Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol5 Comments
I do love a good vintage mystery and in Enter a Murderer, Marsh takes us behind the scenes in a theater, which she does so well. In addition to a mystery writer, she was a theater director and knew the habits of everyone from actresses to stage managers to dressers. Our Inspector Alleyn is attending a performance of a play with his friend from the first in the series, Nigel Bathgate. During the play, one of the characters kills another, but this time the gun goes off for real, leaving an actor dead. The play does go on, as they say, but after the curtain closes, Alleyn, is immediately called up and begins his investigation. Once again, Bathgate is Alleyn's Watson. Fox has a bigger part here, I'm glad to see. I'm hoping by the next one he's the permanent sidekick. I like Bathgate, I just like Fox more. Here, Bathgate is kind of stuck between a rock and hard place. He...
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A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol10 Comments
Marsh's Inspector Alleyn series is one of my favorites, but I've been reading it all out of order. I finally got around to picking up the first in the series. While obviously don't think this is a series that needs to be read in order, it was nice to read this first introduction to Alleyn. A Man Lay Dead is a country house mystery and we have seven suspects, the host, his niece and five guests. Actually a couple more than that, because you have to count the servants, especially the missing butler. As always, Marsh is good with giving us clues and red herrings, even if the actual "how" the murderer did it was a bit far-fetched.This time around there's a side plot involving the dreaded Bolsheviks that really shows the era of the book. Alleyn's personality is not quite cemented yet, but this is the first. One of the guests, Nigel Bathgate, a journalist, becomes his assistant. He's kind of...
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Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

by Carol6 Comments
It's probably no surprise that I enjoyed Murder for Christmas. It ticks off all the boxes: √ Vintage murder mystery √ English manor house √ Eccentric set of characters √ Christmas celebrations √ Amateur detective with a romantic streak Benedict Grame always throws a large house party for Christmas and this year is not exception. It's an interesting collection of people. There's the usual household, Grame and his assistant Nicholas Blaise, his old friend Jeremy Rainer and Rainer's ward, a lovely young woman and her suitor. Grame also has a spinster sister who lives with them and another relative he assists, a gambler with a penchant for practical jokes. There's also a visiting scientist, a politician, a glamorous woman who both Grame and Rainer are attracted too, a couple from the village, and of course Mordecai Tremaine, our amateur detective who has been specially invited. It should be a fun, traditional Christmas. Of course the merriment is interrupted by murder - Father Christmas dead under the decorated...
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Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

by Carol8 Comments
I had wanted to read Murder on the Orient Express again before watching the movie, and was lucky enough to win a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. This is at least the third time I've read it, but it's one of those ones that I wish I could re-read for the first time. The solution is so perfect, but also so memorable. Poirot is one of my favorite all-time detective and this particular mystery showcases his reasoning skills. The setting is perfect, a group of people are trapped in a train stuck in the snow, and clearly there is a killer on board. There is no access to people's records, no way to check on their true identities, not contact with the outside world at all. I'll grant you he manages to make some leaps in his deductions, but that's part of his charm. It's by no means a fair mystery, the reader can't solve it, but I do love how...
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The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

by Carol11 Comments
I picked up The Daughter of Time at the local used bookstore a year or so ago. i had no idea what it was about and had never read anything by Josephine Tey before, but it's one of those mysteries - the ones that make it onto the "best" lists, the ones that any true mystery lover should read. The title refer to a quote from Francis Bacon: "Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority." It's the same idea as history is written by the victor. Not all "history" is strictly truth, it's a version someone has told that has stuck. I wish I knew more about British history, particularly Richard III, or that I had read Shakespeare's play. If I go back to read this again, I may do a little research first. That being said, it is truly an enjoyable book on its own. Our detective, Alan Grant, is laid up in the hospital and a friend, Marta,...
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The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

by Carol4 Comments
The Santa Klaus Murder is a vintage mystery, set in a country home where the family, and a couple of others, are together to celebrate Christmas. Add in a murder and it should be a perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I found it rather lackluster. It starts off slow, with members of the household telling their version of the events leading up to the murder. Sir Osmond was not a nice father, overbearing and holding the children's inheritance over their heads so that they would marry someone he deemed appropriate. Everyone had their own reasons for not liking the man. I was listening to the audio version and it got a little confusing as to who was who. It definitely picked up once Colonel Halstock takes charge of the investigation, but it's still has a few too many problems for me to really recommend it. - Just too many characters. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audio, but between the family,...
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