Black as He's Painted / Last Ditch / Grave Mistake

Roderick Alleyn

by Ngaio Marsh

Black as He's Painted: WITH Last Ditch Commemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the tenth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries. Full description

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Murder Mystery, Golden Age Mystery

752 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.

Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.

All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.

Series:
* Roderick Alleyn

Reviews

[Alex Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the Alleyn series for how easy they are to read, and these three are great examples of the writing of Ngaio Marsh. With a gentle unpretentious plot, there's also a lot of very penetrating observations around people's attitudes and so on that add a lot of credibility to the writing. Surprisingly, my favourite in this trilogy was the bonus extra play Evil Liver at the end - intense and gripping in stark contrast to the stories before, which serves to highlight the versatility of the author. The works have stood the test of time well, and are well worth a read.

[Penelope · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOTE: This review pertains to LAST DITCH, bk29, only. Other titles reviewed separately.

MY RATING GUIDE: 3 Stars. Although LAST DITCH featured both Ricky, Superintendent Alleyn’s son, and Troy, his artist wife, it wasn’t among my favorite in the series. Ricky played an important role but the story simply didn’t capture my attention as previous titles have done.

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= THIS WAS OKAY/fairly good; 3.5= I enjoyed this; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved this; it was great! & most likely will read again (I SELDOM give 5 Stars).

March, on a remote island in the channel between England and France ~
Ricky Alleyn, Superintendent Roderick Alleyn’s son, has taken himself off to a remote location where he hopes to become inspired enough to write a decent novel, or at least begin one. While walking around town and meeting villagers, Ricky begins to notice odd behaviors and violent arguments among the villagers. Several weeks after Ricky’s arrival a fatal riding accident occurs, killing an experienced rider. Ricky is distressed and sends off a letter to his parents. Before he receives a reply, his father, Superintendent Alleyn, arrives on scene. The Police AC believes something is definitely wrong in the area and he calls Alleyn to investigate.

Comments ~
1) LAST DITCH, pub 1976, is book 29 in Nadia Marsh’s 33bks + Short Stories in her Classic (Chief Superintendent) Alleyn series (the latter books set Post WWII). I prefer reading the books in chronological order but it is possible to read LD out of order or as a Standalone title. Each title in the Alleyn series features new cases dealing with entirely different issues and topics. This series (published 1934-1982) has held up quite well over time, now becoming a wonderful revisit to the past as a Historical Mystery series.
2) I am currently reading through this series. LAST DITCH features both Superintendent Alleyn’s son, Ricky, and his artist wife Troy. Neither Alleyn nor Sgt Fox (his very capable right-hand man) actually arrive on scene until midway through Chapter 5 (of 9 Chapters). Mostly, I prefer the novels in which Alleyn and his team arrive sooner as I enjoy their interactions. I didn’t have all aspects of LAST DITCH solved by the end which kept me guessing.
2) Australian author Ngaio Marsh’s Scotland Yard Alleyn Mystery series is among my favorite Classic Mysteries. I recommend her (Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, CID, Inspector) Alleyn Mysteries to readers who enjoy:
> Classic Mysteries
> British/New Zealand Classic Mysteries - 1930’s-1980’s era
> Historical Mysteries
> Character Driven novels
> Police Procedurals novels
> Seasoned main characters (working with competent forensic colleagues)
> Intelligently written novels with dry wit and no angst
> Pertinent historical and/or social issues from the period
> Intelligent writing with dry, witty humor
> Classic Mysteries by Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey) and/or Margery Allingham (Albert Campion).
> Clean fiction with a literary tone
> Certain Cozy Mysteries

READER CAUTIONS ~
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language and English slang used.
VIOLENCE & OTHER - Brief physical assault occurs; murders occur off-scene and are described after the fact. Details are not particularly dark or graphic.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - None on scene.

[Martin Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another set of books featuring Roderick Alleyn. A bit redundant as all of Ngaio Marsh's novels feature Roderick Alleyn. These three were written in 1974, 1977 and 1978.

Black as he's Painted is a novel where racism is a central party of the background to the plot and yet I felt that the story itself was a bit racist. Maybe I'm being over sensitive, it will be interesting to see if any other reviews say the same thing. My least favourite of the three. But it did have Troy in it.

Last Ditch has Rickie Alleyn on the channel islands and getting involved in one of his father's cases. Lots of misdirection, a good bit of tension towards the end and then I was slightly disappointed at the ending.

Grave Mistake was one of the few novels where I've worked out the solution before the end, so I was feeling very smug. But can someone explain the significance of the last 3-34 paragraphs? Is there any?

As a bonus we have the script of an episode of Crown Court. Now that was very, very frustrating. I know what I would have said if I had been a juror in the case but.....

Well written as ever and worth reading.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh

A murder mystery is a must when I am on a holiday and I enjoyed this very much. This holiday didn’t leave much time for reading, with music festivals and treks to spot wildlife, but I still managed to read, mostly at 2am as we settled in for the night. This book kept me hooked at 2am and that’s saying something. Set in a sleepy coastal village in UK with easy access to France, this is a story of drug smuggling and murder. It features Ricky, Roderick Alleyn’s son, fresh out of college and writing his first book, who chooses this village to write in. It is good book, a light and enjoyable read.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, and slow.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Agatha Christie, you will LOVE this.
THe book makes you feel like you are right there in England, fantastic character development.
A new fav author for me!!! :)

[Steven Heywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've come late to Ngaio Marsh soI thought I'd best start with an anthology. I'm glad I did.

[Gillian Kevern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apologies if you have my updates on your feed as this is the second or third book I've clicked 'want to read' instead of 'read' and am very afraid that I am spamming you.

I read 'Grave Mistake' recently so only read 'Black as He's Painted' and 'Last Ditch.'

I enjoyed the moment in Last Ditch where Ricky gave his name, and the Constable accused him of having a laugh. 'No, I'm his son.' I think more famous detectives should have socially awkward offspring.