Swing, Brother, Swing [Import] [Paperback]

Ngaio Marsh (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Fontana; n.i. edition (1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006113842
• ISBN-13: 978-0006113843
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurels for Ngaio, November 27, 2000

By 

c. john evans (Northport, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Wreath for Rivera (Mass Market Paperback)

Probably Marsh's very best mystery plot. Underestimated by those looking for details on New Zealand or the theatrical world. Those who love good, traditional English mystery plots will love this one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Death of a Cad, March 8, 2005

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Wreath for Rivera (Mass Market Paperback)

Lord Pastern and Bagott is England's most eccentric nobleman, egotistical, publicity hungry, and given to sudden and bizarre enthusiasms that tend to land him on the front page. His latest enthusiasm is to become a drummer with jazz band, and much to the horror of his long-suffering wife he manages to use his title to buy his way into one. In the process, however, his step-daughter Felicite falls for ultra-oily band member Carlos Rivera--and when Lord Pastern and Bagott and Carlos Rivera take to the stage the result is pure murder. Fortunately for all concerned, Inspector Alleyn happens to be in the audience at the time.

Ngaio Marsh is among the great masters of the British mystery novel, and her particular claim to fame is not so much in her plots as in her remarkable gift at creating character and setting. In WREATH FOR RIVERA she displays her ability to the full, peopling her novel with a host of memorable individuals and rushing the reader from the Pastern and Bagott household to a London night spot and back again. In this instance certain aspects of her plot are transparent, but she also handles the mystery quite well, and it will be the rare reader who spots the killer before Inspector Alleyn tells all.

Although WREATH FOR RIVERA is expertly written and in terms of plot may well be among Marsh's best efforts, I must admit that it is not among my favorites; like COLOUR SCHEME, which was written about the same time, the characters tend to emerge as extremely abrasive--cousins Carlisle and Edward are the exception--and in consequence it is less appealing than most of her other titles. Recommended nonetheless.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Marsh is a genius in her genre!, December 9, 2004

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Wreath for Rivera (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read most of Ms. Marsh's books, and I am rereading some of them again. She is a master in her genre. In this book we see a little bit of a digression for her. Most of her books take place on the stage with actors and actreses as the protagonists. This one is on the stage, but it's with a swing band this time, not a play. Alleyn and Fox are trying to solve what does appear to be a very "fancy" murder as Fox puts it. A musician who plays an accordian dies on stage at the end of one of the band's numbers. When Fox and Alleyn start investgating they find that this Rivera is a very unsavoury character, and there could be lots of suspects. Most of the suspects they follow are from one family, and what a family it is! Talk about eccentrics! Fox and Alleyn get through all the window-dressing and unmask the real murder. Good stuff here.