Enter a Murderer: Inspector Roderick Alleyn #2

I'm sure I read this novel many years ago when I was thoroughly enjoying the classic authors of the so-called Golden Age of the Mystery Story. Ngaio Marsh was one of my favorites along with Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham. I don't think I have read all 33 of the Inspector Alleyn mysteries, but I do think I probably read most of them. Ngaio Marsh is a terrific writer and her prose has never been stilted or dated as can be found in other mystery novels from the 1930's and '40's. In this very early Roderick Alleyn mystery he does come across as a bit of a toff, but soon in this series he becomes a fine example of a modern professional who relies even more heavily on Inspector Fox and the rest of his team.This early Ngaio Marsh novel is a fascinating murder mystery set among a theatrical cast of characters with several suspects and a great puzzle for the reader to solve. I enjoyed immensely rereading "Enter a Murderer" and will continue my journey back through this excellent series. The author Deborah Crombie comes to mind as a modern equivalent of the writer who pays attention to the development of her lead characters as did Ms Marsh as her series continued.

I admit that didn't come close to guessing the killer. An interesting and singular experience for me since I generally have figured it out in the few chapters. Ngaio Marsh is the Queen of Mystery Writers.

Ngaio Marsh (1985-1982) was one of the four “Queens of Crime” (the others being Marjorie Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers) who largely defined the 20th Century English murder mystery. All her mystery novels feature Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard, and the 1935 ENTER A MURDERER is his second appearance. The novel also marks the first appearance of a character that will eventually be known as “Br’er Fox,” Alleyn’s most trusted assistant.Although she is now best recalled as an author, Marsh was also a professional stage actress and director, and ENTER A MURDERER is set against the theatrical world that she knew so well. Reporter Nigel Bathgate has received two tickets for a popular stage thriller playing at The Unicorn Theatre, a play titled The Rat and the Badger. He invites Alleyn to join him for the performance—and pretense becomes fact when an actor is murdered.In Marsh’s first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD, Alleyn was a cardboardish figure, and most of the novel followed Bathgate. In ENTER A MURDERER, however, Alleyn is much more developed and completely in charge, and the result is much more satisfying. The people who work at the theatre, and the atmosphere of the theatre itself, is also memorably developed. This is still not Marsh at her best, but it is easy to see how rapidly her confidence as a writer has improved, and although the book takes a few mis-turns, it is a fascinating read. Recommended.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This is an enjoyable story, although as only the second book in the series not as well written as some of the later books (Light Thickens is excellent). Beware - this book was written in the 1930's and some of the language used may be offensive to modern readers.

The leading man shoots another actor on stage. The gun was supposed to have dummy cartridges, but the ammunition somehow turned out to be real. Inspector Roderick and his sidekick journalist Nigel Bathgate watch the death from excellent seats. The acting is so good that the audience applauds resoundingly, unaware of the tragedy.Alleyn’s biggest obstacle in solving the case is how well all the actors act, and how well everyone lies. In general, actors in books irritate me; they always seem overly theatrical. But Ngaio Marsh does such a good job of portraying character in this book, that I was able to enjoy the story thoroughly.Alleyn‘s droll remarks and posh demeanor keep the narrative lively. And Nigel, despite his boyish fits of pique, is an intelligent and appealing Watson. Enter a Murderer was first published in 1935. It has all the expected qualities of Golden Age crime fiction: cleverness, wit and charm.

Marsh seems to still be finding her feet with the characters. Alleyn - one of my favorite fictional detectives - is both silly and irritating at times, as is recurring character Nigel Bathgate. But Marsh sets the scene with her usual skill and atmosphere, and the plot has plenty of twists and red herrings to keep the reader entertained and in the dark about the murderer's identity. Well worth a read.

I absolutely love Inspector Alleyn! Ngaio Marsh crafts an excellent mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. This series is excellent.

Liked it. Thought his almost being intimate with a murder suspect was a bit ridiculous. I may just be too tired but I didn’t follow the ‘how I know’ stage very well. But worth reading.

This is the second book featuring Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn. In this mystery, Alleyn is invited to the theatre by journalist friend, Nigel Bathgate, who he met in the first adventure, “A Man Lay Dead.” Again, Bathgate knows one of the principal characters, in this case the leading man, Felix Gardener. During the play, Gardener is supposed to pretend to shoot Arthur Surbonadier, fellow actor, nephew of the theatre owner, disgruntled loser of the leading part and rival for the hand of leading lady, Stephanie Vaughan. However, the gun goes off for real and both Alleyn and Bathgate watch fiction become reality as the body slumps to the stage.Author Ngaio Marsh was, herself, very involved in the theatre and was an acclaimed Shakespearian producer and this novel is full of her knowledge of the world of actors and backstage rivalries. It is humorous when Alleyn is annoyed by the actors hamming it up and you do wonder if she is having a sly dig for her own amusement. Overall, though, the theatre setting gives the book an interesting background. There are lots of interesting suspects and motives, before the final reconstruction when the murderer is revealed in their true colours. This is a delightful Golden Age mystery, with a fun plot and cast of characters and Alleyn is a wonderful detective. The next book in the series is “The Nursing Home Murder."

As usual, Ms Marsh plots events skilfully and creates characters that grip the reader's interest sometimes as pitiful creatures or grotesques but always as individual human beings from most walks of society. In this novel her professional theatrical experience lets her draw the reader into a small world, insidiously corrupted by ambition and jealousy, in which drink and drugs lead to murder. The investigating officers, chief of whom is actually present in the audience, disentangle a sticky web of lies and evasions.The settings are always convincing, the dialogue dramatically fits its speakers and the style is economical and witty. Ms Marsh may indicate foul language but she does not reproduce it. She does not shy away from the violence and horror of murder but she does not encourage the reader to lick their lips over it: she leaves us in no doubt of her judgement that murder is always diabolical, destroying both the victim and what is left of humanity in the killer, cutting them off from society. Most people, she implies, are capable of killing, but we choose not to. I would recommend this book to any open-minded, literate reader interested in theatre, the mores of the Thirties and human nature.

Roderick Alleyn, Scotland Yard detective, accepts an invitation to the theatre from Nigel Bathgate, a journalist friend. It turns out to be a case of being in the right place at the right time when I murder is committed on stage in front of him.Arthur Surbonadier, a nephew of the theatre owner, Jacob Saint, is murdered for real instead of just as part of the action of the play. Even though Alleyn is on the spot it is still a difficult case to solve and there are many twists and turns to the plot before the murderer is brought to justice.I enjoyed the story but found some of the dialogue just a touch too theatrical. It fits the theatrical background but I found it grated on me after a while. The only other Ngaio Marsh story I had read prior to this was Final Curtain which is much later in the series and I felt that Alleyn was much less likeable as a character in this book than he was in the later one. It is clear he grew and changed as the series developed.That said, the book is well plotted and the murder ingenious. The corpse is suitably dislikeable as well and it is clear many people could have murdered him from motive alone, including his own uncle. An enjoyable read though maybe not the author's best book.

Could not read this book due to the highly offensive smell emanating from it, did not say in the description that this was the case. Have re-ordered from another supplier, tried using sprays etc...but smell still persisted, had to throw away. Not the usual standard from this company I must admit.

An early Alleyn mystery, read by the dependable James Saxon. Written in the 30s, it reflects some dubious attitudes of the time. But not all the characters may be as keen on eugenics as first appears. In the other corner are some caricatured communists, including a "bolshy" nurse who is always spouting on about "the dawn of the proletarian day". Nigel and Angela feature, and James Saxon falls down a bit over their accents as they go undercover at a midnight meeting of the communists.