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A review by allonsymelissa
Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh
4.0
I will admit that the original purpose of choosing this particular book was because the audio version had an amazing narrator, Benedict Cumberbatch. While it is true that I swoon at the sound of his voice, he also happens to have a wonderful talent for reading. I especially enjoy that he does voices. Listening to the audiobook was more like listening to a radio show done by many people and less like a book being read by one man. As someone who has a hard time staying interested in one thing for very long, this helped immensely.
As for the book itself, it was wonderful! I started this book not knowing what I was getting into. I went into it completely blind. I knew nothing of the subject matter, the author, or even when it was written. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was a murder mystery written in 1938. I have found myself gravitating to a lot of murder mysteries as of late and this had the added bonus of almost being like a period piece to me.
Since the word death is in the title one can assume that murder is implied. However, the story starts with detective inspector Roderick Alleyn investigating a blackmailing case. It takes a little bit getting into the actual murder and central plot of the story. It takes a little too long to be honest. I almost started doubting that any death was actually going to occur. This serves its purpose though. Marsh uses the lengthy beginning to set you up to get attached to a particular character who is exceedingly charming only to rip them away.
After the murder takes places it starts to get fun for the reader. There are so many clues, twists, and turns that your head starts spinning with hypotheses. Before the end of the book I had made 3 separate guess as to who was the guilty party. What really makes this book is you really don't suspect the person who did it at all which is exactly what what you want from a murder mystery.
It seems to be an easy series to pick up. I started on book #7 and completely understood what was going on. I'm almost curious as to if these are all just one off stories featuring the same characters. There was one small aspect I was a little curious about and it was about a particular love interest aspect. It is clear there is history between two characters, but it is not explained in this particular book other than it involving another case. It's such a minor aspect of the story though that it was not problematic.
There are several more mysteries by Ngaio Marsh starring inspector detective Roderick Alleyn, and I know I will be going back for more.
As for the book itself, it was wonderful! I started this book not knowing what I was getting into. I went into it completely blind. I knew nothing of the subject matter, the author, or even when it was written. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was a murder mystery written in 1938. I have found myself gravitating to a lot of murder mysteries as of late and this had the added bonus of almost being like a period piece to me.
Since the word death is in the title one can assume that murder is implied. However, the story starts with detective inspector Roderick Alleyn investigating a blackmailing case. It takes a little bit getting into the actual murder and central plot of the story. It takes a little too long to be honest. I almost started doubting that any death was actually going to occur. This serves its purpose though. Marsh uses the lengthy beginning to set you up to get attached to a particular character who is exceedingly charming only to rip them away.
After the murder takes places it starts to get fun for the reader. There are so many clues, twists, and turns that your head starts spinning with hypotheses. Before the end of the book I had made 3 separate guess as to who was the guilty party. What really makes this book is you really don't suspect the person who did it at all which is exactly what what you want from a murder mystery.
It seems to be an easy series to pick up. I started on book #7 and completely understood what was going on. I'm almost curious as to if these are all just one off stories featuring the same characters. There was one small aspect I was a little curious about and it was about a particular love interest aspect. It is clear there is history between two characters, but it is not explained in this particular book other than it involving another case. It's such a minor aspect of the story though that it was not problematic.
There are several more mysteries by Ngaio Marsh starring inspector detective Roderick Alleyn, and I know I will be going back for more.