Series
Publication
St. Martin's Paperbacks (1997), 352 p.
Original publication date
1938
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Description
A high-society homicide is the talk of the London season . . ."Marsh's writing is a pleasure." -The Seattle Times It's debutante season in London, and that means giggles and tea-dances, white dresses and inappropriate romances . . ..and much too much champagne. And, apparently, a blackmailer, which is where Inspector Roderick Alleyn comes in. The social whirl is decidedly not Alleyn's environment, so he brings in an assistant in the form of Lord "Bunchy" Gospell, everybody's favorite uncle. Bunchy is more than lovable; he's also got some serious sleuthing skills. But before he can unmask the blackmailer, a murder is announced. And everyone suddenly stops giggling . . . "It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." -New York Magazine "[Her] writing style and vivid characters and settings made her a mystery novelist of world renown." -The New York Times… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Around forty years ago, in my early teens, I devoured traditional mystery stories. I worked my way through one Agatha Christie novel after another, with that dogged obsessive urge to ‘complete the set’ which is common to boys. When I had finished all the Agatha Christie books I could lay my
Looking back, I recognise now that I was a wholly undiscerning reader. I read those Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh books solely for the plots, and took everything at face value. Of course, now I recognise that there was a vast ferment of tacit social comment lying hidden in Agatha Christie’s stories, and when I have revisited some of them recently I have enjoyed her gentle satire of social conventions particularly in the largely rural settings that so many of them enjoy.
In my teenage dalliance with Ngaio Marsh I was similarly oblivious to the settings, and the slightly wry commentary on the socially elevated circles in which so many of her stories were set. Coming back to them now, I feel that they have not aged as well as those of Agatha Christie. I struggled with this book, set against a context of debutantes’ balls and the coming out process. I don’t think that this was a judgement on that now archaic world itself, but more a difficulty accommodating the slightly smirking condescension with which Dame Ngaio portrayed it all. In Death in a White Tie, the plot develops very slowly. This, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing and initially came as a welcome relief to the tendency among today’s thrillers to pitch the reader headlong into an already developed situation. In this case, however, it seemed to move with glacial slowness, establishing in intricate detail a social circle in which a blackmailer was taking his toll on various targets among the debutantes’ mothers and guardians. I am by no means reluctant ti have a scene set carefully, but this was like watching a normally slow 3D printer on a work to rule protest.
Inspector Alleyn was as decorous and discreet as ever, and the actual construction of the crime, and the manner in which he found the solution, seemed as sound and entertaining as it had forty-odd years ago. Unfortunately, I am not sure that the enjoyment afforded by the kernel of the plot was sufficient to outweigh the annoyance I found in the tone of the writing.
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hands on, I moved on to Ngaio Marsh’s novels featuring her upper crust copper, Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. Once again, after having started with Death at the Dolphin, selected at random from my parents’ bookshelves, I read one of her books after another.Looking back, I recognise now that I was a wholly undiscerning reader. I read those Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh books solely for the plots, and took everything at face value. Of course, now I recognise that there was a vast ferment of tacit social comment lying hidden in Agatha Christie’s stories, and when I have revisited some of them recently I have enjoyed her gentle satire of social conventions particularly in the largely rural settings that so many of them enjoy.
In my teenage dalliance with Ngaio Marsh I was similarly oblivious to the settings, and the slightly wry commentary on the socially elevated circles in which so many of her stories were set. Coming back to them now, I feel that they have not aged as well as those of Agatha Christie. I struggled with this book, set against a context of debutantes’ balls and the coming out process. I don’t think that this was a judgement on that now archaic world itself, but more a difficulty accommodating the slightly smirking condescension with which Dame Ngaio portrayed it all. In Death in a White Tie, the plot develops very slowly. This, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing and initially came as a welcome relief to the tendency among today’s thrillers to pitch the reader headlong into an already developed situation. In this case, however, it seemed to move with glacial slowness, establishing in intricate detail a social circle in which a blackmailer was taking his toll on various targets among the debutantes’ mothers and guardians. I am by no means reluctant ti have a scene set carefully, but this was like watching a normally slow 3D printer on a work to rule protest.
