Ngaio Marsh

my favourite reads of December 2025

The Allingham Case-book by Margery Allingham (1969)

A collection of short stories, some featuring Albert Campion.

Funny, clever, really enjoyable.

Cover Her Face by PD James (1962)

A devious housemaid is strangled in her bed and Dalgleish discovers she had a lot of enemies.

The first PD James I’ve ever read and I liked it a lot.

Do Admit! by Mimi Pond (2025)

A biography of the infamous Mitford sisters in graphic novel form.

I find graphic novels like this a bit hard to read when there are lines of text all over the page in every direction, but the Mitford sisters are so fascinating I persevered.

Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh (1951)

Young actress Martyn Tarne stumbles into a job as a dresser in a play with a cast that has complicated feelings about each other. When the star actor dies, some of the cast and crew are happy for her to take the blame.

A bit slow-moving and too focused on how sweet and charming Martyn is, but it was still pretty good.

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham (1931)

The fiancée of an old friend of Campion’s is the personal companion to a spiky elderly lady, who lives with her strange and unlikeable adult children and nephews, one of whom has disappeared. Campion goes to investigate.

Not my favourite Allingham, but her B-list books are still better than a lot of other authors’ A-list ones, if you ask me.

Remarkable Diaries (2020)

A large, beautifully illustrated book on diaries through the centuries, with a good range of subjects. It inspired me to hunt down a few so I can read more.

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (1931)

Maigret is brought in to investigate when a would-be assassin seems to be targeting a group of influential men in a small town. 

Simenon is economical – no wasting time on extraneous conversation or character-building or much description of any sort. I like it.

my favourite reads of October 2025

A Man’s Head by Georges Simenon (1931)

Maigret suspects that a man found guilty of a double murder didn’t do it and sets out to discover who did.

Quick-moving and enjoyable. There is a strange quality to all the Maigrets I’ve read so far and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. A vagueness, maybe? There are definitely moments when I’m not entirely clear on what is happening. Maybe it’s Simenon’s style or maybe it’s the style of French books from the thirties. I am far from an expert.

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (1930)

An American judge is pursued across the Atlantic by a ruthless gang that has already killed four of his employees. (“Four murders in his house within a month? That ought to be stopped. He’s been told about it, I suppose?”) The judge’s adult children hire Albert Campion to help protect their father and expose the gang’s leadership.

Good plotting + fun twists + splashes of humour = very entertaining.

Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh (1949)

An obnoxious and widely despised band member is murdered during a performance by their guest drummer, the eccentric and unpredictable Lord Pastern. But did Lord Pastern really do it?

I liked this one a lot. Lady Pastern is hilarious.

Time Anxiety by Chris Guillebeau (2025)

Useful advice on how to live a happier life.

A quick, but valuable read.

my favourite reads of September 2025

The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh (1969)

Contains essays on Alleyn and Troy as well as the short stories “Death on the Air”, “I Can Find My Way Out”, “The Little Copplestone Mystery”, “The Hand in the Sand”, “The Cupid Mirror”, “A Fool About Money”, “Morepork”, and a telescript of “Evil Liver”.

I prefer her novels, but overall I liked it.

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1929)

A weekend house party in the country turns into a trap and the guests are held hostage by a gang of criminals.

Suspenseful, good pacing, clever plotting – I really liked it.

Dear Writer by Maggie Smith (2025)

Advice mainly geared toward poets, but lots of value for any writer.

Maggie Smith has a friendly, easygoing and encouraging way of writing that makes you feel not only that you could write, but that you should.

Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh (1945)

The body of Florence Rubrick, a brash politician in wartime New Zealand, is found stuffed in a bale of wool sent for processing by the sheep farm she shares with a bunch of dubious characters. Alleyn, in New Zealand on official spy-hunting business, is brought in to investigate.

Enjoyable.

The Little Nugget by PG Wodehouse (1913)

The rich, estranged parents of a horrible child, nicknamed The Little Nugget, are engaged in an ongoing war over the boy, with each side using spies and kidnappers to steal him away from the other.

Not quite as joke-packed as many Wodehouses, but there are still many very funny passages. 

