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1973.
- GenresMystery
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1958
30 people want to read
About the author
John Creasey
706 books79 followersAKA Gordon Ashe, M E Cooke, Norman Deane, Robert Caine Frazer, Patrick Gill, Michael Halliday, Charles Hogarth, Brian Hope, Colin Hughes, Kyle Hunt, Margaret Lisle, Abel Mann, Peter Manton, J.J. Marric, Richard Martin, Rodney Mattheson, Anthony Morton, Jeremy York, Henry St. John Cooper and Margaret Cooke.
John Creasey (September 17, 1908 - June 9, 1973) was born in Southfields, Surrey, England and died in New Hall, Bodenham, Salisbury Wiltshire, England. He was the seventh of nine children in a working class home. He became an English author of crime thrillers, published in excess of 600 books under 20+ different pseudonyms. He invented many famous characters who would appear in a whole series of novels. Probably the most famous of these is Gideon of Scotland Yard, the basis for the television program Gideon's Way but others include Department Z, Dr. Palfrey, The Toff, Inspector Roger West, and The Baron (which was also made into a television series). In 1962, Creasey won an Edgar Award for Best Novel, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Gideon's Fire, written under the pen name J. J. Marric. And in 1969 he was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
John Creasey (September 17, 1908 - June 9, 1973) was born in Southfields, Surrey, England and died in New Hall, Bodenham, Salisbury Wiltshire, England. He was the seventh of nine children in a working class home. He became an English author of crime thrillers, published in excess of 600 books under 20+ different pseudonyms. He invented many famous characters who would appear in a whole series of novels. Probably the most famous of these is Gideon of Scotland Yard, the basis for the television program Gideon's Way but others include Department Z, Dr. Palfrey, The Toff, Inspector Roger West, and The Baron (which was also made into a television series). In 1962, Creasey won an Edgar Award for Best Novel, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Gideon's Fire, written under the pen name J. J. Marric. And in 1969 he was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 31, 2019
The Killing Strike (originally Strike for Death; 1958) by John Creasey finds Chief Inspector Roger "Handsome" West with his hands full of a situation at Monro Motors, Ltd. In the wake of a successful Mark 9 proto-type, the men on the lines are demanding a pay increase. They believe its time that they share in the profits their hard work produces for Monro Motors. Sir Ian Munro doesn't agree--the profits haven't even started coming in yet, so now is not the time for pay increases. Tensions are high and the air is thick with bitterness on both sides. Then Malcolm Munro, son of the company head, comes driving up in his shiny Rolls-Bentley, right in the middle of a speech by one of the leaders on the workers side. A scuffle with old oranges occurs and then Malcolm finds himself in a fist-fight with one of the men.
Michael Grannett, spokesman for the men, looks to use what he calls an attack on his brother by Malcolm to strengthen the workers' case...but Roy Grannett dies and Inspector West is sent to the factory to sort things out. He must walk a fine line--If he shows what the men consider to be favoritism towards management, then there will be a bitter strike. If he ticks off management by "coddling" the workers, then that could go badly as well. But as his boss, Knightley, says
We've got to see justice done, none of this one law for the rich or one law for the poor kind of stuff, and we've got to lean over backwards to make sure that the director [Malcolm] isn't whitewashed. No one told me, and no one's telling you, but there's a possibility of a lot of trouble if this badly handled, especially if it's something to do with a strike.
The Board at Munro Motors naturally want West to waltz in take one look around and declare Grannett's death an unfortunate accident (the poor boy fell down and hit his head too hard, or some such thing). But it doesn't take West long to discover that something is just not right. When Grannett was brought to the factory nurse, he was hurt, sure, but not so much that he should have died. She's quite certain of that. The autopsy reveals that the initial injury (from falling backward onto the hard ground) is overlaid by blow from our old friend, the blunt instrument--most likely a hammer. The evidence (and the body count) builds until West is able to discern the larger plot behind the death of a strike rabble-rouser. And, of course, our hero manages to collar the villain and avoid a general strike.
