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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
It’s 84 years since Dame Ngaio Marsh published the first Roderick Alleyn novel. Now he’s back, in a crime novel outlined by Marsh during the Second World War and completed by Stella Duffy in 2018. Review at Newtown Review of Books
cardica's review against another edition
4.0
In fifth place for our 2020 recommendations on Death of the Reader comes the wonderful Money in the Morgue. This one was conceived by the late [a:Ngaio Marsh|68144|Ngaio Marsh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237946649p2/68144.jpg] but continued and completed by [a:Stella Duffy|43223|Stella Duffy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1356001503p2/43223.jpg], who we had the absolute pleasure of interrogating about the process recently on Death of the Reader.
The story takes place in the New Zealand wilderness, as a storm approaches and threatens to seal off a military hospital camp from the outside world, we are challenged by the combined wits of Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy to penetrate this closed circle of suspects when a murder most foul is committed within the camp walls. It’s a classic muder mystery setup but what really elevates this story above the rest is the characters, and as someone who cares about nothing but characters, this was a perfect story to flick through at a slow and steady pace. Duffy has made it no secret that the plot is based off [b:A Midsummer Night's Dream|1622|A Midsummer Night's Dream|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874534l/1622._SY75_.jpg|894834] by [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586700347p2/947.jpg], and as such there are not only a diverse cast of characters, including the old and grouchy Mr Glossop, placed in charge of the camp’s treasury which also disappears during the night, the secretaries and nurses you would expect to see running the camp from behind the scenes and going under appreciated, but also the soldiers themselves, who represent the Maori culture of New Zealand and each and every group of this story adds a little piece to the puzzle, the mystery encouraging us to categorise them but then slowly take apart each of the smaller groups in an attempt to find the killer of the story and to ascertain the broader scope of the tale.
This part of the story is clued in to us via the detective themself, Roderick Alleyn. Reimagined for this role they are a far cry from the needlessly testosterone fueled idol of masculinity that we’re familiar with but rather takes a softer approach and throughout the second act as we gather clues and motivations sifting through the events of the night (which unfortunately does involve some time-based puzzles but I suppose we can’t have everything) and just as we sit down with each of the characters Alleyn does his best to coach them into cooperating with him, acting not just as a detective but almost as psychologist as many of the characters are suffering from heartbreak or the loss of a loved one or both through the story and it’s up to Alleyn not just to put the pieces together and save the day but to determine whether every mystery being hidden is worth exposing to the outside world, and he approaches the story and the individual mysteries with a care and love rarely seen in murder mystery canon.
Truthfully Money in The Morgue’s biggest downfall is also its greatest strength. It’s just too much fun. The story builds a promise of international espionage and real estate dealings and bottomless cave-pits which are really just a metaphor for the depths of the sin of the criminals in this tale. But with all that setup a large part of the story is bumbled through right at the last minute. Flex and I both agree that it works as comedy gold and that the strong structure and nuanced characters of the novel carry the story through to the finish line, but the whole thing turns into something reminiscent of a Simpsons caper right as the curtain is preparing to drop and if you’re not expecting this it can throw you for a loop. It’s a bit like if Good Murder had just been a regular murder mystery novel but kept its farcical end chapter because the author just thought it was funny. This is a book you read for entertainment and a good story above all else, and of course if you want an excellent example of how to reimagine an older detective with all his flaws for a modern audience. Stella Duffy has put forward tremendous effort and passion to bring Roderick Alleyn and Ngaio Marsh’s strong spirit into a modern murder mystery. And it is clear that she has a great love for the source material and for the works that turned Marsh into the queen of crime we know her as. For that alone I think it is worth your time.
You can hear our full thoughts and our discussion with Stella Duffy about this book up on the Death of the Reader podcast. Thanks to Stella for joining us on the show!
The story takes place in the New Zealand wilderness, as a storm approaches and threatens to seal off a military hospital camp from the outside world, we are challenged by the combined wits of Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy to penetrate this closed circle of suspects when a murder most foul is committed within the camp walls. It’s a classic muder mystery setup but what really elevates this story above the rest is the characters, and as someone who cares about nothing but characters, this was a perfect story to flick through at a slow and steady pace. Duffy has made it no secret that the plot is based off [b:A Midsummer Night's Dream|1622|A Midsummer Night's Dream|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874534l/1622._SY75_.jpg|894834] by [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586700347p2/947.jpg], and as such there are not only a diverse cast of characters, including the old and grouchy Mr Glossop, placed in charge of the camp’s treasury which also disappears during the night, the secretaries and nurses you would expect to see running the camp from behind the scenes and going under appreciated, but also the soldiers themselves, who represent the Maori culture of New Zealand and each and every group of this story adds a little piece to the puzzle, the mystery encouraging us to categorise them but then slowly take apart each of the smaller groups in an attempt to find the killer of the story and to ascertain the broader scope of the tale.
