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applegnreads's review against another edition
3.0
Rory and Troy figure out how do live after three years apart and how to integrate the life of a detective with their life together. And of course there's a murder.
lelia_t's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite Marsh mysteries seem to be the ones in which Alleyn’s wife Troy plays a role, and she’s got a fairly big part in this one, being at the scene of the crime before Alleyn has even made an appearance in the book. Plus, Marsh had a lot of fun with her characters, the Ancreds, a theatrical (histrionic) family highly skilled at making an entrance. It’s the family patriarch’s suspicious exit that brings Alleyn and Fox to the family seat to investigate.
There are several things about the book that are jarring to the present-day reader - use of racial slurs and stereotypes, and the instinctive disgust most of the characters feel toward Cedric, who’s portrayed with all the stereotypical characteristics of a gay man. Marsh is not above the prejudices of her day, but while I thought her treatment of Cedric was troubling (I actually found him one of the most likable of the Ancreds), I categorized it as part of Marsh’s portrayal of all the Ancred family as self-absorbed and attention-seeking.
There are several things about the book that are jarring to the present-day reader - use of racial slurs and stereotypes, and the instinctive disgust most of the characters feel toward Cedric, who’s portrayed with all the stereotypical characteristics of a gay man. Marsh is not above the prejudices of her day, but while I thought her treatment of Cedric was troubling (I actually found him one of the most likable of the Ancreds), I categorized it as part of Marsh’s portrayal of all the Ancred family as self-absorbed and attention-seeking.
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the few Ngiao Marsh books I hadn't read before. It was fun to read one and not know what would be the resolution, although I did guess certain plot-points as it went along (the poison used, for instance).
Sir Henry Ancred has commissioned Troy Alleyn to paint a picture of him -- and all sorts of pranks are played in the weeks leading up to his birthday celebration. In the end, he disinherits his relatives in favor of his intended bride (and the plot point about who will eventually inherit is unresolved). He is killed, and then his intended is killed (and in between, a cat is killed as well). Roderick Alleyn comes back from his war-time posting in New Zealand just in time to take charge of the investigation.
As always, fun British who-dun-it. Not too deep, not too stressful.
Sir Henry Ancred has commissioned Troy Alleyn to paint a picture of him -- and all sorts of pranks are played in the weeks leading up to his birthday celebration. In the end, he disinherits his relatives in favor of his intended bride (and the plot point about who will eventually inherit is unresolved). He is killed, and then his intended is killed (and in between, a cat is killed as well). Roderick Alleyn comes back from his war-time posting in New Zealand just in time to take charge of the investigation.
As always, fun British who-dun-it. Not too deep, not too stressful.
lilcoppertop's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.0
kvedja's review against another edition
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
4.0
tarshka's review against another edition
1.0
Actor dies. But also a cat and I'm not okay with that at all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
I found the Ancretons more annoying than funny this time around.
michael5000's review
4.0
Like a lot of parlor mysteries, this one pursues a logic all its own. Well, not quite all its own -- it's pretty heavily influenced by the dodgy psychological insights of the day, even while it thinks it's mocking them. And yet it's a very comfortable tale with familiar and colorful characters, and I was a bit disappointed when it came to its (more or less arbitrary) end. So I suppose I "really liked it."
alice_horoshev's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
naluju's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
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
Scotland Yard detectives, golden age mystery