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Death in a White Tie

By Ngaio Marsh
Death in a White Tie A body in the back of a taxi begins an elegantly constructed mystery perhaps the finest of Marsh s s novels The season had begun Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons teas din

  • Title: Death in a White Tie
  • Author: Ngaio Marsh
  • ISBN: 9780006512578
  • Page: 247
  • Format: Paperback

    • A body in the back of a taxi begins an elegantly constructed mystery, perhaps the finest of Marsh s 1930s novels.The season had begun Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons, teas, dinners, balls And the blackmailer was planning his strategies, stalking his next victim.But Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn knew that something was up He had alreadA body in the back of a taxi begins an elegantly constructed mystery, perhaps the finest of Marsh s 1930s novels.The season had begun Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons, teas, dinners, balls And the blackmailer was planning his strategies, stalking his next victim.But Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn knew that something was up He had already planted his friend Lord Robert Gospell at the scene.But someone else got there first

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    Death in a White Tie

    About Author

    1. Ngaio Marsh says:
      Dame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.Of all the Great Ladies of the English mystery s golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s Over a fifty year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.Marsh s first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD 1934 , which she wrote in London in 1931 32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn a combination of Sayers s Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn Several novels feature Marsh s other loves, the theatre and painting A number are set around theatrical productions Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens , and two others are about actors off stage Final Curtain and False Scent Her short story I Can Find My Way Out is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier Jupiter case referred to in Opening Night Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation Artists in Crime , and who features in several later novels.Series Roderick Alleyn

    Comment 227 on “Death in a White Tie”

