Judging from what I see in bookstores and at Amazon, the books of Ngaio Marsh may soon attain endangered species status. In other words, a lot of them seem to be going out of print. I think that's a pity, as Marsh remains one of my favorite authors.
I have reviewed some of her other books on our podcasts. Here are four of the reviews:
Killer Dolphin - one of Marsh's best mysteries set in the world of the theater.
Tied Up in Tinsel - a marvelous Christmas murder mystery, with a truly fantastic sense of atmosphere.
Clutch of Constables - Alleyn's wife finds herself on a river cruise with a notorious killer.
Overture to Death - an impossible murder of a rather unpleasant pianist.
All of them feature Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard as the primary detective. I think Marsh's characters are more believable than those of some other Golden Age authors, and I am particularly fond of Alleyn's wife, the painter, Agatha Troy. You will find links to a number of her mysteries - some in print, some not - on Amazon.com's "author page" for Ngaio Marsh
eMail from Ron Smyth:
Here in Canada there appears to be a series of trade paperbacks being issued, each of which contains three of her novels per volume. There are at least ten such volumes either already issued or due out by March 10th, for a total of 30 novels available in total. Online price is C$13.64 each from Chapters Books, so I don't think there is any chance of Ms Marsh's books becoming unavailable anytime soon.
Thanks, Ron! --Les
Posted by: Les Blatt | February 25, 2010 at 04:41 PM