Death in Ecstasy Audiobook (Unabridged)

" [These notes were made in 1982:]. Odd that, having been so partial to Christie and Sayers at various times, I've never delved into Marsh. I find her closer to Christie than Sayers, but with a fondness (at least in this one) for spectacular effects, and, I think a slightly better knack for characterization, although her characters are all still very clearly types. In one passage she actually pays a sly little backhanded compliment to her peers, having her Inspector survey the characters and muse aloud which would be the murderer in a Christie or Sayers novel (she gets it right, too, I think). Said Inspector shows some signs of being fallen in love with (as Peter W was) by his author, although it is only the very occasional passage which gives any indication, and very nearly all of the book is given over to the laudable purpose of Solving the Puzzle (which is neatly worked out in a standard sort of way). [These additional notes were made in 1985:]. Rereading this fairly early effort, I was amused to see how much I really had picked up about Dame Ngaio Marsh's fondness for Rory Alleyn. This mystery is slightly more bizarre than usual, involving an off-beat religious ritual, and an American who turns out to be an Australian. A very wealthy devotee, fairly young and quite handsome, turns out to have been exploited but not murdered by the slimy Father Garnett; the murderer was the financial American/Australian. Sexual jealousy and drug abuse complicate matters, and confuse Nigel Bathgate, who turns up regularly as Watson in these early efforts. Altho' somewhat mechanical compared to later novels, I found this very entertaining. More and more I begin notice Marsh's taste for the really macabre death. "

" Strange pagan cult murder. Not her best plot or writing. It was all too obvious. "

" One of my favorite Mystery series!! "

" Some rather grating stereotypes bring an already not-special effort down. "

" This was a fun 1930s murder mystery. "

" Ngaio Marsh, where have you been all my life? I had read Agatha Christie over the years, but never Marsh. I love the sense of humor and wry wit, the handling of the characters. The setting in the 1930s era of wacky cults and pseudo religions was a lot of fun. I've seen other writers touch on the subject, but Marsh is so playful with it and yet adds insight as to why someone would join up with one of these groups. Well written and fun. I'm definitely going to check out the library for more Marsh! "

" Another enjoyable Inspector Alleyn mystery, but not as brilliant as its predecessors. "

" Guessed a little quicker than the last, but still pretty good! "

" Kind of slow and not a great book. But otherwise ok. "

" As a mystery, this book is great. However, the rampant homophobia in the book was really awful and resulted in a lower rating. "

" The House of the Sacred Flame is an intruiging creation, however this is one of the less engaging of Dame Marsh's books. "

" It's not quite as good as "Spinsters in Jeopardy" but it's close. I liked the look into occultism in England and I ike the way, despite all the weirdness, Fox just keeps plugging away at the routine police work, while Alleyn delves into the psyche. They make a good team. "

" I normally love these books, but I don't know why, I had to plough my way through this one - forcing myself to finish. Maybe because there were no sympathetic characters. Even Alleyn seemed disinterested over the whole thing., "

" Cara Quayne is poisoned with cyanide during a ceremony at the House of the Sacred Flame that Bathgate just happens to have snuck into. The suspects were all very stereotyped and the killer was easy to guess. "

" It was fine but I clearly need to take a break. "

" The plot is farfetched, the characters conceivable, and the writing excellent. "

" Favorite of them so far. It feels like Marsh was really comfortable with the characters. "

" I wish I lived in 1936 London. "

" This one has the appeal of a delicious scandal, with obscure religions, murky sex stuff, & an overlay of drugs. "

" Ngaio Marsh brings to life another era,one in which there were still traps for the seemingly naive and resins for murder. "

" I read it as part of a three part omnibus. Ngaio Marsh books are always WONDERFULLY silly, and as much as I like a good Christie denouement I must agree that Marsh's characters tend to be more interesting. "

" Some rather grating stereotypes bring an already not-special effort down. "

" Religious cults, heroin and even a few homosexuals thrown in for good measure in a book originally published in 1936. And yet, none of it felt dated or campy, save for a few turns of phrases here or there."Well put that on your needles and knit it." "

" I normally love these books, but I don't know why, I had to plough my way through this one - forcing myself to finish. Maybe because there were no sympathetic characters. Even Alleyn seemed disinterested over the whole thing., "

" Death in Ecstasy (Roderick Alleyn Mysteries) by Ngaio Marsh (1997) "

" This one has the appeal of a delicious scandal, with obscure religions, murky sex stuff, & an overlay of drugs. "

" The plot is farfetched, the characters conceivable, and the writing excellent. "

" The House of the Sacred Flame is an intruiging creation, however this is one of the less engaging of Dame Marsh's books. "

" I listened to the audio version: 8 Cd's / 7 hours & 52 minutes Narrator: James Saxon "

" Good – Well-constructed. It played almost fair but the Australian thing was cheating a bit. This one was more hard-edged than her usual fare. The dope aspect was darker than normal. Nigel is still playing Watson. "

" 4th in series. 1936. A little weird with the secret religious stuff. Poisoning, motives, mystery enough for any fan. "

" This was a fun 1930s murder mystery. "

" I really do like Inspector Alleyn. Even better, I like his partner, Fox, who fits my stereotype of an English copper to a tee. As always, this book was well read by the narrator and it held my interest as I drove around Pamunkeyland. "