Collection of Cozies #3

A Room With a Brew by Joyce Tremel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The 3rd installment of this series about a brewer in Pittsburg who keeps getting mixed up in murders. This one was pretty far-fetched and the G-rated romance with the hunky hockey-player chef is also hard to believe.

Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ritual dancing at the winter solstice provides the backdrop for this tale of murder from one of the queens of crime.



The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
by Dorothy Gilman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This might stretch the definition of mystery a bit, but it is definitely a cozy spy novel.


Kansas Troubles by Earlene Fowler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Would have liked more quilting info in this one.




Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reread of a classic. Lots of interesting info about spiritualism. I love the ending of this novel. The actual last lines are great (total spoiler though so I won't quote them).


A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The tone of this novel reminded me of Josephine Tey's work. This one is comic though (think Keystone cops). Now and then the grammarian in Lynne Truss pops up in a charming way and the language was delightful:

"It's an aspect of old-school Variety that is often overlooked in respectful academic accounts of the genre's sad and lonely death-by-television in the 1950s--that what made the weak comedy routines sound so funny in the halls (and the tawdry 'glamour' even passable), was the audience's prior consumption of alcohol in quantities that would nowadays be considered catastrophically injurious to health." (p. 77)

This novel has been on my shelf for ages and so counts toward the Mount TBR challenge.

All of these books count toward the Cruisin Through the Cozies Challenge.

Tied Up in Tinsel

Tied Up In Tinsel
by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an astounding cast of wacky characters, with Alleyn setting them all in order as usual. I was surprised by the ending as I didn't see it coming at all. Seemed the perfect mystery to read over Christmas.

Night at the Vulcan

Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entirely set in a theater during the run up to a new play this one had me convinced I knew who-done-it and then totally surprised me.

"When she considered them all as they sat about their own working-stage, bruised by anxiety and fatigue, Jacko's ugly word sounded not so much frightening as preposterous. It was unthinkable that it could kindle even a bat-light of fear in any of their hearts." (chapter VIII)

This quote made me wonder what a bat light is. I looked around but couldn't locate an answer. It might be like a ghost-light, or there are high-power flash-lights called bat lights, but that makes no sense in the context. Any ideas?

Review: Colour Scheme

Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very different novel than the other Alleyn novels I have read. It is set in New Zealand and includes Maori tribes, suspected fifth-columnists (spies), and a British family. There is no sign of a major crime until well into the book, but the suspicions and conflicts among the characters make for a compelling story anyway.

The cove of this edition, which is from the editions of Marsh's novels that I have been reading, pictures a tropical drink with skulls on the paper umbrella. I like this graphic for a mystery novel, but it has nothing at all to do with this particular novel.

I am counting this book toward the Read Harder Challenge for the category of  "a book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture" as much of it is set in a Maori community and many of the characters are Maori.

Review: Black as He's Painted

Black As He's Painted by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book, though the comments of some of the anti-black characters struck my 21st-century ear as out of line. For a book written in 1973 they were probably not outrageous.
One of the characters is a funny old bachelor with a cat and I found him quite charming. There was a lot about Alleyn's relationship with his old school chum (now President of an African nation) which I liked as it showed me another side of our hero. I thought the conspiracy at the heart of the mystery was a bit overly-complex and the business with the medallions for the members of the conspiracy was ridiculous.

This is my first book read for the What's in a Name 8 Challenge (a colour in the title).

Review: Light Thickens

Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dark and foreboding, talk of murder, hints at murder, then actual murder and an inexorable march toward madness. This is the theme of Macbeth and Marsh weaves it brilliantly into her story of a theater company putting on a production of the Scottish play. The book is all about the play (for more than 100 pages of the 181 page novel) and when I had about given up on there being a murder at all there was a stunning one. This was the final novel of this master of mystery fiction.
This novel was the 101st book I read in 2014, thus completing my reading goal for the year.

Review: Overture to Death

Overture To Death by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Within 30 pages of the end I still didn't know who the murder was. I was sure it was X at one point, then I was sure it had to be Y, then Z seemed the only possibility. Marsh is a master at keeping you in suspense until Alleyn unravels it all for us and then it seems totally obvious that it couldn't possibly have been anyone else if only you had noticed that little detail pointed out to you at the very beginning.
I love how Marsh uses Alleyn's letter to his girlfriend to tell us what he really thinks about the various players in the drama.

This is my second book finished for R.I.P. IX.

Review: Artists in Crime

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The mystery was fairly complicated, the suspects were many and the side-story romance was an added bonus. In addition to coming up with complicated mysteries and compelling characters (I love Lady Alleyn and Bathgate!) Marsh can write some wonderful descriptive passages.

