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eososray's review
3.0
Just a bit over the top with strange religious practices and so many shifty characters it's hard to decide which one is guilty.
we_are_all_mad_here26's review
3.0
Four books in and I'm getting a little impatient for Inspector Alleyn to develop a solid personality. Also it has become clear that yes, he really will have a reporter as a Watson, or maybe I should say as a Hastings.
A moment I loved between the two of them: Nigel suggests to Alleyn that they think about the case as if it were a detective novel. Who would be the suspect in a book? And Alleyn says -
"It depends on the author. If it's Agatha Christie, Miss Wade's occulted guilt drips from every page. Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter would plump for Pringle, I fancy. Inspector French would go for Ogden. Of course, Ogden, on the face of it, is the first suspect.”
So I guess it's good to know that even if Alleyn's own personality is minimal, he does enjoy reading about colleagues with a bit more character to them.
A moment I loved between the two of them: Nigel suggests to Alleyn that they think about the case as if it were a detective novel. Who would be the suspect in a book? And Alleyn says -
"It depends on the author. If it's Agatha Christie, Miss Wade's occulted guilt drips from every page. Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter would plump for Pringle, I fancy. Inspector French would go for Ogden. Of course, Ogden, on the face of it, is the first suspect.”
So I guess it's good to know that even if Alleyn's own personality is minimal, he does enjoy reading about colleagues with a bit more character to them.
maggiekms's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.25
toastlover1's review
lighthearted
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? No
4.25
maplessence's review
4.0
One of Marsh's earlier books, so while some of the characters are quite annoyingly arch, it isn't as bad as some of her later works. Good plotting & motivation do make this an absorbing read.
shlee64's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
magistratrium's review
3.0
This mystery features an alternative religion, drugs, money, a rejected lover, and ultimately murder. Nigel Bathgate witnesses the murder and then assists Inspector Alleyn as he seeks to determine who put poison in the sacramental wine which killed Cara Quayne, a wealthy member of the "House of Sacred Flame".
affiknittyreads's review
4.0
Of all the British Golden Age detectives, I believe Inspector Alleyn is my favorite.
cleheny's review
3.0
Once again, Alleyn is brought into a murder because his "Watson," Nigel Bathgate, witnesses one. In this case, for no good reason, Nigel leaves his flat on a stormy night and crosses the street to go to an obscure, cultish church. There, he finagles his way into the ceremony and witnesses a murder. The church and ceremony are sufficiently outlandish--there's a mixture of pagan mythology and a ritual that implies a sexual commitment to the priest. Cara Quayne, the wealthy single woman chosen for the "bride" role, dies of cyanide poisoning, and there are at least 8 potential murderers--the other six initiates, the priest, and an acolyte handing around the wine, which was poisoned. Into this hothouse of strange religious fervor, Alleyn enters and solves the murder.
What Marsh does well, she does very well. The murder method is ingenious (though a bit convoluted), and the motive is a reasonable one. The various suspects are well-drawn, though some feel a bit incomplete. But this is the third mystery involving a somewhat implausible closed/conspiratorial society (her first and third mysteries have Russian communists and their sympathizers as a secondary plot--the first novel is a particularly weird society). The church reads like what a 1930s audience would expect a cult to be like, as opposed to how one might actually work. Also, unlike the first three Alleyn novels, the victim's character doesn't seem that important. Of course, she takes certain action that ultimately set the plot in motion, but she's a cypher. The other characters' memories of her aren't particularly vivid; she seems somewhat cool and remote. It's hard to get that worked up over her death. Also, how the red herring comes into the plot is convoluted and implausible.
What Marsh does well, she does very well. The murder method is ingenious (though a bit convoluted), and the motive is a reasonable one. The various suspects are well-drawn, though some feel a bit incomplete. But this is the third mystery involving a somewhat implausible closed/conspiratorial society (her first and third mysteries have Russian communists and their sympathizers as a secondary plot--the first novel is a particularly weird society). The church reads like what a 1930s audience would expect a cult to be like, as opposed to how one might actually work. Also, unlike the first three Alleyn novels, the victim's character doesn't seem that important. Of course, she takes certain action that ultimately set the plot in motion, but she's a cypher. The other characters' memories of her aren't particularly vivid; she seems somewhat cool and remote. It's hard to get that worked up over her death. Also, how the red herring comes into the plot is convoluted and implausible.