Most of it I could likely have forgiven had I been able to understand Alleyn’s personality. Alleyn still struggles a bit, and I find my 2o18 enculturation stressed by the concept of detection mid-century. Still, Marsh is great at setting a scene and creating a mood.Ĭharacters were fun, with Marsh generally stressing the larger-than-life theater type personality. I’m not a period reader, so I couldn’t say what’s appropriate or not, but the colloquialisms seemed less ‘proper’ than expected. ‘Het up’ sticks out in my mind, as I believe the savoir and polished Alleyn used it (settle down: I’ve since looked it up and discovered it’s Scottish origins in the mid-19th c.), but it was interesting, as at least one reviewer was bothered by it. I noted the occasional interesting vocabulary word and but didn’t take the time to write any of them down. They were in their right environment and had become real.” They no longer seemed preposterous or even artificial. It was almost as though they had needed the stage and the lights to give them full solidity. “The players walked through the wings and stood quietly in a semi-circle. If the characters seem a bit daffy, it’s only because they are acting types, professionally inclined to perform:

A significant portion of the story takes place within the theater, and this part works well. The theater is examined, the company patted down, alibis checked. Detective Alleyn gets to work, with the faithful yet equally gullible Nigel as his note-taking sidekick. I’m probably a gullible reader, because I was as surprised with the murder as the audience, expecting someone else to be a better candidate. The two men take their seats and production of The Rat and the Beaver. So many potential targets for so many reasons. It’s a fabulous set-up, allowing the reader a bit of insight Alleyn doesn’t know yet, but also priming the tension for what is to come. The story continues with Nigel Bathgate, journalist, inviting his friend Detective Inspector Alleyn to a night at the theater and a chance to meet the crew before the show. It primes the reader for the confrontation, and gives initial insight into further interactions of the three. It opens with an unpleasant scene between producer Joseph Saint (born Simes) and his nephew, Arthur Surbonadier (also born Simes), followed by an equally unpleasant scene with Surbonadier and leading lady Stephanie Vaughan. Her knowledge of setting and characters is evident, and I can’t say that I thought any of it felt unrealistic or poorly done. To write it, she drew upon her knowledge of theater and the many types that surround the performing arts. Written in 1935, this was the second book for Ngaio Marsh, theater director and eventually one of the ‘greats’ in crime fiction writers. Read July 2018 Recommended for people who like Christie ★ ★ ★

Ngaio marsh enter a murderer