Your To-Die-For Life by Karen Salmansohn (2025)

Essentially memento mori and therefore live accordingly, but it has lots of good advice and was a quick, pleasant read.

my favourite reads of August 2022

The Call by Edith Ayrton Zangwill (1924)

Ursula Winfield is a bright young scientist who abandons her scientific work to become a top suffragette. 

Her struggles to be accepted by the male-dominated scientific community and the horrors inflicted on suffragettes make for pretty compelling reading, but then the story focuses on Ursula’s stilted romance with Tony Balestier and I kind of lost interest.

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh (1940)

An over-confident lawyer is killed by a poisoned dart in a bet gone wrong.

Very enjoyable.

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh (1942)

Wealthy old bachelor Jonathan Royal invites a group of people (who have multiple reasons to hate each other) to his country house for a weekend party and then is shocked when someone ends up dead.

Suspenseful and good fun.

Doctor Sally by PG Wodehouse (1932)

Bill Bannister falls madly in love with beautiful Dr Sally Smith, but, thinking him a wealthy playboy, she isn’t interested.

The story is a bit thinner than most Wodehouses, but there were many very funny passages.

Fanny Burney’s Diary: A Selection from the Diary and Letters, ed by John Wain (1961)

A best-selling author as a young woman, Frances acted as a personal attendant to Queen Charlotte for five years, before marrying and having a child.

The entries in which she marvelled at the popularity of her novel and recounted everyone’s amazement at her genius got to be a bit tedious, but I really enjoyed the entries written while King George III was in crisis. 

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon (1931)

Inspector Maigret watches a man mail a large wad of cash to himself and, wanting to know why he’s behaving so suspiciously, follows him. After witnessing the man commit suicide, his investigation into the man’s true identity and circumstances leads him to a crime committed ten years earlier.

Simenon’s style (exclamation marks! ellipses…) takes a bit of getting used to, but the plot was strange enough to keep me interested.

The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier (1949)

Recounts the strange childhood and difficult adulthood of Maria, Niall and Celia, the grown children of a famous dancer mother and a famous singer father.

Really good characterization, but confusing narration – sometimes third person and sometimes first person, although it was unclear who the ‘I’ was that was speaking. I saw this recommended as a ‘hysterically funny’ book and I wouldn’t say that, but it had its moments.

Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (1931)

On the trail of infamous criminal Pietr the Latvian, Inspector Maigret is determined not to lose him.

I found it a bit difficult to understand what was happening at times, but enjoyed it.

Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh (1940)

A large, eccentric family always living beyond their means, the Lampreys are counting on rich Uncle Gabriel to bail them out of financial trouble again. Unfortunately for him, Uncle Gabriel ends up murdered in the Lampreys’ house and Inspector Alleyn has to figure out who did it and why.

Engaging characters, a clever plot – I really liked this one.

We Need Your Art by Amie McNee (2025)

Pep talks and lots of good advice for all kinds of issues artists, makers and writers face. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone struggling with their creative life.

my favourite reads of July 2025

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh (1938)

A model is murdered while posing for an art class and almost all of them have a reason to wish her harm, including the instructor.

Very enjoyable.

A Change of Habit by Sister Monica Clare (2025)

An autobiography of a woman who went from abusive childhood to Hollywood hopeful to advertising professional to an Episcopalian convent.

An interesting story about the call to nunhood she felt from a young age and the long, winding route she took to get there. Life in the convent sounds both horrible and dreamy: surrounded by bossy, critical nuns nitpicking one’s every move, but also a quiet and reflective environment and no one person is saddled with all the housework.

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh (1936)

A woman in a cult is poisoned by cyanide slipped into the ceremonial wine.

Liked it very much.

Kaffe Fassett in the Studio by Kaffe Fassett (2021)

A peek into his home/studio, hobbies, collections and daily routines.

Kaffe Fassett is living a dream life: time and space for non-stop creativity, playing with pattern and colour all day every day, while others cook and clean and do the admin and the grunt work of executing his designs. I admire his openness about it, at least.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (1934)

During a game of Murder at a weekend house party, one of the guests is, yes, murdered.

Very entertaining.

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh (1939)

A woman is murdered by a pistol hidden in a piano that fires when she presses the soft pedal.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read in the Summer of Marsh (aside from her occasional racist and sexist remarks), but I particularly enjoyed this one with its duelling nasty old spinsters and all their conniving.

Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh (1937)

A theatre producer is killed by a stunt gone wrong.

