Scan barcode
nathuffman97's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was one of the best Marsh books that I've read so far. A good cast of characters that all have complicated relationships with each other and different reasons for possibly wanting the others dead. And I really like snowed-in mysteries. Marsh also does a good job of the suspense before Alleyn finally gets called in; you start to feel that anything could go wrong in this shut up house with all these people who hate each other.
anglclk's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This is another fantastic one, again, a ludicrous concept but treated in such a plausible way I managed to suspend my disbelief. House-party from hell goes bad! Throw in some archetypal sinister German-types and a bad surrealist painter and I'm utterly hooked ;)
suzig's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book by Ngaio Marsh I’ve read and I’ve fallen quite in love. I’m a long time Agatha Christie fan and have recently been trying to branch out into other Golden Age murder mystery authors, but Marsh is the first one outside Christie who has really grabbed me. Her writing is engaging, often amusing, and sometimes even lyrical. I had a hard time putting the book down as the plot unspooled. Compared with other Golden Age mystery’s I’ve read, this one has a lot more suspense and a feeling of real drama. There’s even an action packed drive through the snow! I really enjoyed the character of Mandrake, especially in the first half of the book. I like how he’s sort of the protagonist of the story. This is definitely the first of many Marsh mysteries for me.
Content Notes: murder (obviously), suicide, mild gore and descriptions of dead bodies, unkind descriptions of a facial deformity
Content Notes: murder (obviously), suicide, mild gore and descriptions of dead bodies, unkind descriptions of a facial deformity
kpeninger's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think this is Marsh's strongest work, but she really does have a gift of creating interesting secondary characters. All of the house guests were interesting to me, with their various neuroses and issues.
robinwalter's review
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jinxy's review against another edition
3.0
I tried and failed to finish a number of Ngaio Marsh's books - this is the first I've successfully completed. This may have been due to the fact I listened to it on audio, narrated by James Saxon. Not sure she is the author me me when it comes to mysteries, but I'm glad I've finally finished one of her books.
j_squaredd's review against another edition
adventurous
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
smcleish's review
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.
Another traditional crime novel, written during a period in which it is clear that Marsh was slipping more and more into re-using the formulaic plot ideas of the genre. Death and the Dancing Footman is from the snowbound-upper-class-houseparty subgenre; the houseparty is gathered by its host, who wants to bring together seven people who have good reason to kill each other (two brothers, lifelong rivals, and the girl who has jilted one for the other; their mother, whose face was ruined by an experimenting plastic surgeon; the plastic surgeon in question; his secret wife, who runs a beauty parlour and is having an affair with one of the brothers; and a rival beauty parlour owner). He has also invited Aubrey Mandrake, famous dramatist, whose shameful secret he has uncovered (he was originally named Stanley Footling), to act as an impartial observer of this grotesque "experiment in psychology".
Naturally, things go wrong; a series of dangerous practical jokes ends up with a death. The characters then have to live with each other for several days before the snow thaws and they can call in Inspector Alleyn to solve the mystery. (He naturally happens to be staying at a house nearer than the next town, from which the houseparty is still cut off for the time being.) The problem is that the murder appears impossible; the man accused of the practical jokes was in his room having taken sleeping tablets, and the rest of the household has an alibi provided by one of the servants, who stood outside the door dancing by himself to the music coming from the radio. (This is an activity I would have thought would lead Alleyn to arrest him immediately as a dangerous lunatic.)
Marsh writes well enough; she could obviously churn out novels within the genre with no trouble. Her best work is not completely contrained by the conventions of the form, but this novel is not really her best work.
Another traditional crime novel, written during a period in which it is clear that Marsh was slipping more and more into re-using the formulaic plot ideas of the genre. Death and the Dancing Footman is from the snowbound-upper-class-houseparty subgenre; the houseparty is gathered by its host, who wants to bring together seven people who have good reason to kill each other (two brothers, lifelong rivals, and the girl who has jilted one for the other; their mother, whose face was ruined by an experimenting plastic surgeon; the plastic surgeon in question; his secret wife, who runs a beauty parlour and is having an affair with one of the brothers; and a rival beauty parlour owner). He has also invited Aubrey Mandrake, famous dramatist, whose shameful secret he has uncovered (he was originally named Stanley Footling), to act as an impartial observer of this grotesque "experiment in psychology".
Naturally, things go wrong; a series of dangerous practical jokes ends up with a death. The characters then have to live with each other for several days before the snow thaws and they can call in Inspector Alleyn to solve the mystery. (He naturally happens to be staying at a house nearer than the next town, from which the houseparty is still cut off for the time being.) The problem is that the murder appears impossible; the man accused of the practical jokes was in his room having taken sleeping tablets, and the rest of the household has an alibi provided by one of the servants, who stood outside the door dancing by himself to the music coming from the radio. (This is an activity I would have thought would lead Alleyn to arrest him immediately as a dangerous lunatic.)
Marsh writes well enough; she could obviously churn out novels within the genre with no trouble. Her best work is not completely contrained by the conventions of the form, but this novel is not really her best work.