"The fires had died down in all the grates, the rooms had grown cold. Up and down the passages the silence was broken only by the secret sounds made by an old house at night, small expanding noises, furtive little creaks, and an occasional slow whisper as though the house sighed at the iniquity of living men." (p. 184) 

"... at seven o'clock in the thin chilly light of dawn. A thread of smoke rose from one of the chimneys. The ground was hard and the naked trees, fast asleep, stretched their lovely arms against an iron sky." (p.191) 

Overall an excellent book.

Review: Spinsters in Jeopardy

Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This case takes Alleyn, with wife and son tagging along, to the French Riviera, where he gets mixed up with a strange cult and someone kidnaps his son. A local man, Raoul, takes the role of sidekick (normally held by Fox who doesn't appear at all) in this story. This was a good mystery, and I enjoyed it. My main quibble with the book is that the bad guys didn't have the complexity that I have come to expect from Marsh which made the novel less interesting. There was also very little question of "who done it," the story was more a matter of proving what was already known by Alleyn. The other issue I had with the novel was the fact that there are these weird "purely evil" ceremonies which are referred to but we don't know what actually happened. This may have been the propriety of the times in which the book was written (1954), but it was distracting and made some of the plot construction rather awkward.
The edition of the book I read has a quote from New York Magazine on the cover, "It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." While this particular book isn't her best, I agree with the sentiment.

This book counts toward the Vintage Mystery Challenge in the category of Wicked Women: a book with a woman in the title--either by name (Mrs. McGinty's Dead) or by reference (The Case of the Vagabound Virgin.

Review: Clutch of Constables

Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh
First published in 1968.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked the way this book was structured. Alleyn is lecturing a group of police academy students about the case that Troy got herself mixed up in. One of the main questions in this mystery is whether the other passengers on the boat are who they say they are and Marsh keeps the question open until the very end. There are a bunch of references to the painter Constable.

Review: Death in Ecstasy

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The mystery had me baffled until the very end and there wasn't as much about Alleyn's life as there is in some of the books. It was good, but not one of my favorite Marsh novels. Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn is one of my favorite detectives. He is much more of a develped human character than many of the detectives of the period. I also love the interactions between him and Nigel Bathgate and the relationship Alleyn has with Detective-Inspector Fox, aka Brer Fox.

This book counts toward the Vintage Mystery Challenge in the category of Repeat Offenders (a mystery featuring a favorite series detective)

Review: The Nursing Home Murder

Nursing Home Murder 
by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my least favorite of the Alleyn mysteries so far. It was good, but the mystery was not as intesting as some and there wasn't much interaction between the Inspector and his friends, though some of them do make an appearance. A good solid mystery, but not as great as Marsh can create.

This book counts toward the Vintage Mysteries challenge in the category of Get out of Jail Free -- I pick my own category -- I'm calling this one a Medical Mystery, one involving a doctor, nurse, hospital, etc. 

Review: Death in a White Tie

Death In A White Tie
by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Marsh really might be better than Christie. Alleyn is a wonderful character and he has the best mother besides. This is a tale of blackmail that ends up in a murder within Alleyn's social circle. It brings Troy back into his world and the storyline between the two of them makes a nice counterpoint to the murder/blackmail investigation.

This book counts toward the Vintage Mystery Challenge in the category of Leave It to the Professionals (a book featuring cops, private eyes, secret service, professional spies, etc.) and would count toward the Colorful Reading Challenge, except I already have a "white" book.

Bout of Books - Saturday

Report on day 6 of Bout of Books 7.0

Saturday was a full day of reading, with a few chores thrown in. I didn't listen to any of my audio-book. I did visit 3 new-to-me book blogs. 

I finished Anne of Green Gables (and wrote about it, my 200th blog post.) Then I started one of the business-y books from my stack (one of my readathon goals), but after about 30 pages I decided it wasn't that interesting so I abandoned it. Then I started Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh and read about half of that before I fell asleep.

TRR read 331 pages of  NOS4A2 on Saturday. 

Review: Death at the Bar

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't figure this one out at all. Once Inspector Alleyn explained what happened it was clear as glass, but before that I had suspicions of nearly everyone. Very well done!

This title counts toward the Vintage Mysteries Challenge in the category of Scene of the Crime: a book with the location of the crime in the title (The Body in the Library, Murder at the Vicarage, etc.)

Review: Death of a Peer

Death of a Peer
by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was originally published under the title A Surfeit of Lampreys which I think is a better title for it. I think this title gives away too much too soon. Much of this story goes on before Alleyn ever turns up, and before there is a murder, so knowing who the victim will be is a bit of a spoiler. Another Marsh book I read was structured this way as well (they may all be, I have only read a couple so far) and I found it a very satisfactory way to structure the story. We don't know who committed the crime--I didn't figure it out until nearly the end--but we know many things Alleyn doesn't about the family and what went on right before the murder. Alleyn is an appealing character, as were the Lampreys (they reminded me of Bertie Wooster and his pals) and Marsh's writing is very clever.