Good, but I confess I don’t seem to enjoy her theatre-based books quite as much. I feel like they get a bit bogged down in detail just so she can show off her insider knowledge.

my favourite reads of May and June 2025

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (2025)

When it seems like her unpopular ten-year-old son is involved in the disappearance of a rich classmate, a woman tries to shift suspicion onto someone else by underhanded means.

There were some plot holes (like how was a kid supposed to dispose of a body while on a field trip?) and the culprit wasn’t a surprise, but it was okay.

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (1938)

Elderly Lord Gospell is murdered while doing a bit of undercover work among the season’s debutantes (and their eccentric mothers and aunts) for Detective Inspector Alleyn.

My usual caveat that anything from this period will have the odd bit of totally gross racism or sexism, but otherwise it was a very enjoyable, clever mystery.

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh (1947)

An old and famous actor announces he is going to marry his gold-digging girlfriend and is promptly murdered by a member of his large family, all of whom have motive.

As above, some distasteful and dated language, but otherwise gripping and funny.

The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton (1911)

A collection of stories in which Father Brown solves various mysteries, all well-told and clever.

Could not be more different from the Father Brown tv show starring Mark Williams.

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh (1935)

After receiving several death threats, the British Home Secretary collapses with acute appendicitis and dies shortly after emergency surgery. Unfortunately for them, the surgeon and one of the attending nurses were among those who’d threatened to kill him.

An intriguing mystery, but diminished for me by one of the characters being a proud eugenicist. Again: these old novels are a product of their time. And just because I enjoy a person’s novel plotting doesn’t necessarily mean I’d like them personally.

A Pelican at Blandings by PG Wodehouse (1969)

With sister Constance back at Blandings Castle for an extended visit, brother Galahad comes to stay as moral support for Lord Emsworth. With them are an obnoxious duke, a lovesick American millionaire, a small-time crook, two people pretending to be someone they are not, and darling butler Beach.

Hilarious. I loved it.

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym (1978)

A beautiful middle-aged woman befriends a pair of antique dealers, an uncle and his 20-something nephew, and strange, complicated relationships ensue.

I’m shortchanging this book by reducing it to a blithe paragraph, but I liked it so much I read it again immediately after finishing it the first time. There are some very funny passages, but overall it’s kind of sad. So much yearning. So much manipulation. So little honesty. It was really, really good.

The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk (2024)

An extremely joke-dense (too dense, I’d argue) telling of world history.

Diane Morgan’s performance as Philomena Cunk is so perfect that no book will ever come close to capturing her magic. I laughed here and there, but it would have been a lot stronger if a few hundred of the lamer jokes had been cut.

my favourite reads of April 2025

April was such a crazy busy month around here that my reading routine really took a hit. I got bogged down in a few books that I should have given up on – when I ask myself if I should keep reading to see if it gets better, the answer should almost always be NO – but I did read a few worth mentioning:

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025)

A memoir of her time as Director of Public Policy at Facebook and wow, does it sound absolutely miserable. Eventually fired for complaining about the unrelenting sexual overtures and innuendo from her male boss, Wynn-Williams decided to go public about the toxic people and attitudes at FB HQ and I don’t blame her. 

Interesting, appalling, and infuriating.

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (1935)

An actor is killed on stage during a performance, but the amusing and appealing Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn just so happens to be in the audience and solves the crime.

Good fun. I liked it a lot

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Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (2014)

Shortly after Sherlock Holmes and super-villain Professor James Moriarty have apparently battled to the death at Reichenbach Falls, a Pinkerton’s agent and Scotland Yard detective team up to hunt down an American super-villain quickly taking over where Moriarty’s evil-doing left off.

It took me a while to get into it, but that’s probably because I was rushed and distracted. It grew on me, though, and I enjoyed it.

The Twat Files by Dawn French (2023)

A memoir of stupid, insensitive, reckless, silly, selfish, hurtful, short-sighted things she has done – the kinds of things you lie awake at night torturing yourself over.

Funny, relatable and perfectly human.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (2024)

Elite bodyguard Amy is being framed for a series of murders and enlists her father-in-law Steve and current client Rosie to help her figure out who is trying to destroy her and why.

Fun, quick-paced, humorous. I seem to enjoy everything Osman writes.