Inspector Alleyn was as decorous and discreet as ever, and the actual construction of the crime, and the manner in which he found the solution, seemed as sound and entertaining as it had forty-odd years ago. Unfortunately, I am not sure that the enjoyment afforded by the kernel of the plot was sufficient to outweigh the annoyance I found in the tone of the writing.
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LibraryThing member nmhale
This installment in the Alleyn mystery series was in the same vein as much of the series, but, like the previous ones, this book is bulkier than the beginning ones. Alleyn's personal life, in the form of Troy, his love interest, adds to the novel. His romantic aspirations have to take a backseat to
This is the first time that we've seen Alleyn investigate the death of a friend, and we are privy to his guilt, anger, pain, and uncertainty. That, combined with his love life, makes this the novel that has revealed the most, so far, of Alleyn's personal life. The story still has the usual complement of suspects, all with their secrets, some related to the crime, and some not. Also, the mystery is interesting. I enjoyed the blackmailing angle as a change of pace from murder (as much as I love my murder mysteries), and I really wanted to know who did it, a sign of a good mystery.
A couple of things didn't work for me, though. First off, the size. I enjoy my big clunker books, but with Marsh, and most mysteries, for that matter, I like them short and swift. Notice how Agatha Christie's books are all in bite-size pieces? I like that. Helps me get to the end, and therefore the answer, quicker. Marsh's books started out that way, but they have gradually been gaining weight, presumably because we are getting more into Alleyn's personal life, not just his professional. I like learning all that information, but maybe spread out in smaller doses across more books? The other aspect that I didn't like was she made it a little too easy this time: I figured out the culprit in the side mystery quickly, and I determined the killer before all was revealed. I like it when my mystery authors make me surprised at the end. Thus the three and a half stars, rather than four. A solid read, but not as good as earlier entries in the series.
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the latest crime. Alleyn has been investigating a series of blackmails targeting women of the upper class, and since his family is also a part of that gentile group, he has been employing an old family friend, Lord Gospel, affectionately known as Bunchy, to make the type of inquiries unavailable to police officers. The case takes a dark turn when Bunchy winds up dead, strangled with his own tie. This is the first time that we've seen Alleyn investigate the death of a friend, and we are privy to his guilt, anger, pain, and uncertainty. That, combined with his love life, makes this the novel that has revealed the most, so far, of Alleyn's personal life. The story still has the usual complement of suspects, all with their secrets, some related to the crime, and some not. Also, the mystery is interesting. I enjoyed the blackmailing angle as a change of pace from murder (as much as I love my murder mysteries), and I really wanted to know who did it, a sign of a good mystery.
A couple of things didn't work for me, though. First off, the size. I enjoy my big clunker books, but with Marsh, and most mysteries, for that matter, I like them short and swift. Notice how Agatha Christie's books are all in bite-size pieces? I like that. Helps me get to the end, and therefore the answer, quicker. Marsh's books started out that way, but they have gradually been gaining weight, presumably because we are getting more into Alleyn's personal life, not just his professional. I like learning all that information, but maybe spread out in smaller doses across more books? The other aspect that I didn't like was she made it a little too easy this time: I figured out the culprit in the side mystery quickly, and I determined the killer before all was revealed. I like it when my mystery authors make me surprised at the end. Thus the three and a half stars, rather than four. A solid read, but not as good as earlier entries in the series.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
Interesting, though I tagged the murderer before he even did it. I liked Inspector Allyen and his cohorts, but not on the same intimate level as Lord Peter, Archie Goodwin and Cadfael. Not as humorous.
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
Lady Alleyn is chaperoning her granddaughter (Inspector Alleyn’s niece) in her coming out season. Alleyn has enlisted the help of a dear old friend to look into a case of blackmail; this request leads to murder. I think this is the second book which has Troy in it. This was a very good story and
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although I had a pretty good idea who the culprit was I wasn’t absolutely sure until the end. I think I was sleepy when the clinching clue was subtly presented—it wasn’t blatant and required a little bit of time calculating, but I should have caught it. Show Less
LibraryThing member iamiam
I had forgotten what a smart read this was. A bit tough to get going, but once you're past the first third or so, it becomes quite entertaining.
