Christmas in the country, a diplomatic incident, and a mistake in a cemetery: Three more by Marsh.

I;m reaching the end of my re-reading of Marsh's books. Here are three n more reviews.

 

Ngaio Marsh. Tied Up in Tinsel (1972) It’s Christmas Season at Halberds Manor. Hilary Bill-Tasman, its proprietor, has collected a troupe of distinguished guests, including Troy. Collection of rarities is his passion. He has hired paroled murderers as his servants. So when his uncle’s manservant ends up dead, they appear to be the prime suspects. Alleyn, Fox & Co. of course prove otherwise,. We’re treated to another of Marsh’s reliably entertaining confections, an once again the comedie humaine is the focus of her narrative. Caste and class cause ructions, family secrets obscure the trail, personal quirks and shame prevent candid testimony. Well-done, with plausible psychology animating both the guilty and the innocent. Average for Marsh, hence **½
 

 

 

 

Ngaio Marsh. Black as He’s Painted (1974)
Bartholomew Opala, erstwhile classmate of Alleyn’s, now President of Ng’ombwana, an obscure but important African nation, barely escapes assassination at a lavish entertainment designed to publicise the excellent effects of his politics. Samuel Whipplestone, a retired Foreign Office civil servant with African expertise, helps Alleyn. Lucy Lockett, a small stray black cat, not only captures the heart of Samuel, but leads to the crucial clue that unravels the knot. A well-done puzzle, a handful of characters that break the boundaries of their stereotypes, and a cast of villains that suffer satisfyingly poetic justice, combine to make up a better than average Marsh. Entertaining read, especially if you like cats. ***

 

 

 

Ngaio Marsh Grave Mistake (1978) The title alludes to the exhumation that provides the final link in the chain of proof. The setting is an English village of the type that exists only in detective novels, but which nevertheless resonates with the ring of truth. Class and the desire for respectability, enough locally provided services and goods, traditional community organisations shaping and regulating people’s lives, polite refusal to acknowledge the secrets that everybody knows, all these and more create an abstract idealisation of England that no longer exists but still exerts enormous influence. Property is valuable, inheritances matter, old relationships between families have to be respected, and so on. And polite reticence and unwillingness to pry allows people to pretend to be what they are not.
     Like other Golden Age detective novelists, Marsh sketches what was then contemporary life. Her novels have now become historical novels, a kind that any current author could not achieve. I enjoyed this reread. Above average for Marsh. ***