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A review by holtfan
Death of a Peer by Ngaio Marsh
2.0
The pacing of Death of a Peer left me extremely frustrated. It took forever for the Peer to get murdered! He finally does get murdered and then it takes even longer for the plot to go anywhere. Arguably it never does.
I picked up this book primed to fall in love with the dashing Roderick Alleyn. He seemed a brilliant but much less awkward version of Sir Peter Wimsey...or Sherlock Holmes...or any other detective you may wish to pick. The problem is, he is also rather dull. The majority of this book is endless interviews going over the same things: where the characters were at the moment of the murder. I get that this is a chance to give The Astute Reader a chance to find the clue and solve the mystery themselves...but I was looking for brilliant deduction! Instead I got...run of the mill police work? The grand reveal, while dramatic, was also fairly predictable. Characters act exactly as you would expect them to.
I might have enjoyed the book more if I had liked the romance, but from the start I opposed it. I dislike Henry.
I will definitely need to find more Ngaio Marsh novels, however! The writing was lovely.
I picked up this book primed to fall in love with the dashing Roderick Alleyn. He seemed a brilliant but much less awkward version of Sir Peter Wimsey...or Sherlock Holmes...or any other detective you may wish to pick. The problem is, he is also rather dull. The majority of this book is endless interviews going over the same things: where the characters were at the moment of the murder. I get that this is a chance to give The Astute Reader a chance to find the clue and solve the mystery themselves...but I was looking for brilliant deduction! Instead I got...run of the mill police work? The grand reveal, while dramatic, was also fairly predictable. Characters act exactly as you would expect them to.
I might have enjoyed the book more if I had liked the romance, but from the start I opposed it. I dislike Henry.
Spoiler
I wanted him to be the murderer. Also I didn't realize Alleyn was apparently married? I totally shipped him with RobinI will definitely need to find more Ngaio Marsh novels, however! The writing was lovely.