This part of the story is clued in to us via the detective themself, Roderick Alleyn. Reimagined for this role they are a far cry from the needlessly testosterone fueled idol of masculinity that we’re familiar with but rather takes a softer approach and throughout the second act as we gather clues and motivations sifting through the events of the night (which unfortunately does involve some time-based puzzles but I suppose we can’t have everything) and just as we sit down with each of the characters Alleyn does his best to coach them into cooperating with him, acting not just as a detective but almost as psychologist as many of the characters are suffering from heartbreak or the loss of a loved one or both through the story and it’s up to Alleyn not just to put the pieces together and save the day but to determine whether every mystery being hidden is worth exposing to the outside world, and he approaches the story and the individual mysteries with a care and love rarely seen in murder mystery canon.
Truthfully Money in The Morgue’s biggest downfall is also its greatest strength. It’s just too much fun. The story builds a promise of international espionage and real estate dealings and bottomless cave-pits which are really just a metaphor for the depths of the sin of the criminals in this tale. But with all that setup a large part of the story is bumbled through right at the last minute. Flex and I both agree that it works as comedy gold and that the strong structure and nuanced characters of the novel carry the story through to the finish line, but the whole thing turns into something reminiscent of a Simpsons caper right as the curtain is preparing to drop and if you’re not expecting this it can throw you for a loop. It’s a bit like if Good Murder had just been a regular murder mystery novel but kept its farcical end chapter because the author just thought it was funny. This is a book you read for entertainment and a good story above all else, and of course if you want an excellent example of how to reimagine an older detective with all his flaws for a modern audience. Stella Duffy has put forward tremendous effort and passion to bring Roderick Alleyn and Ngaio Marsh’s strong spirit into a modern murder mystery. And it is clear that she has a great love for the source material and for the works that turned Marsh into the queen of crime we know her as. For that alone I think it is worth your time.
You can hear our full thoughts and our discussion with Stella Duffy about this book up on the Death of the Reader podcast. Thanks to Stella for joining us on the show!
johndomc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A nice mix of both action and reflection, promised from the first paragraph. “He made angry jabs with his blunt forefinger at the dial — and to its faint and responsive tinkling an invisible curtain rose upon a series of events that were to be confined within the dark hours of that short midsummer night, bounded between dusk and dawn.” The book took a while to get the players introduced and the stage set, but it was a pleasant while, with each detail worthy of suspicion. And then, about a quarter of the way through, the action took off. We ran with the inspector from one fire to another, the picture first complicating and then beginning to resolve, always with both progress and doubt. And we got to see Marsh and Duffy’s native New Zealand countryside : to smell the roses and the dark earth and the wet rock, hear the possums and morepork; to duck for the crash of thunder in a land still young with earthquakes, see the spine of the mountains and the flat plains and overhead the dark-spangled cloak of the Milky Way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Terminal illness and War
kiramke's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
I'm wary of books drafted by one author and finished by a new one, or books flat-out written in the style of an older author, maybe just because we collectively have been burned so many times before. But this was genuinely well done. It reads like Ngaio Marsh, is very faithful to her voice and just avoids the few questionable shades of opinion that have popped up occasionally in the past. Moreover, the story and writing are tighter than the last few books, very much returning her to the height of her writing. Brava.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
New Zealand. December 1942. Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn is undercover at Mount Seager Hospital, working on a top secret mission to uncover the meaning behind coded radio messages that have been intercepted. His cover as writer in need of rest and quiet for his nerves allows him to remain anonymous while waiting for sight or sound that will help him with his mission. One everning as a storm breaks over the hospital grounds, he finds that it never rains, but pours. A floodgate of mysterious events is about to be opened.
Mr. Glossop is the courier for the pay packets of various government establishments in the area. His elderly van busts a tire (as he has warned the powers-that-be it will for months) and he is stranded at the hospital for the night. Not that it matters much. The raging storm washes away bits of the bridge on the only available road--making the trip a dangerous prospect at best. Matron Ashdown insists that he deposit the remaining wages in the hospital's safe to spend the night safely tucked away with the hundred pounds winnings of hospital clerk Rosamund Farquharson (whose horse has proven lucky).
That same night, Sydney Brown, the grandson of an elderly man who has been on the edge of expiration for quite some time, has finally come to his grandfather's deathbed--just in time for the man's last moments. There is some confusion over getting word to Matron and the hospital porter, in what seems to be a drunken fit, pushes the trolley with the man in a body bag back and forth between the morgue and the office.