This title counts toward the Vintage Mystery Challenge in the category of A Mystery By Any Other Name: any book that has been published under more than one title.

Review: Enter a Murderer

Enter a Murderer
 by Ngaio Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read a couple of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn novels (here is my earlier post about her) and really enjoyed them. One of the things that stood out for me about this one was the fact that most of it was from the point of view of someone other than the detective. Alleyn goes to the theater with a friend of his who is a journalist and during the play one of the actors is murdered onstage. The journalist is also friends with one of the actors who was involved in the scene where the murder occurred and ends up helping Alleyn in the investigation. Much of the story is told from the journalist's perspective.

I also love the way Marsh writes, she tells you a lot about a character in a very few words. Here is how the testimony at the inquest is reported (it doesn't give anything away about who the murderer is):

"The rest of the cast followed in turn. Barclay Crammer gave a good all-round performance of a heart-broken gentleman of the old school. Janet Emerald achieved the feat known to leading ladies as 'running through the gamut of emotions.' Asked to account for the striking discrepancies between her statement and those of Miss Max and the stage manager, she wept unfeignedly and said her heart was broken. The coroner stared at her coldly, and told her she was an unsatisfactory witness. Miss Deamer was youthfully sincere, and used a voice with an effective little broken gasp. Her evidence was supremely irrelevant. The stage manager and Miss Mas were sensible and direct. Props looked and behaved so precisely like a murderer, that he left the box in a perfect gale of suspicion. Trixie Beadle struck the 'I was an innocent girl' note, but was obviously frightened and was treated gently." (p.127) 

This book counts toward the Vintage Mystery Challenge in the category of Staging the Crime: a mystery set in the entertainment world (the theater, musical event, a pageant, Hollywood, featuring a magician, etc). Goodreads says it was first published in 1935, the copyright on the edition I read was 1953.

Challenge: Vintage Mysteries 2013

My Reader's Block is hosting the Vintage Mystery 2013 Challenge which I have decided to take on. Basically the challenge is to read 8 vintage mysteries (defined as written before 1960) during 2013 which fit into a set of categories (one book per category) defined on the challenge page.

I am little concerned about being able to actually get my hands on copies of the books to meet this challenge, but I am excited about reading more vintage mysteries. Some of the titles I am considering at this point are Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer, The Black Dudley Murder by Margery Allingham (a locked room mystery from 1929), and Nine Wrong Answers by John Dickson Carr. There were a lot of vintage mystery authors discussed in the Alfred Hitchcock bio I just finished which I may want to read as well: British author Edgar Wallace known as "king of the thriller" (p. 124); Edwin Greenwood, author of various mysteries including The Deadly Dowager and Miracle in the Drawing Room (p.160); The Wheel Spins (1936) by Ethel Lina White upon which The Lady Vanishes was based (p. 206); Francis Iles' Before the Fact (1932, p. 267) or Malice Aforethought (1931, p. 278). Books by Dorthy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Agatha Christie are also strong possibilities.

M: Ngaio Marsh

There is a wonderful overview of the life and work of Ngaio Marsh at Crime Watch. I have only read three of her books so far, but have loved them and plan to read the rest of the Roderick Alleyn series. Here are my reviews in the order I read the books.

 
Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read about Ngaio Marsh in a piece about the golden age of mystery writers and as I have read all of Sayers and a lot of Christie I was very excited to discover Marsh who was put in the same category of writer. It appears, based on this book that she deserves to be in the list. I was surprised by the solution to this mystery and I really liked the characters. Marsh's detective reminds me of Louise Penny's detective. The family at the center of this story had a very Great Gatsby feel about them, I'm not sure if it was the things they said and did or the writing style that left that impression, but it was definitely there.

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am very excited to have discovered this author--she is wonderful and has written a lot of books. This novel was different from other mysteries I have read in that the whole first half of the book takes place in the family where the crime happens, and we are there for the crime itself. Our narrator is the wife of the Chief Inspector who will be called in later to solve the crime who happens to have gotten mixed up with the family but isn't really connected. I thought the plot device was very effective as it gave the reader two very distinct views of the suspects but didn't give too much away early on. I did not figure out the murderer, right up to the arrest I thought it was someone else, but it made sense once it was revealed. The book had quite a few bits I found funny, mostly observations of human behavior, and the plot was excellently done.

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.


This post is part of the Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise. I got behind on this and am working on catching up the letters I missed.

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.