Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh

Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol4 Comments
Swing, Brother, Swing is fairly typical for Marsh. We have a dysfunctional family, headed by Lord Pastern and Baggott, whose newest obsession is playing the timpani for a swing band. Pastern's step-daughter, Fee, is not quite but almost engaged to Carlos, who plays the accordion. Carlos is sleazy and overly jealous, and Fee is not quite sure what to do about the situation. She's even written to an advice columnist about it. Turns out, she doesn't have to worry. He gets killed during the band's act. Happily, Alleyn was watching the show and loses no time starting the investigation. We also have a young couple, Carlisle and Edward Manx. At the beginning of the book they are friends, but we see the relationship evolving as the night and day unfold. A young couple who should be together and deserve a happy ending often shows up in Marsh's books. The murder weapon is interesting in this one; it's not one of the...
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Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol10 Comments
I love mysteries, but if I had to narrow the genre down to my favorite type, I'd pick vintage mysteries. Even narrower, I'd go with country house mysteries, preferably at Christmastime, but winter will do. Death and the Dancing Footman is one of those. Our Inspector Roderick Alleyn doesn't show up until about 2/3rds through. Usually that annoys me, but Marsh tends to make it work. This time around, it gives us plenty of time to meet all of the guests. Jonathan Royal is the owner of the country house and the host of the house party. He is rather not a good person. He's invited a group of people who will quite clearly not get along well. The Compline family consists of the mother Sonia and her two sons, William who is excessively devoted and Nicholas, her favorite. William is engaged to another guest, Chloris Wynne, who used to be engaged to Nicholas. Sonia's friend, Hersey Amblington, who owns a spa and...
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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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Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol3 Comments
As is often the case, Marsh spends a lot of time with the set-up and introducing the characters. This time around, we have a country house murder committed at Christmas. We spend the first half or so of the book meeting all the folks who are spending the holidays at the home. The owner of the house, Hillary Bill-Tasman, is having his portrait painted by Agatha Troy a well-known artist who also just so happens to be the wife of Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The house is full of eccentric guests, including the fiancée, Cressida, whose character is the only one that really screams 60s/70s to me. If it weren't for her, it could have been set in the 30s, which might have been a bit more fitting overall. There’s Uncle ‘Flea’ and Aunt ‘Bed’, a gruff old Colonel and his wife who arrive with a devoted manservant. All of the other servants are convicted, but paroled, murderers. On Christmas Eve there...
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