    1. Bettie☯ says:
      Description The season had begun Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons, teas and balls And the blackmailer was planning his strategies, stalking his next victim But Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn knew that something was up youtube watch v raP7USometimes a Golden Age whodunnit is my only weakness.3 A Man Lay Dead Roderick Alleyn, 1 2 Enter a Murderer Roderick Alleyn, 2 3 The Nursing Home Murder Roderick Alleyn, 3 WL Death in Ecstasy Roderick Alleyn, 4 WL Vintage Murder Roderic [...]
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    2. Bev says:
      Death in a White Tie is a reread for me I discovered Ngaio Marsh back at my hometown Carnegie Library moons ago than we need to count and I promptly read through all the Marsh books they had Later, about twenty years ago, I read some of them again and Death in a White Tie was one simply because it s one of my favorites There are so many things I enjoy about this tale of murder and blackmail amongst the London Society at the height of the Season from the witty dialogue, to the scenes at the vari [...]
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    3. Bruce says:
      Death in a White Tie was a very pleasant surprise for me I ve read three other Marsh mysteries, and found them dull and blandly written I had this on my shelf, and thought I d start it, give it my usual 50 pages, then get rid of it I was hooked, however, because of how vividly the fictional world is imagined The victim is a truly interesting, sympathetic character, and I experienced real outrage and puzzlement at his demise I felt I had a vested interest in accompanying the detective, Roderick A [...]
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    4. FangirlNation says:
      As we continue our survey of the books of Ngaio Marsh, we get to what is perhaps my favorite book, 1938 s Death in a White Tie Someone has been actively blackmailing socialites amid those doing the season, when debutantes go to balls to look for a husband Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn seeks out the help of Lord Robert Bunchy Gospell, who has helped Scotland Yard in the past, to help him find the culprit Bunchy, around the age of 50, is popular with everyone of all ages who go to even [...]
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    5. Nikki says:
      I think this is the first Alleyn mystery where I genuinely felt for the victim, which helped greatly in my enjoyment of the story It s the first one where you spend part of the book following the victim closely, too, and where Alleyn has personal feelings on the matter, both of which I think are relevant I know that the trope of the personally involved detective can be exasperating and Alleyn even refers to it, in one of those unsubtle bits of meta but at least it s another way for the reader to [...]
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    6. Jasmine says:
      I listened to Benedict Cumberbatch s reading of this book, so I don t know if it counts as my reading My full intention was to enjoy BC s voice, but I end up very absorbed in the story Traditional Agatha, Troy style mystery, upper class setting, sympathetic characters and amusing tone Engaging but not heavy.
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    7. Helga says:
      Adoro estes policiais de poca, onde n o existia DNA e laborat rios criminais, o desfecho para mim foi inesperado, e gostei muito.Ser suficiente dizer que li no 1 dia 50 p ginas, no 2 e 3 n o li com uma grande constipa o e febre e depois acabei o livro de uma assentada Genial
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    8. Theresa says:
      I never used to read mysteries Several years ago, my now retired librarian friend pointed out mysteries as literature to me, and I started right in Switching between some contemporary mystery authors and some from the golden age of mystery writing, I find that I do have a few favorite authors, and Ngaio Marsh is one of them.Who could have possibly wanted to harm Lord Robert Gospell Introduced to the reader as a mild, well liked, kind gentleman, he is also much with it than many realize In fact, [...]
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    9. Laura says:
      This is the seventh novel of the Roderick Alleyn series and it was first published in 1938 This series comprises a total of 32 books.Roderick Alleyn belongs firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction which is a type of fiction which was predominant in the 1920s and 1930s According to Wiki, many of the authors of the Golden Age were British Margery Allingham 1904 1966 , Anthony Berkeley aka Francis Iles, 1893 1971 , Agatha Christie 1890 1976 , Freeman Wills Crofts 1879 1957 , R Austin Freeman [...]
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    10. Sandi says:
      I would say this is my favourite Marsh mystery so far as it was a quick and delightful read I think I prefer Marsh to Christie because the story tends to elaborate on the victim and suspects than around the detective snoop Detective Alleyn and his friends and family are central to the stories but as a nice aside unlike Christie s Hercule etc Where a single character tends to dominate.If you re a Ngaio fan I m pretty sure you ll enjoy this as the characters are engaging and the mystery has enoug [...]
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    11. Susan says:
      When someone in the 1930 s said they were coming out as they do on the first page of the book , it was a very different type of out than we might think of today In the 30 s, of course, in Britain, it was young women coming out into society, and how grueling it must have been Alleyn knows several of the people who become suspects, and one of his good friends meets an untimely death, causing real anguish to Alleyn And again as the series moves forward, Alleyn becomes human and personal and finall [...]
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    12. Ellen says:
      First Ngaio Marsh read and it was a blessed surprise Roderick Alleyn is a Scotland Yard detective and thus an entirely different sort from Holmes Father Brown Lord Peter any of the other classic I m smart and I do my own thing types, but I enjoyed him his approach immensely Heartstrings are tugged when a the victim is a close friend of Alleyn s, and b Alleyn struggles with his feelings for Troy who I liked a great deal Overall, a great read Audiobook read by Benedict Cumberbatch Amen.
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    13. Andrea says:
      There s an interesting juxtaposition in this book between Alleyn s upper classness and his awareness of people who don t quite fit in, like the embarrassed secretary and the young Jewish girl who is hating her experience of being thrust onto the London season Of course, it s a demonstration of Alleyn s empathy and good breeding, but the reader may feel just a little uncomfortable at his well bred pity.Reasonably good narrator.
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    14. Pendragonish says:
      One of my favorite Marsh s and one of the rare times a murder mystery has left me with an itch over loss the victim long after the book is done Lord Robert is so finely, lovingly crafted a character that when his light goes out the reader grieves him Marsh was a master of her craft.
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    15. aPriL does feral sometimes says:
      The various characters are exceptionally well drawn, not cookie cutter people at all.
      Reply

