R. C. Rogers. Painting and Lining Railway Models (1976)

      R. C. Rogers. Painting and Lining Railway Models (1976) Retitled and revised and reissued, but why? Most of the book is a discussion of paint technology, with much talk about resins, solvents, and thinners. This material is useful, but though the author refers to incompatibilities, he gives no specifics. A chart or table would have done better. The chapter that deals with techniques says almost nothing useful, and those few nuggets must be excavated by the reader. I’ve read articles in Model Railroader that provided more information in three pages than this book achieves in 62. A nearly useless book, and somewhat of a curiosity. Bomb (2007)

A. C. Kalmbach, compiler. The Model Railroader Cyclopedia Sixth Edition (1950)

     A. C. Kalmbach, compiler. The Model Railroader Cyclopedia Sixth Edition (1950) Plans, plans everywhere, plus a couple of articles on modelling techniques. Kalmbach used the MR archives to put this book together, and while it is not up to modern standards of draftsmanship and information, it is more than good enough as a source of modelling inspiration. Most plans are to 1/8" or 1/4" scale, as architect’s scales were easily obtainable then. 27 large fold-out drawings finish the book. The photos are as good as the printing technology of the time permitted. The layout is haphazard, with photos and plans sometimes separated by several pages, and sometimes not matching at all. But it’s fun to look through all the same. The article on general techniques for building model railroad cars is worth a second look. A treasure. *** (2007)

Colin Dexter. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1987)

     Colin Dexter. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1987) The murder of a guest at a New Year’s event arranged at a hotel leads Morse and Lewis on the hunt for wild goose and fishing for red herrings. Dexter has a taste for overly twisty plots, but his narrative trick of short scenes and serial-like final sentence for each chapter keeps the pages turning.
     When I read these books, I see John Thaw and Kevin Whately, which probably enhances the reading. The characterisation is cardboard, even for Morse and Lewis, who are a more of a collection of character tics than fully realised characters. Dexter’s omniscient narrator whispers the characters’ thoughts and feelings like secrets not to be repeated to the unauthorised. This creates an illusion of reality that keeps you going until you close the book, then the artificiality of the concoction strikes you. It’s interesting how such merely average books became one of the best mystery series on TV. This one is more average than usual; a pleasant enough way to spend a couple or three hours. **

Ngaio Marsh. Last Ditch (1977)

 

     Ngaio Marsh. Last Ditch (1977) Ricky, Troy and Roderick Alleyn’s son, has gone to a Channel Island (carefully unnamed) in order to work on his novel. He makes contact with the Pharamonds, old acquaintances of Alleyn’s. A riding accident turns out to be a murder, and drug running and secret philandering complicate the case. Ricky falls in love, and suffers for his naive notions of detecting, Alleyn comes close to committing a serious offence after Ricky has been beaten up by the two prime suspects, and once again, the drug case doesn’t give the desired results. But the murderer is unmasked, which is some comfort. Better than average, with Troy and Alleyn plausibly concerned parents. *** (2007. This was then end of the |Ngaio Marsh binge.)

Ngaio Marsh. When in Rome (1970) & Black as He’s Painted (1974)

     Ngaio Marsh. When in Rome (1970) Alleyn joins a tour group in order to keep tabs on a suspected drug dealer and perhaps use him as a conduit to one of the big boys. A woman who hisses and spits at the dealer shows up dead, and a day or two later, so does the dealer. Alleyn and the Italian police do their best, but do not get any further with the drug investigation. However, the murderer of the woman was the dealer, and the murderer of the dealer was one of the tourists. Not that Alleyn passes on that discovery, if only because there isn’t enough evidence to charge the man, let alone convict him. As a puzzle, oddly satisfying despite its lack of resolution. As a character study, too many cliches, not one of Marsh’s best. **
     Ngaio Marsh. Black as He’s Painted (1974) The ambassador of an emerging African country is murdered at a reception for that country’s president. Alleyn was one of the people detailed to provide security, which is bad enough. Worse, he was at school with the president, who trades on their friendship. Two whites who are about to return to the African country also die by violence. The murder at the embassy is somehow tied in with a nasty little white-supremacy group, and orchestrated to remove the ambassador, an old rival of the president’s. The other two murders arise from hate within that group, and provide the link between the two events. Only the second murderer is brought to justice; the first one may or may not meet his fate in the African country when he returns there. A lovely puzzle, more careful characterisation than usual, and a little black stray kitten make for a better than average Marsh. **½ (2007)

Ngaio Marsh. Hand in Glove (1962) & Clutch of Constables (1968)

     Ngaio Marsh. Hand in Glove (1962) The glove of the title is a clue to the identity of the murderer, who kills from misplaced love and an appalling lack of insight into both herself and her adopted ward. Along the way we meet a clutch of more or less unsavoury types, except of course the young lovers, who represent moral purity, even as Alleyn and his crew represent the avenging Furies who unmask evil. The red herring this time is snobbery, which has moved a central character to revise his past so that he can claim descent from a very old family.**½

     Ngaio Marsh. Clutch of Constables (1968) Troy, fatigued from the opening of her one-man show, decides to join a river cruise when a vacancy opens up because of a cancellation. The cancellation occurs because of a murder; the murderer is seriously wanted by the police; the cruise is a test of a new scam (the “discovery” of a [faked] Constable), and triggers another murder. Troy writes to Roderick, and her letters, Alleyn’s lecture on this very case (to a class at a police academy), and Marsh’s narrative interweave to produce a nicely varied point of view. Technically, Marsh’s most ambitious novel. Thematically, fairly straightforward, with a nicely done fusion of plot, character, and the themes of racism and mixed moral feelings and attitudes.

     One of Marsh’s best. ***½

2007: I went on a bit of Ngaio Marsh binge. ;-)

Ngaio Marsh. False Scent (1960)

     Ngaio Marsh. False Scent (1960) From the blurb: “Mary Bellamy, ageing darling of the London stage, holds a fiftieth birthday party: a gala where she has assembled everyone who loves her and fears her power....”
     Nevertheless, one of them dislikes her enough to off her, using a scent bottle filled with pesticide. Alleyn solves the puzzle in his usual unorthodox way. The whole action takes place in about 24 hours, making the novel a classic Greek tragedy. The theme is also tragic: the murderer is Bellamy’s husband, who cannot stand the thought that she is becoming something less than the perfection that she embodied when he married her. He dies, too, so all is (tragically) well.
     Some good bits of satire on theatre people, as well as the formulaic romantic subplot: a playwright and a ingenue actress fall in love despite themselves. Marsh does this subplot more than once, which suggests that she (or her audience) likes the idea. Wonder how it relates to her own love life (on which her bios are curiously discreet). Nicely done entertainment. Alleyn, Fox, et al. are as always too good to be true, but that’s what we want from them.**½ (2007)