Meanwhile, a restless Mr. Glossop, cooped up in a hot, airless room decides he'd rather sleep with his cot lodged in front of the safe and moves to the matron's office. The entire establishment soon echoes with the courier's cries of "Thief! Robbers! Safe. Thief. Help! Thief. No!" after he finds the safe open and most horribly empty. Alleyn is forced to break cover and begin an investigation and the first thing he notices is that the body bag doesn't seem to be quite as full as it ought to be. Expecting to find the missing money bag, he (and all gathered round) are astonished to find that Mr. Brown's body is indeed gone, but it has been replaced not with stolen loot but with another corpse. Alleyn must get to the bottom of the theft, missing corspe, and murder, all while keeping an eye out for clues that will help him with his true mission at the hospital. He has one long night ahead of him and he deputizes Sergeant Bix, commander of the servicemen who are recuperating at the hospital, to act in the stead of his trusted friend Inspector Fox.
Continuation novels and brand new stories featuring beloved characters are almost always an iffy prospect. There have, of course, been a fairly good number of excellent Sherlock Homes novels written by others. But there has also been numerous really bad ones. I was thrilled when I heard that Jill Paton Walsh was going to used Sayers' source materials and give Lord Peter fans Thrones, Dominations and another chance to read about their favorite sleuth. That story was okay, but nothing like what Sayers would have given us herself. I've read all the others because I love Lord Peter and I kept hoping she'd get it more absolutely right (she never made it as far as I'm concerned). After reading reviews by bloggers I respected, I have completely ignored all of the Sophie Hannah novels about Poirot--I wasn't up to seeing Poirot through Hannah's eyes. The word on the blogging street about Money in the Morgue was generally positive, so when I found it would help me with one the reading challenges I'm doing I decided to give Duffy's rendering of Inspector Alleyn a try.
Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable book. The plot has a number of twists and turns and I can say that I did not see the finale coming at all. The new characters are interesting as are their interactions. I'm not quite sure that she got Alleyn right--particularly when he was interviewing suspects. I liked him best when he was interacting with Sergeant Bix. It definitely reminded me of Alleyn and Brer Fox. A random thought I had was on the naming of the sergeant. I'd be interested to know how complete the chapters Marsh left were and if all the primary characters were named as they appear in the final product. Whether Marsh left a complete roster or Duffy provided/changed any names, I also wonder if Bix was a deliberate attempt to parallel Inspector Fox as the military man steps in as Alleyn's right-hand man for the investigation. Somehow, I think if the sergeant had held the moniker Bassington or some such polysyllabic or hyphenated surname then it wouldn't have been the same.
A major conceit of the book is a connection with A Midsummer Night's Dream. On the one hand, this rings true as the entire night's events have a very dream-like (though I think the participants may opt for nightmarish) quality. Everything happens in the dark and certain events seem to happen in slow-motion. There is also an almost fairy-like glow in the hidden cave that Alleyn investigates at one point. And Alleyn, of course, is known for quoting Shakespeare. However, I don't see a correlation between our characters and those in the play. Alleyn refers to himself as Puck--but that only works for me if you view Puck as the closest thing to a protagonist in the play. Alleyn certainly is not mischievous and the only "tricks" he plays on anyone is "playing" them (as he calls it) to try and get them to tell the truth about the night's events.
This mystery should work really well for those who like their detective fiction in the Golden Age style but may not yet know Marsh's detective. It definitely has the right flavor. It also works for those of us who aren't quite as picky about Inspector Alleyn as we are about other classic detectives (Lord Peter and Poirot--for me) and don't mind if everything rings absolutely true or not. It has a good plot with surprises and provides a lovely view of the New Zealand countryside during the WWII years. ★★★ and 3/4...not quite a full four.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review.
Mr. Glossop is the courier for the pay packets of various government establishments in the area. His elderly van busts a tire (as he has warned the powers-that-be it will for months) and he is stranded at the hospital for the night. Not that it matters much. The raging storm washes away bits of the bridge on the only available road--making the trip a dangerous prospect at best. Matron Ashdown insists that he deposit the remaining wages in the hospital's safe to spend the night safely tucked away with the hundred pounds winnings of hospital clerk Rosamund Farquharson (whose horse has proven lucky).
That same night, Sydney Brown, the grandson of an elderly man who has been on the edge of expiration for quite some time, has finally come to his grandfather's deathbed--just in time for the man's last moments. There is some confusion over getting word to Matron and the hospital porter, in what seems to be a drunken fit, pushes the trolley with the man in a body bag back and forth between the morgue and the office.
