Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh: A
Review by Warren Bull
It's not unusual for people to fall in love when they meet
at work. However when the work is investigating a murder at the other person's
home, complications are to be expected.
That is the set up Ngaio Marsh chose for her 1938 novel
where Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn met the love of his life,
Agatha Troy. After meeting on the ship back to England and having a number of
encounters in which attraction to the other person makes each one nervous,
Alleyn and Troy left the ship thinking the other person had reason to dislike
them.
Their second meeting follows when a model for Troy, a
noted and successful painter, is murder in a particularly brutal manner. With
the wrong impression from earlier meetings, both people are sensitive to
anything that might implied continued dislike. But there are flashes on mutual
respect and adoration.
The usual supporting is in evidence, Detective-Inspector
Fox, the solid and dependable assistant who is comfortable with servants being
of their class, Nigel Bathgate, journalist and friend and Alleyn’s mother, Lady
Alleyn who hopes her bachelor son has finally found a potential wife.
Characters are well-drawn and three dimensional, the murder
is sufficiently tangled but clear and the author is fair with the readers. I
feel certain Marsh, as a Kiwi (New Zealand resident) enjoyed including an
Aussie (Australian) who had all the traits that Kiwis claim the Aussies have
when residents of this two countries banter back and forth.
This is another truly superb mystery that earns my highest
recommendation. Read this one before Murder
in a White Tie.
Warren, are you getting a kickback from the book store? because you are sending me there for new books all the time. This one sounds great!
ReplyDeleteHi, Warren! I haven't read Ngaio Marsh in forever and loved them then. There was a series on PBS way back when that prompted me to read the books. I'm thinking time to delve into them again.
ReplyDeleteAnother winner! Looking forward to reading (or re-reading) all of Marsh's books. I remember first reading them at my grandparent's beach cottage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for once again reminding us of one of the great mystery authors.
ReplyDeleteWarren, you got me hooked on writers from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, especially Ngaio Marsh. These books have a bit slower build-up to the murder, but that is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteWarren, another good review of a book I'm sure I'd enjoy. I need to go through my old books and see if I have a copy of this.
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