A review by whimsicalmeerkat
A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

3.0

Roderick Alleyn, the detective around whom this book centers, is what made this 3 stars instead of 2, since Goodreads doesn't have the half-star option. I will probably read more by [a:Ngaio Marsh|68144|Ngaio Marsh|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1237946649p2/68144.jpg] but still prefer [a:Dorothy Sayers|4690960|Dorothy Sayers|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] and [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1190633574p2/123715.jpg]. They breathed more life into their characters, in my opinion. That being said, this was a solid English country house mystery. It kept me guessing, had a satisfying number of plot twists, and had an enjoyably sardonic and quirky detective. I would recommend it to someone who is already a fan of the genre, but not to someone as a starting point.