"They were united, Miss Bellamy said, in their devotion."
Rating:
5 / 5
Aging British stage actress, Mary Bellamy is celebrating her birthday. Mary is adored by her many fans, but at home and at work, she's a tyrant beyond compare. Mary's birthdays afford the perfect opportunity for friends, acquaintances, and old servants to gather and join in the celebration while paying homage. Mary's husband, Charles Templeton, is a gentleman and a "perfectionist" who studiously avoids mentioning Mary's age--and so, for him, a birthday represents a particularly difficult day. Richard Dakers, an orphan raised by Mary and Charles also plans to attend the celebration. Richard is now a famous playwright, and with two extremely successful comic plays under his belt, he's now written his first serious play. The problem is there's no part for the aging actress, and how does one tell Mary this diplomatically?
During the celebration, Mary is found dead. At first, everyone assumes it's an accident, but why does a glamorous actress spray herself so lavishly with Slaypest insecticide? Superintendent Roderick Alleyn soon appears on the scene, and he gradually peels away the layers of dislike people REALLY felt for Mary but couldn't express.
Author Ngaio Marsh captures the vicious rivalry, the pettiness, and the sheer nastiness brewing in the Bellamy circle. As Superintendent Alleyn gathers his suspects, secrets are revealed, and personalities unmasked. This delicious, brilliantly structured novel focuses on the characters of the suspects while Alleyn conducts his police work. Marsh reveals with sheer delight, the hypocrisy lingering just underneath the surface of all those good manners and polite smiles--displacedhuman
Marsh sets center stage thriller
Rating:
5 / 5
To be "done in" at one's own birthday party is not exactly what one would wish for! But in
Ngaio Marsh's "False Scent," this is what happens. Kind of. Famed--and much revered--Mary
Bellamy of the London stage takes a whiff of her favorite perfume, and, poof, she's dead! In typical Marsh fashion, of course, "False Scent" is off to the races, once again with
Superintendent Roderick Alleyn on the "scent," as it were. No odor is too powerful for him! The
allure of such crimes keeps him (and Marsh) going. The taciturn Alleyn moves in and out of the
local theatre circuit (or perhaps "circus") and methodically, systematically, and accurately
categorizing all clues, false and otherwise (and Marsh is good at this, too, as she's proved in over 30
such novels!). What a web Dame Marsh weaves and what a journey it is for her readers. Hold on to your seats,
this a blockbuster! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
great audio experience!
Rating:
5 / 5
I'm a mystery lover, and a book reader in general, but had never tried audiobooks until a couple of weeks ago, when I bought this one for a road trip. What a thrill! This reader is a BRILLIANT actor... in terms of characterizations of the typically wide range of class accents in this sort of British murder mystery, as well as inflection in long spells of narrative, he is superb. I almost regret having heard his performance, as I've since been listening to a "Miss Silver" mystery from another company (and reader), and have been disappointed by a bland delivery and some distracting problems with audio levels. I'm going to check out EVERY audio book read by JAmes Saxon, though-- "False Scent" was spellbinding. I'm a convert to the format, and looking forward to my commutes with future Marsh/Saxon volumes. Oh yes-- the book itself is wonderful, as are all Ngaio Marsh novels.
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