    16. Melissa says:
      I will admit that the original purpose of choosing this particular book was because the audio version had an amazing narrator, Benedict Cumberbatch While it is true that I swoon at the sound of his voice, he also happens to have a wonderful talent for reading I especially enjoy that he does voices Listening to the audiobook was like listening to a radio show done by many people and less like a book being read by one man As someone who has a hard time staying interested in one thing for very lon [...]
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    17. Meg says:
      It s probably unfair that I swallow Sayers tortured lovers and strain at Alleyn and Troy There s striking similarity in the way the pairs are covered Older bachelors assured and dominant in the rest of life, they turn to jello at the feet of their respective prickly artistic dark mistresses Both run to their lady mothers for encouragement Alleyn unfortunately doesn t have the charisma to pull it off, and he utters lines so stiff even Mr Darcy would blush What is this intolerable love that forces [...]
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    18. Rog Harrison says:
      I first came across the author s books in the early 1960s and I think I have read most of them, some of them several times I think I have read this one before but if I had I did not remember it It was first published in 1938 and is a bit of a period piece but has a great deal of charm Unlike Agatha Christie, and perhaps Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh was happy to write about posh people whilst also poking fun at them By no means her best story but definitely worth a read.I read this in the omnibus [...]
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    19. Miles says:
      Typical Marsh well done social observation albeit among aristocratic twits for first quarter, followed by interminable, dull who was where when interrogations of too many suspects led by the colorless and bland aristocrat policeman Alleyn The victim is a well drawn character the reader genuinely comes to like, yet the unmasking of his murderer when it comes is surprisingly anticlimactic and noncathartic Unconvincing love scenes between Alleyn and Agatha Troy.
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    20. George says:
      Typical Marsh Inspector Roderick Allen of Scotland Yard mystery One of her earlier ones written in the late 1930 s Plot involves black mail, murder, and associated relationship problems involving the British upper class There are many issues which need to be resolved in order to solve the mysterywhich leads to many twists.
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    21. Jean says:
      So, so great Practically the perfect murder mystery intricately plotted, beautifully told, and peopled with quirky, funny, interesting characters The only flaw is the romance subplot, which was pretty bad Not as unbearable as Lord Peter and Harriet Vane mind you, but very nearly.
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    22. Dawn says:
      Only my second book in this series but it s better than the first one I read I liked this debutante setting and the characters, I think it would be rather hard not to like Roderick s mother, she seems like a great lady.
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    23. Felicia says:
      Excellent The characters in this one are great You really should read the book before this one to appreciate it.
      Reply

    24. Elsa Ramos says:
      Excelente Para Mim que sou uma F de Policiais este Livro foi uma Agrad vel Suspresa Gostei Imenso E N o, eu N o consegui descobrir quem era o Assassino
      Reply

    25. Katrina says:
      I really enjoyed this one with its unusual setting in high society and the hypocrisy of the whole debutante system I think this is the best Marsh book I ve read so far.
      Reply

    26. Karen says:
      Book flowed well This is a better one of this series.
      Reply


    28. russell barnes says:
      Lord knows I love a bit of Dotty L Sayers, but what do you do when you ve almost read all her golden age crime novels and she s been dead for 60 years Fortunately the second hand book shops of Blighty seem to be replete with fellow Queen of Crime, Dame Ngaio Marsh s Inspector Alleyn series Handily enough usually in Green Penguin format, and even better, pretty much a carbon of the Wimsey format, only seen through the prisim of Dame Ngaio s less than effusive Kiwi upbringing It s flipping brillia [...]
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    29. Jj Li says:
      Alleyn being human makes this one of my favourite Roderick Alleyns I felt genuinely bad for Bunchie, and I didn t like any the suspects All tiresome, either as stereotypical old people or stereotypical young people, or stereotypical middle aged people , which always puts me off a mystery, but I really enjoyed Alleyn in this story Turns out the murderer is the least offensive person, which I actually did not anticipate this time around, but it was still quite a satisfying ending to the mystery I [...]
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    30. Maria Laura says:
      The five stars are for the narrator, Benedict Cumberbatch, which adds a special something, everything, to any reading.And regarding the story, it was fine I didn t read the printed version, which is not abridged like this one of course maybe this is not in its favour Still, it s worth while listening to And, I dare say that anything read by BC worths the while.
      Reply

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