Series
Publication
Hachette Audio UK (2016)
Original publication date
1973
Collections
Genres
Subjects
Description
When the President of Ng'ombwana proposes to dispense with the usual security arrangements on an official visit to London, his old school mate, Chief Superintendent Alleyn, is called in to try to persuade him otherwise. Alleyn performs his mission so successfully that on the night of the Ng'ombwanan Embassy's reception, the house and grounds are stiff with police. However, an assassin does strike, and Alleyn discovers a wealth of suspects in a coterie of ex-colonials residing in the very shadow of the Embassy.
User reviews
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
You can't get much better for a classical mystery read than Ngaio Marsh. This time she takes on racism and emerging African countries.
LibraryThing member leslie.98
Wanda McCaddon does a great narration & her voice for Inspector Alleyn's school friend Boomer was particularly excellent.
As for the book itself, I was surprised to find that this is a Marsh that I had not previously read. I have seen in some of the other reviews that some people had problems with
I thought that the mystery was well done but one big section of the solution was clear to me soon after the initial murder so I reduced my rating by ½ star.
As for the book itself, I was surprised to find that this is a Marsh that I had not previously read. I have seen in some of the other reviews that some people had problems with
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this book's treatment of race. Certainly some of the characters were racist but just as clearly others were not. If you are sensitive about this issue, then it might be better to skip this one.I thought that the mystery was well done but one big section of the solution was clear to me soon after the initial murder so I reduced my rating by ½ star.
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LibraryThing member Herenya
This one of Marsh’s later murder mysteries. The president of a (fictional) newly-independent African country visits London and a murder occurs at the embassy.
This one is a mixture of things I really like and things I eyed warily. Marsh is clearly sympathetic towards African people and racial
Anyway, onto the other things.
This is very atmospheric. It’s a few years since I read a Marsh mystery and I’d forgotten just how atmospheric her stories can be and that I enjoy her prose. There’s a storyline about a recently-retired member of the Foreign Service, who buys a new house and adopts a cat, and both he and his cat are instrumental in solving the mystery.
But my favourite part was that there’s more of the now-Superintendent Roderick Alleyn’s personal life. (The very first Marsh mystery I picked up delighted me because here was a detective who had a personal life!) Troy, Alleyn’s wife is involved; his brother turns up briefly; and the president is an old school friend and their interactions are peppered with references to their school days.
“The Boomer”, as the president is called, and Alleyn were good friends at school, and when they meet years later, they still like and respect each other, but they don’t always agree. As the Boomer reminds Alleyn, that’s long been the case: “And you said there were plenty of territories we could explore without meeting such barriers and we’d better stick to them.”
But they’re not just old friends now; they’re thrown together in their professional capacities of a British policeman and an African president, and they have to navigate their differences - specifically that their cultures have different ways of doing things.
The Boomer is a complicated, compelling character. I was interested to note that there is more respect and affection and indications of like-mindedness between him and Alleyn than there is between Alleyn and his older brother (who is a British peer).
I love that Troy appears in this. I love the tiny details of their marriage, like Alleyn’s tendency to look at a scene with “double-vision”, as policeman and as a man married to a painter, or Troy’s ability to tell Alleyn with one look that she’s seen someone she wants to paint.
And I love that Troy doesn’t just appear as an ancillary to Alleyn - she has her own career and that’s important to both of them.
”Wouldn’t it be simpler,” Fox ventured, “under the circumstances, I mean, to cancel the sittings [for your wife’s current painting]?”
“Look here, Br’er Fox,” Alleyn said. “I’ve done my bloody best to keep my job out of sight of my wife and by and large I’ve made a hash of it. But I’ll tell you what: if ever my job looks like so much as coming between one dab of her brush and the surface of her canvas, I’ll chuck it and set up a prep school for detectives.”
After a considerable pause, Fox said judiciously: “She’s very lucky to have you.”
“Not she,” said Alleyn. “It’s entirely the other way round. In the meantime, what’s cooking? Where’s Fred?”
This one is a mixture of things I really like and things I eyed warily. Marsh is clearly sympathetic towards African people and racial
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issues, and so is her detective, but they are not always wholly successful at being so. There are some odd moments in which dated attitudes… leak through. Marsh wrote this in her late 70s and, considering what the attitudes of her day were, I’m actually surprised and relieved that there aren’t more moments like that. Not everyone’s going to want to give Marsh points for trying (and understandably so) but I am inclined to.Anyway, onto the other things.
This is very atmospheric. It’s a few years since I read a Marsh mystery and I’d forgotten just how atmospheric her stories can be and that I enjoy her prose. There’s a storyline about a recently-retired member of the Foreign Service, who buys a new house and adopts a cat, and both he and his cat are instrumental in solving the mystery.
But my favourite part was that there’s more of the now-Superintendent Roderick Alleyn’s personal life. (The very first Marsh mystery I picked up delighted me because here was a detective who had a personal life!) Troy, Alleyn’s wife is involved; his brother turns up briefly; and the president is an old school friend and their interactions are peppered with references to their school days.
“The Boomer”, as the president is called, and Alleyn were good friends at school, and when they meet years later, they still like and respect each other, but they don’t always agree. As the Boomer reminds Alleyn, that’s long been the case: “And you said there were plenty of territories we could explore without meeting such barriers and we’d better stick to them.”
But they’re not just old friends now; they’re thrown together in their professional capacities of a British policeman and an African president, and they have to navigate their differences - specifically that their cultures have different ways of doing things.
The Boomer is a complicated, compelling character. I was interested to note that there is more respect and affection and indications of like-mindedness between him and Alleyn than there is between Alleyn and his older brother (who is a British peer).
I love that Troy appears in this. I love the tiny details of their marriage, like Alleyn’s tendency to look at a scene with “double-vision”, as policeman and as a man married to a painter, or Troy’s ability to tell Alleyn with one look that she’s seen someone she wants to paint.
And I love that Troy doesn’t just appear as an ancillary to Alleyn - she has her own career and that’s important to both of them.
”Wouldn’t it be simpler,” Fox ventured, “under the circumstances, I mean, to cancel the sittings [for your wife’s current painting]?”
“Look here, Br’er Fox,” Alleyn said. “I’ve done my bloody best to keep my job out of sight of my wife and by and large I’ve made a hash of it. But I’ll tell you what: if ever my job looks like so much as coming between one dab of her brush and the surface of her canvas, I’ll chuck it and set up a prep school for detectives.”
After a considerable pause, Fox said judiciously: “She’s very lucky to have you.”
“Not she,” said Alleyn. “It’s entirely the other way round. In the meantime, what’s cooking? Where’s Fred?”
Show Less
LibraryThing member stbyra
A good old-fashioned murder mystery. Just like I like them.
LibraryThing member JBarringer
I love the bits about the black cat Lucy.
Language
Original language
English
Other editions
Black As He's Painted by Ngaio Marsh (Paperback)