Death in a White Tie

by Ngaio Marsh

Book Overview

Ah, the London Debutante Season: Giggles and tea-dances, white dresses and inappropriate romances. And much too much champagne. And, apparently, a blackmailer, which is where Inspector Roderick Alleyn... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0006167977
• ISBN13: 9780006167976
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: HarperCollins Canada, Limited
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.9" x 4.4"

Customer Reviews

A Society Murder with Plenty of Class

Although not in the same league with BLACK AS HE'S PAINTED or DEAD WATER, Ngaio Marsh's DEATH IN A WHITE TIE is a highly satisfying novel that meets the expectations readers have of this particular author: it is literate, witty, peopled with fully rounded characters, and set against an interesting backdrop--in this case the London debutant season.In this particular novel, Inspector Allen is called upon to investigate rumors of a blackmailer at work in London's high society, and he accordingly recruits Lord "Bunchy," a well known and decidedly fatherly figure. Bunchy is quick to identify the blackmailer--but just as the blackmail plot seems about to unravel murder steps in, and Allen must not only uncover the blackmailer but a killer as well.As is often the case in a Marsh novel, some readers will spot the killer long before the book's finish--but as typical of Marsh, getting there is most of the fun. A number of favorites return in this novel, including painter Agatha Troy, previously introduced in ARTISTS IN CRIME, and Allen's charming mother; the novel also includes a number of romantic subplots that Marsh handles with considerable effectiveness. Neither newcomers nor old fans will be disappointed; recommended.

Dame Ngaio's best

This is perhaps Ngaio Marsh's best example of an upper-crust English murder mystery. The characters are so finely drawn that it makes you wish they would show up in her other novels. Rory Alleyn is at his youthful best, with a convincing amount of restrained-British angst just to make him more loveable. This is a compelling whodunit, with more than enough great writing and humour along the way to make it look great as a novel, too.