Review: A Man Lay Dead

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had read some other Alleyn mysteries by Marsh and enjoyed them. This is the first of the series and was excellent. Alleyn is a bit of an odd-duck--reminds me of Adam Dalgleish from the P. D. James books--but is a very appealing detective as he has a self-awareness that I think makes him more interesting as a character.

The mystery in this book was a traditional closed-room scenario, but had a few twists as it went along that kept it from being predictable.