Before I plunge into my thoughts on the story--an observation: why do some detective novelists insist on giving their detectives (and generally policemen) the nickname "Handsome"? Here, we have West given the moniker and, of course, there is Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Roderick Alleyn. And I'm quite sure I've come across a few others in my 40-ish years of mystery reading. I thought it was the criminals who were supposed to be the plug-uglies. Is it really so unusual for a policeman to be presentable that his colleagues need to slap a nickname on those that are?
This is my third Inspector West novel and I do enjoy them. Creasey keeps the action coming and manages to keep a good balance between straight police procedural and classic puzzle plots. The motives behind the killings are believable and the investigation rings true. If I have any real complaints, it's that the body count in these novels are a bit high and the murders are sometimes more vicious than my standard Golden Age fare. That said, these are highly enjoyable detective novels and I'm quite pleased that someone donated a whole slew of them for me to grab up at this year's community book sale.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Michael Grannett, spokesman for the men, looks to use what he calls an attack on his brother by Malcolm to strengthen the workers' case...but Roy Grannett dies and Inspector West is sent to the factory to sort things out. He must walk a fine line--If he shows what the men consider to be favoritism towards management, then there will be a bitter strike. If he ticks off management by "coddling" the workers, then that could go badly as well. But as his boss, Knightley, says
We've got to see justice done, none of this one law for the rich or one law for the poor kind of stuff, and we've got to lean over backwards to make sure that the director [Malcolm] isn't whitewashed. No one told me, and no one's telling you, but there's a possibility of a lot of trouble if this badly handled, especially if it's something to do with a strike.
The Board at Munro Motors naturally want West to waltz in take one look around and declare Grannett's death an unfortunate accident (the poor boy fell down and hit his head too hard, or some such thing). But it doesn't take West long to discover that something is just not right. When Grannett was brought to the factory nurse, he was hurt, sure, but not so much that he should have died. She's quite certain of that. The autopsy reveals that the initial injury (from falling backward onto the hard ground) is overlaid by blow from our old friend, the blunt instrument--most likely a hammer. The evidence (and the body count) builds until West is able to discern the larger plot behind the death of a strike rabble-rouser. And, of course, our hero manages to collar the villain and avoid a general strike.
Before I plunge into my thoughts on the story--an observation: why do some detective novelists insist on giving their detectives (and generally policemen) the nickname "Handsome"? Here, we have West given the moniker and, of course, there is Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Roderick Alleyn. And I'm quite sure I've come across a few others in my 40-ish years of mystery reading. I thought it was the criminals who were supposed to be the plug-uglies. Is it really so unusual for a policeman to be presentable that his colleagues need to slap a nickname on those that are?
This is my third Inspector West novel and I do enjoy them. Creasey keeps the action coming and manages to keep a good balance between straight police procedural and classic puzzle plots. The motives behind the killings are believable and the investigation rings true. If I have any real complaints, it's that the body count in these novels are a bit high and the murders are sometimes more vicious than my standard Golden Age fare. That said, these are highly enjoyable detective novels and I'm quite pleased that someone donated a whole slew of them for me to grab up at this year's community book sale.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
August 29, 2021
I’ve written before about how I enjoy John Creasey books because they give a glimpse of how things used to be. This Inspector West novel is no exception, written as it was in the post war period and giving nods to the some of the political issues of this cold-war period, as well as highlighting how big industry was modernising and showing us the conflicts and pressures between capital and labour which were sometimes the result of that. The series of murders in this crime drama were based in a large manufacturing factory and suspects included both management and workers but Creasey’s Liberal politics ensured both sides were given a fair hearing and once the criminals had been revelled, made sure the reader was given a message about how we as a society could work together to ensure an efficient and prosperous future.
August 12, 2024
You know what you are getting with a John Creasey - especially Inspector West novels. Great plot, characters are well drawn (if male - women tend to be hardly even one dimensional) and it zips along at a great pace, teasing us with red herrings and occasionally glimpses into Inspector West's idyllic family life. Always worth reading - I picked up a first edition at Leakey's book shop in Inverness, always good for an annual Creasey addition to the bookshelves.
April 13, 2020
This is the first John Creasey novel I've read but it won't be the last. I liked his snappy style of writing, spare but sharp and concise. This involves a series of deaths at a car factory and weaves a touch of social commentary and look at industrial relations into a tale of greed, madness and rivalry.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews