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shellydennison's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
michael5000's review
3.0
Serial fiction written during The War is often more interesting as social document than as fiction. This episode of Marsh's series has a few things going for it, though. It's always kind of fun when she gets to actually bring her show to New Zealand, and the intense remoteness of the sheep-station setting helps her keep tight control over a short list of suspects. Plus, this is a novel with a very lively corpse -- she's dead for the bulk of the book, but the late departed is a real larger-than-life personality. The dismount feels a bit arbitrary, though, and of course one misses Foxkins.
naluju's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
the_maggieg's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.5
maplessence's review against another edition
3.0
A little disappointing
This was a reread for me, but from a long time ago.
The main thing that surprised me was how little this murder mystery evoked New Zealand for me, in spite of the setting on a South Island sheep farm. This was because the majority of the main characters were either British or had strong British links, so this felt like any other early Marsh with people fond of melodramatic utterances. The exceptions were the murder victim herself, who really seemed so much like a female NZ MP. A remarkable characterisation, especially NZ only got their first female MP in 1933 & this title was first published in 1945. & the other was a minor character, the laconic Jack Merrywether. The Kiwi touches in the last third really improved though.
I guessed the murderer quite easily & also the one red herring.
The Reading the Detectives Group is reading Marsh in the order they were written. I'll rejoin them for [b:Death at the Dolphin|13355758|Death at the Dolphin (Roderick Alleyn, #24)|Ngaio Marsh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1376570736s/13355758.jpg|446445] at the end of the year.
A little Marsh goes a long way with me.
This was a reread for me, but from a long time ago.
The main thing that surprised me was how little this murder mystery evoked New Zealand for me, in spite of the setting on a South Island sheep farm. This was because the majority of the main characters were either British or had strong British links, so this felt like any other early Marsh with people fond of melodramatic utterances. The exceptions were the murder victim herself, who really seemed so much like a female NZ MP. A remarkable characterisation, especially NZ only got their first female MP in 1933 & this title was first published in 1945. & the other was a minor character, the laconic Jack Merrywether. The Kiwi touches in the last third really improved though.
I guessed the murderer quite easily & also the one red herring.
The Reading the Detectives Group is reading Marsh in the order they were written. I'll rejoin them for [b:Death at the Dolphin|13355758|Death at the Dolphin (Roderick Alleyn, #24)|Ngaio Marsh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1376570736s/13355758.jpg|446445] at the end of the year.
A little Marsh goes a long way with me.
attytheresa's review against another edition
3.0
It's the middle of WWII, 1943 to be exact, when Inspector Alleyn is sent to the antipodes to investigate a murder on a remote sheep farm while also sniffing out just who is leaking military weapon development secrets from the R & D lab located there. The higher ups suspect there is a connection. The murder mystery opens with Alleyn being picked up at a cross roads in the middle of nowhere by Fabian, the current owner of Mount Moon homestead was eighty years old and that is a great age for a house in the antipodes. Fabian inherited Mount Moon from his uncle Arthur. It is Arthur's wife Flossie who was murdered, found smushed in a sheep bale sent to market. Fabian is also half of the team of researchers developing some weaponry for the military on the farm. The other half of the team is Captain Douglas Grace, Flossie's nephew, heir to her money, and former military. His accent was slightly antipodean but his manners were formal. He called Alleyn ‘sir’ each time he spoke to him. Yes, he's just as irritating and pompous as he sounds.
Also on the ranch, having remained after Flossie's death are Ursula who was taken under Flossie's wing when orphaned, currently in love with Fabian, and Terence [who] had been five years in New Zealand. Equipped with a knowledge of shorthand and typing and six letters of recommendation, including one from the High Commissioner in London to Flossie herself, she had sought her fortune in the antipodes. Also on the farm at the time Flossie was murdered was her husband Arthur, an older man in ill-health who died not long after his wife.
Then there is Flossie herself who thought she was a riotous success with the men working the sheep, addressing them with a pose of easy jocularity that set their teeth on edge. They took it, with a private grin, I fancy. She imagined she had converted them to a sort of antipodean feudal system. Basically, Flossie was pretty solidly unlikeable although she was a popular politician representing her antipodean district both in the antipodes and in England.
This is only one of 4 mysteries that antipodean Queen of Crime [a:Ngaio Marsh|68144|Ngaio Marsh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237946649p2/68144.jpg] set in the antipodes. The structure of this mystery in the antipodes is classic for the era (written in the 40s): Upon Alleyn's arrival at the farm, all gather in the drawing room beneath Flossie's portrait to tell their version of events while Alleyn takes notes and occasionally interposes a question. It's like a grand confessional. Many many clues are dropped, lies told, information omitted but as each person's story unfolds (each gets a chapter) and a few events happen over the next couple of days, Alleyn of course completes both his missions just as he's yearning to leave the antipodes and head back home to his wife Troy and England.
