Customer Reviews

Black As He's Painted

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4 star:		(4)
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First published in 1974, Black As He's Painted with Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn is back in print.

The mystery starts out with a bored Mr. Samuel Whipplestone, who is retired from Her Majesty's Foreign Service, venturing out on a stroll. The walk leads him to Capricorn Place, a couple of memorable experiences and a change in his newly retired life. Later in the mystery, he meets up with Superintendent Alleyn at a reception where an assassination has occurred. The superintendent has his hands full trying to keep his old school buddy, now president of Ng'ombwana in Africa, safe from his many enemies. Knowing Mr. Whipplestone's past job description, the Superintendent requests his aid - Mr. Whipplestone obliges.

I enjoyed reading Ngaio Marsh's mystery. It has the flavor of an old fashion British mystery, with an added flare of espionage. The author's ability to plant suspicion and lead her readers into the twists and turns are well done. Although I know Black As He's Painted is a Superintendent Alleyn mystery, I feel Mr. Whipplestone and the adorable recently procured addition to his household steals the show and adds charm to the mystery. If you haven't read a Ngaio Marsh Mystery here's your chance to experience a writer said to be in the same league as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.

This is my favorite of the baker's dozen Marsh's I've read so far. Not only are her style, dialog, & plot very fine, but her characterizations are delightful--esp. the Boomer (President of an African nation & former classmate of Alleyn's), the always intriguing Troy (bringing in her fascinating painter's perspective), and (perhaps esp.) former Foreign Service Officer Whipplestone & his cat Lucy Lockett. The supporting characters were also interesting & unusual (e.g. Gomez, the Chubbs, the Sanskrits, the Montforts, etc.). There's also an interesting foil regarding racial prejudice amongst the various characters. The only quibble might be the perhaps over-emphasis & insensitivity on the obesity of the Sanskrits. The book actually has two mysteries embedded in it--the overarching one and a quick & dirty one. Overall, a terrific mystery novel in the British tradition.

Ngaio Marsh is one of my favourite mystery writers and this book lives up to her usual standard. Roderick Alleyn must investigate an assassination attempt on an old school friend that resulted in the death of a bystander. His job is made more difficult because of cultural differences and racism. In addition to creating believable characters, Marsh writes an interesting story with an unexpected ending.

I am not a particular fan of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn, but I liked this novel better than the previous ones I had read. Perhaps, because Alleyn is not present for a good portion of the story.

The plot of "Black As He's Painted" revolves around an attempt to assassinate the controversial president (i.e. dictator) of an emerging African nation. Much of the story is from the viewpoint of Samuel Whipplestone, a recently retired foreign service officer. He is the one who unites all the various elements of the plot and while he does not do the "deducing", he is the one who gathers the vital information for Inspector Alleyn to do his magic.

The plot is good although overly reliant on coincidences. Characters are excellent. Humor is used sparingly, but effectively.

Read and enjoy. Hail Britannia!

Ngaio Marsh has been one of my favorite authors ever since I first read "Artists in Crime" thirty-five years ago. This is one of the best of them.

An unusually intriguing story concerning an African politician threatened with assasination and remarkably created characters mix to create my personal favorite of all Marsh novels, one which even surpasses the authors own exceptionally high standards. Every character is a jewel of the writer's art, and the complex story allows for a richer mystery than sometimes found in Marsh's work. Completely satisfying in every possible way.

This book is a little different for a Roderick Alleyn book. For one thing, it's more a diplomatic mystery than a murder mystery, but there are murders in the book, but these come as almost secondary to the main plot which is the protection of a Black President from the country of Ng'ombwanan. Alleyn is conscripted by Special Branch to help with the security measures to protect a political target that doesn't think he's a target because Alleyn actually went to school with this man. The book has it's usual eccentric characters, and the plot is fast-moving and exciting. Ms. Marsh wrote this book quite later on in her life, and it appears that she still had what it took to be a first-class mystery writer.