A Penknife in My Heart (1958)

by Nicholas Blake

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First published in 1958, A Penknife in My Heart tells the story of how two men - total strangers - establish the perfect alibis by arranging to switch victims. Ned Stowe will kill Stuart Hammer's wealthy uncle for which service Hammer is to eliminate Stowe's neurotic wife, Helena. The men plot and the plan - with its horrifyingly simple premise - is solidified...'More convincing, more detailedly thought-through than Highsmith's [Strangers on a Train].' - The New York Times… (more)

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Smooth-talking Stuart Hammer meets Ned Stowe and immediately recognizes him for unhappy and desperate. Ned loves his mistress but is married to sharp tongued Helena, who has the money that keeps Ned from divorcing her. Stuart is an employee of his uncle's thriving business but wants to be the boss himself. When Stuart presents his plan to fix both his and Ned's problems, Ned jumps at the chance, as his unhappiness keeps him from considering the fact that he isn't a killer and that he really can't keep his mouth shut.

Does this plot sound familiar? Published in 1958, the author (Cecil Day-Lewis) includes a note explaining that it wasn't until after publication that he heard of Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, published eight years earlier.
This was an engaging tale of double murder, with one man so comfortable with murder, and the other being his polar opposite. (

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mstrust | Apr 22, 2018 |

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Linford Mystery Library

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The Nicholas Blake Omnibus by Nicholas Blake

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A Penknife in My Heart

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Barbara and Geoffrey

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It was shortly after entering the bar of the Nelson Arms on a Saturday in August, 1955, that Charles Hammer first perceived how he might commit the perfect murder.

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First published in 1958, A Penknife in My Heart tells the story of how two men - total strangers - establish the perfect alibis by arranging to switch victims. Ned Stowe will kill Stuart Hammer's wealthy uncle for which service Hammer is to eliminate Stowe's neurotic wife, Helena. The men plot and the plan - with its horrifyingly simple premise - is solidified...'More convincing, more detailedly thought-through than Highsmith's [Strangers on a Train].' - The New York Times

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Two men meet on a boat, discuss their problems, one man's wife, one's rich uncle. Agree they could each solve the others problem. The young husband begins to feel guilty; learns the uncle may not have been so evil afterall, and plans to get even with the partner. They return for a meeting on the boat!

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