Died in the Wool [Paperback]

Ngaio Marsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994

Exactly one year after a member of the British Parliament is found pressed to death in a bale of wool, Inspector Alleyn receives a desperate plea for help, and finds himself entangled in a web of espionage. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In her ironic and witty hands the mystery novel can be civilized literature.' NEW YORK TIMES 'Ngaio Marsh is one of the detective novelists whose books I regularly re-read, always the test of a good detective story.' P.D. JAMES 'In the front rank of crime-story writers.' THE TIMES 'The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunnit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress.' THE SUN --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dame Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand in 1895 and died in February 1982. She wrote over 30 detective novels and many of her stories have theatrical settings, for Ngaio Marsh's real passion was the theatre. She was both actress and producer and almost single-handedly revived the New Zealand public's interest in the theatre. It was for this work that she received what she called her 'damery' in 1966. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425144690
• ISBN-13: 978-0425144695
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,719,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gruesome tale of jealousy, espionage, murder and...wool?, August 7, 2000

By 

MK Writer "hedwig_owl" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Died in the Wool (Inspector Roderick Alleyn Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I should probably read a bio on Ngaio Marsh, because I'm interested in knowing if she lived on a sheep farm when growing up in New Zealand - she seems to know an awful lot about wool! At any rate, this is another classic Marsh novel, though I do still miss Fox and co., as is the case with all the Inspector Alleyn novels set in New Zealand. Alleyn is performing War duty for the Special Services branch, when he responds to a call from a house where a Member of Parliament has been found murdered by being encased in a bale of wool on her own sheep farm. While there are household jealousies and inheritances, there is also a question of secret machinery plans being stolen and given to the enemy. As usual, the characters are finely drawn, and the plot superb (not to mention a bit bizarre!).

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralled, July 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Died in the Wool (Inspector Roderick Alleyn Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Yet another enthralling mystery by Marsh... The characters are realistic even their flaws. Died In The Wool- is set in New Zealand during the onset of WWll. A zealous, outspoken,and very popular MP is found dead in a bail of her own wool. The question is the motive. Had she made enemies because of her shrewdness, or was she caught in the middle of international espionage? Inspector Alleyn is brought in. Thanks to emotional and often biased analysis of this formidable woman by her relatives and employees, Alleyn recreates the circumstances that forced her murder.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very fine read, July 7, 2009

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Died in the Wool (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully written murder mystery that's also, to some degree, an espionage novel. As per several of her books, New Zealander Marsh places her detective Alleyn in NZ--this time during WW II. Thus, the usual cast of supporting characters such as Inspector Fox are absent as are the local police (except by reference). As in very few of her novels, Alleyn is on his own--but of course he solves the mystery. Similarly, while the mystery is good IMHO, the best part of the book is the writing--esp. the characterizations and the phraseology. The mystery revolves around

1) a dynamic Member of Parliament-- p. 172: "It all hangs on her. The kind of woman she was."

2) her relationships with the people on her sheep station-- p. 238: "Isn't there something unsound in a happiness that fails in the light?"

3) on a remote South Island plateau-- p. 270: "When you pause at midnight in this house, the landscape comes in through the windows & sends something exciting down your spinal column."

It's told via individual expositions by the main characters in separate chapters where, of course, one is tempted to jump to logical, but incorrect, conclusions about both the happenings & the people involved. For me, It was a very fast read--and highly enjoyable, perhaps one of her most enjoyable. Unfortunately, I have but one more of Marsh's novels to enjoy. The page #s refer to a March 1945, 270 page Little Brown, Boston edition. This novel is, interestingly, included in a set of 3 by different mystery masters: The Case of the Golddigger's Purse; Died in the Wool; Pearls Before Swine (Detective Book Club) as well as Marsh anthologies: 3 FOR I SHIPPING DIED IN THE WOOL/KILLER DOLPHIN/A WREATH FOR RIVERA & Ngaio Marsh: A Wreath for Rivera/Final Curtain/Died in the Wool/Colour Scheme.