It took me a while to settle into the vocabulary and style both because it is dated and because (I suspect) it is antipodean. The style is one not used so much these days by crime fiction writers and that actually was rather refreshing as was being in the antipodes on a sheep farm. Also, there is something about the tone that is overly arch, like fast paced dialogue in a sophisticated comedy of the era. Which of course is no surprise given the author's love of and work in the antipodean theater. In fact, it's very like reading or even watching a play -- dialogue driven, with monologues interspersed with action and interruptions, and the ending comes as a curtain dropping shocker - unless you have followed all the clues to the only conclusion it could be.
This was great fun and definitely has me wanting to revisit more of one of the grand dames of mystery. It was also fun to read something so antipodal, an antipodean mystery that was written contemporaneiously with the period of the mystery but to us reads like an historical novel full of period detail like using candlelight because in rural areas of the antipodes electricity was expensive and not generally available the more remote you were.
And just in case you are wondering:
Antipodean
/anˌtipəˈdēən/
adjective
1.
relating to Australia or New Zealand (used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere):
"Antipodean wines"
noun
1.
a person from Australia or New Zealand (used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere):
"a brisk Antipodean, she moved with speed and efficiency"
New Zealand is frequently described as the Antipodes due to its location on the far ends of the Southern Hemisphere. At least in the 40s.
Also on the ranch, having remained after Flossie's death are Ursula who was taken under Flossie's wing when orphaned, currently in love with Fabian, and Terence [who] had been five years in New Zealand. Equipped with a knowledge of shorthand and typing and six letters of recommendation, including one from the High Commissioner in London to Flossie herself, she had sought her fortune in the antipodes. Also on the farm at the time Flossie was murdered was her husband Arthur, an older man in ill-health who died not long after his wife.
Then there is Flossie herself who thought she was a riotous success with the men working the sheep, addressing them with a pose of easy jocularity that set their teeth on edge. They took it, with a private grin, I fancy. She imagined she had converted them to a sort of antipodean feudal system. Basically, Flossie was pretty solidly unlikeable although she was a popular politician representing her antipodean district both in the antipodes and in England.
This is only one of 4 mysteries that antipodean Queen of Crime [a:Ngaio Marsh|68144|Ngaio Marsh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237946649p2/68144.jpg] set in the antipodes. The structure of this mystery in the antipodes is classic for the era (written in the 40s): Upon Alleyn's arrival at the farm, all gather in the drawing room beneath Flossie's portrait to tell their version of events while Alleyn takes notes and occasionally interposes a question. It's like a grand confessional. Many many clues are dropped, lies told, information omitted but as each person's story unfolds (each gets a chapter) and a few events happen over the next couple of days, Alleyn of course completes both his missions just as he's yearning to leave the antipodes and head back home to his wife Troy and England.
It took me a while to settle into the vocabulary and style both because it is dated and because (I suspect) it is antipodean. The style is one not used so much these days by crime fiction writers and that actually was rather refreshing as was being in the antipodes on a sheep farm. Also, there is something about the tone that is overly arch, like fast paced dialogue in a sophisticated comedy of the era. Which of course is no surprise given the author's love of and work in the antipodean theater. In fact, it's very like reading or even watching a play -- dialogue driven, with monologues interspersed with action and interruptions, and the ending comes as a curtain dropping shocker - unless you have followed all the clues to the only conclusion it could be.
This was great fun and definitely has me wanting to revisit more of one of the grand dames of mystery. It was also fun to read something so antipodal, an antipodean mystery that was written contemporaneiously with the period of the mystery but to us reads like an historical novel full of period detail like using candlelight because in rural areas of the antipodes electricity was expensive and not generally available the more remote you were.
And just in case you are wondering:
Antipodean
/anˌtipəˈdēən/
adjective
1.
relating to Australia or New Zealand (used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere):
"Antipodean wines"
noun
1.
a person from Australia or New Zealand (used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere):
"a brisk Antipodean, she moved with speed and efficiency"
New Zealand is frequently described as the Antipodes due to its location on the far ends of the Southern Hemisphere. At least in the 40s.
caroparr's review
4.0
I've probably read this at least twice before, but this time I had just returned from New Zealand, where the book is set. Her descriptions of the sheep station, which I had just skimmed before, I can now appreciate so much more. The winy air, the way the mountains pierce the sky, the bush... Oh, and the story's not bad, either.
dlmoldovan's review
3.0
I didn't care at all for her last book, so I was definitely pleased to see that her plot was a bit better in this one. Yes, it's another spy novel, and the spy angle is definitely overplayed. But the mystery was interesting and the spy angle didn't detract too much from it. And in this installment, Alleyn goes back to normal, or as normal as he can get considering he is away from home, tracking down spies, and trying to solve an 18 month old murder without his trusted sidekick. I'm just hoping that she exhausted this spy plot and she got back to writing Alleyn in a traditional British setting.
kitten's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
elizabooks's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.0