Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh is a "reread" for me. Reread is in quotes because I actually listened to it this time. Our local library had clear out of all their books on tape about this time last year and I scooped up this 8-cassette rendition read by James Saxon. Saxon, by the way is terrific to listen to. He manages to give all of the characters their own distinct voice (although I think it was a good thing that there were only two ladies--one of whom had a nice Irish brogue). I am not, generally speaking, an audio-book kind of reader. Not that I have anything against them, I just process the books much better in print (particularly on a first go-round). But when faced with a weekend trip in the middle of a read-a-thon I thought listening would be a great way to stay on track for the 'thon. And as mentioned I thoroughly enjoyed Saxon as the reader.But down to cases: Attorney, Luke Watchman is headed to Devon and the Plume of Feathers pub for an annual holiday with his cousin Sebastian Parish and his friend Noman Cubitt. On the way there he has a minor mishap with another motorist. Watchman jumps out of his car to berate the other man on his driving habits and the driver mutters an apology at him and tries to avoid being seen clearly. Watchman is somewhat mollified, but gets the impression that he might know the other man and that the driver definitely doesn't want to be seen by him.Watchman arrives at the Feathers and once settled he meets up with Parish and Cubitt in the private bar--where he regales them with the tale of his accident and his impressions of the other man. The other man is none other than Robert Legge--a fellow guest of the pub and a man who has been sitting in a secluded part of the bar. Watchman tries to engage him in conversation, but it is clear that Legge does not want to be sociable.During the course of the evening it is revealed that Legge is a "masterpiece" with the darts and can do all sorts of tricks with the darts and board--from playing Round the Clock (hitting point sections in order) to a circus-type move where he can outline a person's hand with darts. Watchman doubts his skill--challenging him to repeat exactly a set of dart moves from the previous evening (and losing money on the bet) and then a game of Round the Clock, but shying away from presenting his hand for the circus trick. The next evening Watchman changes his mind and says that if Legge can beat him at Round the Clock again, then he will let Legge do his dart and hand trick with him--he figures the worst that can happen is a prick from the dart and he's gotten a bit of courage from the brandy bottle produced by the proprietor. He would be wrong...by the end of the night Watchman is dead and a trace of cyanide found on the dart. There was plenty of the stuff about the place--Abel Pomeroy, the pub owner, had been using the deadly poison to dispose of rats. Someone decided to use it to dispose of Watchman. But who? The obvious person is Legge because he threw the dart. But there are several witnesses to swear that he could not possibly have smeared poison on the instrument. When Inspector Roderick Alleyn and Detective Sergeant Fox arrive to assist the local constabulary, they find all sorts of motives lurking about--there's Decima Moore and her boyfriend, Will Pomeroy who differ on politics and who don't appreciate Watchman's attentions to the lovely Decima; Parish and Cubitt are legatees under Watchman's will; and there are a couple of people who had dealings with Watchman in court. The difficulty is that those with the most motive seem to have the least opportunity. Fox will get a taste of poison himself (and be saved by Alleyn) before they can bring the crime home to the culprit.The last time I read this one Marsh fooled me. She did it again and (this is embarrassing) I'm pretty sure she fooled me in the same way. I latched onto a particular character and, just as one of the characters kept bleating on about how Abel Pomeroy has tried to poison them all (he hasn't), I could not get that character out of my head as the villain of the piece. Marsh managed to force the clues on me and I still missed them. I thoroughly enjoyed having the wool pulled over my eyes. Four stars.First published at my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Ngaio Marsh sets up a lovely mystery in the English countryside when a dashing young man is accidentally pricked by a dart and dies of tetanus. Except that... the owner of the bar where the death occurred doesn't believe it could be an accident. His bar's reputation is going downhill and he needs the police to prove it was murder so his customers will return.Unfortunately, Roderick Alleyn will not only have to prove that it was murder, he'll have to figure out how a diabolical plot could be launched in such a short time. You see, the poison had only been procured to kill rats the day before. So who hated the dead barrister bad enough to concoct a murder that's solution still has me scratching my head? Well, it turns out there were at least five people. The two men who would inherit his estate, the girl he had used, the boy who loved her, and an ex-con the barrister had outed.
What do You think about Death At The Bar (2015)?
Sound quality was excellent.As a narrator, James Saxon is one of my favorites and I think he did a terrific job in this one. He does some really great characterizations for the voices and his tone and inflections throughout the book are perfectly matched to the story.The characters in this novel are entertaining if not particularly well developed, partially I feel that is due to the number of characters involved in the central plot. However, they are developed well enough that you can keep track of who is who and get a general sense of their personalities. The victim himself is very well developed before and after his death and is not a particularly likeable fellow which I personally always think is a plus in murder mysteries.The setting for the book is a small pub in a sea-side village. The cast is comprised of annual vactioners (including the victim), new guests, and local inhabitants, all of whom we find are linked to our victim in some sort. In addition, each cast member has his/her own reason to dislike the man and want to see him dead. The murder weapon is the traditional cyanide poison so popular in this time period, however, part of the mystery is figuring out how it was administered. Very cleverly constructed in my opinion.When Inspector Alleyn and the estimable Fox show up, they have a lot of ground to cover. They slowly ferret out each person's link to the victim and their motive for wanting his hasty departure from earth. The by-play between the two are very witty and entertaining as always. Before the end when the culprit is named, Fox falls into a trap set by the killer and Alleyn's deep concern and Fox's stubborn refusal to remain out of harms way the rest of the novel was a nice counterpoint which developed the characters even more. These touches are classic Marsh and are one of the reasons I enjoy her books so much.All in all I think this is among my favorites in this series and would recommend to anyone looking for a nice cozy mystery with a touch of brilliance.
—Lady Aeval
I remember trying to read this ages ago and coming to the conclusion that I didn't like it, and not reading any Ngaio Marsh for years as a result -- funnily enough, even though I am definitely a fan of Marsh's style and work now, I still didn't enjoy it. It was also the only of the three Marshes that I didn't manage to get the murderer, though I don't think that interfered with my enjoyment -- rather she was too good at creating an atmosphere of tension and suspicion, and there was enough other stuff going on to alleviate it -- Bathgate was absent, Troy only got a brief mention.
—Starfish
[These notes were made in 1985:]. In a small coastal town, three friends - a lawyer, an actor and an artist - gather for a holiday. The locals include the innkeeper, his son, and the woman his son is in love with: "Decima". Decima and the lawyer (Luke) have had the beginnings of an affair the year before. There is also a man - Mr. Legge - who rejoices in a rather shadowy past, and whom Luke seems to recognize. Mr. Legge is also a precision darts player, and in the course of demonstrating a trick
—Surreysmum
