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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cruise Mystery Keeps You Guessing...,
By
This review is from: Singing In The Shrouds (Mass Market Paperback)
In NgaioMarsh's "Singing in the Shrouds", dependable New Scotland Yard detective Roderick Alleyn is going on a cruise -- but not a vacation. Sent in secret to prove his hunch that a murderer is on the Cape Farewell, a cargo ship sailing to South Africa via Portugal, Alleyn meets up with an intriguing list of characters, most of whom could be legitimate subjects. All he has to go on is a scrap of paper in the last victim's hand -- an embarkation note -- and the murderer's predilection for singing and leaving a certain flower on the victim after the murder is completed. There are other clues, one of which I didn't get until the end, which point to the eventual culprit, but as always, Marsh delivers a wonderful analysis of character as well as a good plot. There's also humor and an interesting portrayal of some sexuality issues that are interesting to read in a book originally published in 1958. A good escape into a different time.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good shipboard mystery.,
By
This review is from: Singing In The Shrouds (Mass Market Paperback)
Clues point to a serial murderer being aboard a cargo ship bound for South Africa. Inspector Alleyn is sent to join the ship on its voyage south. It carries nine passengers in addition to the crew.The cast of characters are vividly drawn and Ms. Marsh does a wonderful job in making us switch our suspicion from one character to the next. As with most mysteries of this sort, much of the fun comes from the interplay between the characters as opposed to the mystery itself. As always, Marsh provides us with the necessary clues to guess the murderer. If you pay close attention, you may figure out the solution within the first half of the novel. A drawback here, is that the list of the possible guilty parties is narrowed rather early on. Part of this is, however, made up for by trying to perceive who the next victim will be. Something has been made about the character of a gay character. I've always thought that it is somewhat dangerous to attempt to place the latest views of morality/society upon works of fiction written in the past. Was Ms. Marsh prejudiced against homosexuals, or was she portraying the reality of her day? One could easily interpret that the unfavourable characteristics of the character may have arisen from the need to hide their sexuality. Also, because of its role in the outcome of the mystery, its uncertain as to what could have been changed and still keep the mystery intact. Finally, in regard to how gay characters are treated by other characters in the novel, it seems more likely that they would have suffered prejudice, etc., rather than open acceptance and celebration of their sexual preferences.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
probably my least favorite Marsh (so far),
By
This review is from: Singing in the Shrouds (Paperback)
Practically the whole novel takes place aboard an ocean liner headed from the UK to South Africa.The idea of a crazed sex killer doesn't appeal to me - I like a murderer with a specific financial or emotional motive. The setting was rather claustrophobic - same characters page after page. There is plenty of homophobia to go around in this one - all of it quite subtle! The whole atmosphere of the novel was rather humid and sexual. I prefer the dreary English villages and the correspondingly repressed characters. So much more interesting to read about!
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