LibraryThing member mmyoung
Less artificial in its construction than some of her earlier books -- better characterization in general. Scary hints of the level of casual antisemitism of Britain at the time with an almost offhand comment about Germany's treatment of Jews -- this is written and set in the late 30s before the war
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but after the situation in Germany had become almost intolerable for Jews. Less rabid and knee jerk in its treatment of illegal drugs with hints of the changing sensibilities about sex. Show Less
LibraryThing member ahaehl
Gives some interesting backstory on Inspector Alleyn--but the motivation is thing, the method depends on too many coincidences, the victim seems to walk into a trap.
LibraryThing member jellyfishjones
1930's London, high society, and cold-blooded murder - as far as murder mysteries go, this is about as classic as it gets. Marsh's prose is wonderful. The plot is well-paced, and the clues leave one guessing right till the end. Reading this, one understands why Marsh (along with her contemporary
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Christie) is still considered a standard-bearer for the murder mystery genre. Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
Having recently read biographies of Debra and Diana Mitford and being sick with sinusitis I decided to take the plunge into a fictional version of London Season between the wars and reread "Death in a White Tie". It's fascinating to see how well the outsider Marsh (she was a New Zealander) has
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captured the feel of the era of debutantes balls, chaperones, debs delights and it's underbelly of adultery, divorce, illegitimacy and remarriage. Things I thought far-fetched when I first read this story are rooted in reality! It's also a good murder-mystery with Roderick Alleyn seeking the help of Lord Robert "Bunchy" Gospell in identifying a society blackmailer - a request that led to murder. There's also a little romance with Alleyn wooing, and finally winning, painter Agatha Troy (who he met in "Artists in Crime"). Marsh creates some delightful cameo parts too particularly Alleyn's mother (making her first appearance in the series) and the truculent paying Jewish debutante Rose Birnbaum (who's hard-as-nails chaperone tells her "there was a good deal to be said for the German point of view"). Yes, there's a lot of class attitudes that perturb modern sensibilities but this book also paints us vivid picture of a time and place. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
Sept. 2019 reread via my dad's Kindle:
I realized soon upon reading this that I had indeed read it before & so I was quick to notice all the clues that pointed to the correct murderer. What I hadn't remembered was that the personal business between Alleyn and Troy that happens in this book - I do
I realized soon upon reading this that I had indeed read it before & so I was quick to notice all the clues that pointed to the correct murderer. What I hadn't remembered was that the personal business between Alleyn and Troy that happens in this book - I do
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like Troy! Show Less
LibraryThing member dmturner
I read the book a very long time ago, but just listened to the audiobook narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. It's an old fashioned mystery, cleanly written and of its time, and Cumberbatch's smooth young English voice is perfect for it. A nice indulgence.
LibraryThing member alanteder
Blackmail and Murder
Review of the Felony & Mayhem paperback edition (2012) of the 1938 original
Death in a White Tie is a fairly early work (No. 7 of 33) in the Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard series by New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh. Alleyn and his sidekick Fox are set on the trail
I found Death in a White Tie to be a delightful golden age mystery with its social commentary on the old customs of debutantes coming out during the season. There are plenty of likely suspects and red herrings to keep you entertained and guessing. The book also has a subplot that continues Alleyn's courtship of painter Agatha Troy who will continue to play a prominent role in later books in the series.
Review of the Felony & Mayhem paperback edition (2012) of the 1938 original
Death in a White Tie is a fairly early work (No. 7 of 33) in the Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard series by New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh. Alleyn and his sidekick Fox are set on the trail
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of a blackmailer during the London season of debutantes and balls. Alleyn enlists the aid of his friend Lord Robert "Bunchy" Gospell who is adept and well-loved in the social circles of the season. Bunchy apparently uncovers the blackmailer but is murdered as a result and before he can pass on the info to the police. Uncovering the blackmailer and now murderer becomes a crusade for Alleyn who also feels guilty about enlisting his friend's aid.I found Death in a White Tie to be a delightful golden age mystery with its social commentary on the old customs of debutantes coming out during the season. There are plenty of likely suspects and red herrings to keep you entertained and guessing. The book also has a subplot that continues Alleyn's courtship of painter Agatha Troy who will continue to play a prominent role in later books in the series.
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780312963613
Physical description
352 p.; 4.25 inches
Other editions
Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (Digital audiobook)
Pages
352