Customer Reviews

Killer Dolphin

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Ngaio Marsh has written 32 mystery novels many of which take place in theaters--indeed this one and 2 others (Enter a Murderer & Night at the Vulcan) are included in the collection Curtain Calls: Three Great Mysteries; Enter A Murderer; Night At the Vulcan; Killer Dolphin--which might be an efficient & cost-effective way to collect Marsh novels. This one is interesting in its unique portrayal of the nature of the players--depicting their egos rather blatantly--as well as its introduction of a Shakespearean relic: Hamnet's glove. In some ways it's quite clever though I found the mystery rather trying. It stars, of course, Superintendent Alleyn with most of his usual staff (esp. Fox) though they have quite small parts in this book. It's a nice book, but not one of my favorites. Some of the activities, for example, of the business manager are almost beyond belief in their ingenuousness. But, I do like the way Marsh depicted the theater & its renovations as well as the play & its relationship to the relic--sometimes her "straight" prose (prior to the introduction of the murder) are more interesting that the solution to the mystery. She also marvelously ties up loose ends in the last chapter or two--explaining the mysterious millionaire.