Meanwhile, a restless Mr. Glossop, cooped up in a hot, airless room decides he'd rather sleep with his cot lodged in front of the safe and moves to the matron's office. The entire establishment soon echoes with the courier's cries of "Thief! Robbers! Safe. Thief. Help! Thief. No!" after he finds the safe open and most horribly empty. Alleyn is forced to break cover and begin an investigation and the first thing he notices is that the body bag doesn't seem to be quite as full as it ought to be. Expecting to find the missing money bag, he (and all gathered round) are astonished to find that Mr. Brown's body is indeed gone, but it has been replaced not with stolen loot but with another corpse. Alleyn must get to the bottom of the theft, missing corspe, and murder, all while keeping an eye out for clues that will help him with his true mission at the hospital. He has one long night ahead of him and he deputizes Sergeant Bix, commander of the servicemen who are recuperating at the hospital, to act in the stead of his trusted friend Inspector Fox.
Continuation novels and brand new stories featuring beloved characters are almost always an iffy prospect. There have, of course, been a fairly good number of excellent Sherlock Homes novels written by others. But there has also been numerous really bad ones. I was thrilled when I heard that Jill Paton Walsh was going to used Sayers' source materials and give Lord Peter fans Thrones, Dominations and another chance to read about their favorite sleuth. That story was okay, but nothing like what Sayers would have given us herself. I've read all the others because I love Lord Peter and I kept hoping she'd get it more absolutely right (she never made it as far as I'm concerned). After reading reviews by bloggers I respected, I have completely ignored all of the Sophie Hannah novels about Poirot--I wasn't up to seeing Poirot through Hannah's eyes. The word on the blogging street about Money in the Morgue was generally positive, so when I found it would help me with one the reading challenges I'm doing I decided to give Duffy's rendering of Inspector Alleyn a try.
Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable book. The plot has a number of twists and turns and I can say that I did not see the finale coming at all. The new characters are interesting as are their interactions. I'm not quite sure that she got Alleyn right--particularly when he was interviewing suspects. I liked him best when he was interacting with Sergeant Bix. It definitely reminded me of Alleyn and Brer Fox. A random thought I had was on the naming of the sergeant. I'd be interested to know how complete the chapters Marsh left were and if all the primary characters were named as they appear in the final product. Whether Marsh left a complete roster or Duffy provided/changed any names, I also wonder if Bix was a deliberate attempt to parallel Inspector Fox as the military man steps in as Alleyn's right-hand man for the investigation. Somehow, I think if the sergeant had held the moniker Bassington or some such polysyllabic or hyphenated surname then it wouldn't have been the same.
A major conceit of the book is a connection with A Midsummer Night's Dream. On the one hand, this rings true as the entire night's events have a very dream-like (though I think the participants may opt for nightmarish) quality. Everything happens in the dark and certain events seem to happen in slow-motion. There is also an almost fairy-like glow in the hidden cave that Alleyn investigates at one point. And Alleyn, of course, is known for quoting Shakespeare. However, I don't see a correlation between our characters and those in the play. Alleyn refers to himself as Puck--but that only works for me if you view Puck as the closest thing to a protagonist in the play. Alleyn certainly is not mischievous and the only "tricks" he plays on anyone is "playing" them (as he calls it) to try and get them to tell the truth about the night's events.
This mystery should work really well for those who like their detective fiction in the Golden Age style but may not yet know Marsh's detective. It definitely has the right flavor. It also works for those of us who aren't quite as picky about Inspector Alleyn as we are about other classic detectives (Lord Peter and Poirot--for me) and don't mind if everything rings absolutely true or not. It has a good plot with surprises and provides a lovely view of the New Zealand countryside during the WWII years. ★★★ and 3/4...not quite a full four.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review.
angela_king's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
emmkayt's review against another edition
3.0
This was a work in progress at the time of Ngaio Marsh's death, and it has now been completed by Stella Duffy. It's a solid read, if not a super-exciting one, and ably maintains the feel of the series - which I enjoyed re-visiting, having read the Alleyn mysteries in my teens.
nikkisbooknook's review against another edition
4.0
I became hooked on the original books, which my grandad had every one of! Along with Agatha Christine, Dame Ngaio was the queen of the upper crust mystery novel! They were a great escape for me as a kid - seeing how the other half lived back in the 20s and 30s.
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is undertaking some secret squirrel work on NZ during the 2nd world war. He is currently within a rural hospital undercover. Set over one long, drearily wet night the story moves along at a brisk pace but with all the usual red herrings that you expect.
Theft of payroll money, spies, misguided romance and treacherous friends - what a fab read. Great mix of characters and the locations are stunning.
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is undertaking some secret squirrel work on NZ during the 2nd world war. He is currently within a rural hospital undercover. Set over one long, drearily wet night the story moves along at a brisk pace but with all the usual red herrings that you expect.
Theft of payroll money, spies, misguided romance and treacherous friends - what a fab read. Great mix of characters and the locations are stunning.