Artists in Crime - Ngaio Marsh

Published in an omnibus edition with "Death in Ecstasy"; "Vintage Murder", by Harper: Hammersmith, London, 2009. Originally published 1938.

 I enjoy a good whodunnit every now and then, and Ngaio Marsh is becoming a go-to for me. Being written in the 1930s, Artists in Crime occasionally uses dated slang references that the author assumes we will understand, but this is not a knock on the book. In the same way, social norms of the time period can differ greatly from our contemporary society, and so a reader needs to be on their toes to interpret why particular characters are judged in particular ways by other characters.

All this aside, Artists in Crime is a fun read, with a prominent suspect set up so early that a seasoned reader will instantly doubt they are the murderer. Although I figured out the twist a little before the book revealed it, it was not a disappointment, nor too out-of-left-field to make sense.

The book also stands apart from a majority of its genre (particularly from that era) by allowing the presence of a love-interest to enter the picture for the lead investigator. Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn must balance his feelings with the case, trying to keep an open mind as to whether the woman he admires - Agatha Troy - might indeed be the killer. I enjoyed this sub-plot, and thought the way they wrote the interactions between Alleyn and Troy fitted both characters nicely.

If you enjoy classic whodunnits, this is an easy, well-written example of the genre.

Completed 18 January 2020.

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