Death at the Bar

Two of my bookgroups on Goodreads are reading Ngaio Marsh this month—I read the first, a later title in the series, earlier on (technically, last month), and now, this one. Death at the Bar, published in 1939, is ninth in the Roderick Alleyn series by Marsh, and is also a reread for me. Compared to......more

Well I deducted the wrong person for the murder. A barrister called Watchman goes to a town in Devon with his cousin Parish and friend Cubitt. He has a collision with his car with a lodger at the pub he is staying in called Robert Legge. Watchman while playing darts suddenly dies. Rat poison, everyo......more

I am just discovering these early Inspector Alleyn mysteries... Classic drawing room mystery without the drawing room and an interesting ending. (Reviewed 4-14-11)......more

I don’t quite understand people who like Marsh’s books as much as, say, Dorothy L. Sayers’. Alleyn just doesn’t have the same depth of characterisation as Wimsey, and while the character of Troy is quite fun, she doesn’t seem to have come into it as much as Harriet. It is true that Wimsey books go b......more

Death at the Bar is not so much a whodunit as a howdunit. Once you figure out how the murder was committed, you will know who the killer was. I’ll bet you never figure out the how, but of course Inspector Alleyn does. Be prepared for an abrupt conclusion.......more