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A review by wealhtheow
Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh
2.0
Inspector Alleyn is called in to investigate the murder, and finds among the suspects the artist he fell for on a recent cruise. They act tortured and repressed at each other in between scenes of Alleyn & co measuring marks on windowsills and the like. As always with Marsh, a large portion of this book is given over to seemingly endless natterings between characters about who was ~psychologically~ capable of murder. Eventually the murder is solved, but I'd lost all interest in the case by that point.
Putting aside the rather uninspired mystery, I was bothered that Alleyn seems set up as a perfect paragon, so much wiser and classier and richer and bluer blooded than all the rest. I was particularly bothered by this because he outright SAYS to his lady-love-the-suspect that she's totally not a suspect, and the extent of his investigation into her guilt is to have an underling check her alibi. I'd put up with that kind of favoritism from an amateur detective, but not the official investigator!
Putting aside the rather uninspired mystery, I was bothered that Alleyn seems set up as a perfect paragon, so much wiser and classier and richer and bluer blooded than all the rest. I was particularly bothered by this because he outright SAYS to his lady-love-the-suspect that she's totally not a suspect, and the extent of his investigation into her guilt is to have an underling check her alibi. I'd put up with that kind of favoritism from an amateur detective, but not the official investigator!