Customer Reviews

Tied Up in Tinsel (New Portway Large Print Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) wrote this one just ten years prior to her death. It's a formula cozy murder, much in the vein of her other Inspector Roderick Alleyn/Detective Fox series entries.

THE STORY here is that a rich aristocrat (Hilary Bill-Tasman) has re-purchased his noble family's run-down former estate and he's restoring the Manor House (Halberds Manor). Along with that he's bringing a young and beautiful wife into the home, a caveat of which not everyone approves. To add even more to the accoutrements Hilary has hired Inspector Alleyns' wife, the renowned Troy, to paint his portrait (a Marsh theme that we've seen before in Final Curtain, 1947).

To commemorate the event, Hilary has invited his close relatives to celebrate a community Christmas at his not-quite-finished home, where the locals and their children are provided with gifts and subsequently fed a nice supper. Instead of Santa, Hilary opts for an ancient folklore Druid character to deliver the gifts. Providing the domestic service at the event is Hilary's staff, comprised in part of five men who have previously been convicted of murder -- but they've all been rehabilitated... or have they?

In any case, Hilary's eccentric and aged Uncle F. Fleaton Forrester ("Uncle Flea") is supposed to play the Druid role but he falls ill and his personal manservant, Moult, has to take on the task at the last minute. Moult has been somewhat at odds with Hilary's unusual house staff members but it comes as a great surprise to all when Moult comes up missing just after the gifts are distributed.

Of course Inspector Alleyn, who has just arrived back in England, ends up on the scene at the snowed-in and isolated mansion and he reluctantly takes on the case -- but his ability to solve the case is hampered as the level of cooperation is not high from the distrustful house staff, all of whom are naturally distrustful of the police.

This mystery flows along nicely and one can read it over a couple of evenings -- the hardcover edition (Little, Brown and Company, 1972) runs for 222 pages. As usual, Marsh has crammed this cozy murder with lots of terrific wallpaper and atmosphere.

While this isn't a "must-read," Marsh fans will clearly enjoy this entry and I can recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good, fluid, British cozy murder.

Very entertaining mystery that takes place in a wealthy eccentric's enormous home. Troy Alleyn has been commissioned to paint Hilary (a man) Bill-Tasman's portrait during the Christmas holiday. While she knows that he's eccentric, she doesn't count on the fact that he likes to staff his house with ex-convicts ("onecers")from the local prison. When their crimes start repeating themselves in the great house and a missing person turns up dead, Inspector Alleyn is unwillingly pulled into the picture, taking charge of the investigation. I would have ranked the book higher, except that the identity of the murderer became fairly clear a little too early.

I really liked this particular Inspector Alleyn mystery. I've read quite a few of Marsh's books, and this one really sucked me in. I read it over the holidays on purpose, to put me in the mood. Didn't really work since it doesn't snow here, but it was nice to *read* about snow. At any rate, I loved the notion of the Man of the House having ex-convicts as his staff. I knew who had actually committed the murder in question, from the start (I had a hunch), and I was right, in the end. However, that in no way detracted from the pleasure of the story. I was glad, too, that the central figure was Troy, this time, rather than Roderick. Made a nice change. Her character is wonderful! Anyhoo, great story, all around. I just finished "Artists in Crime", too, and would give that 5 stars, also. There's a few Alleyn mysteries I would *not* give 5 stars to, so don't think me a fawning fan. These two books were exceptional.

First, let me be clear. I do like this mystery. In fact, I very much like all of Ngaio Marsh's body of work. However, this audio narrator chose to pronounce the leading character's name differently than the author intended, which unfortunately was distracting to me, and interfered more than a bit with my listening enjoyment.
The case in point is that Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn's name ought to sound like Allen/Allan. Ngaio Marsh gently pointed it out in another of her novels featuring Alleyn (Vintage Murder, c1937) by including not one, but three, mentions at different points that individuals hearing Alleyn's name wrongly assumed that it was Allen. Even the passenger list for his Pacific crossing had his name misspelled. In the storyline, Alleyn hadn't corrected the shipboard listing from "Mr. R. Allen" to his actual name because he welcomed the anonymity it afforded him. Vintage Murder is set during a journey while Alleyn was traveling abroad for health reasons but had recently led several highly-publicized murder investigations back in England. Alleyn wants the peace of being casually taken for a "Mr. Allen" of no particular distinction or notability.
In addition, the source and the reason for choosing Alleyn's name and its pronounciation are explained by Ngaio Marsh in Death In The Air.
Enjoy Tied Up In Tinsel, this mystery at Halberds Manor. Enjoy the storyline and its glimpse into the long-gone elegance of the 1930's. Enjoy Alleyn and his artist wife Troy, and each of the quite remarkable characters assembled at Halberds Manor over the festive season.

This was the first Inspector Alleyn mystery I ever read so it holds an extra special place in my heart. Marvelous characters and a great mystery make this one of Marsh's best. The character of Troy Alleyn, a respected portrait painter, starts off the tale never expecting to be plunged into intrigue. She more than manages to hold her own until her husband is called in to solve the case. Quirky players, a little twisted holiday spirit, and the standard Ngaio Marsh wit make this book stellar. A must read and a great first book for Marsh newcomers.

The basic premise of a house staffed with one-time murderers (oncers) was certainly intriguing, and giving Troy, Alleyn's painter-wife, a larger part was refreshing IMHO, but the overall novel left me a bit unsatisfied for some reason. As in several Marsh books, there are numerous Britishisms, possibly some are also anachronisms--from the time of writing?), understandable but not (to a modern American) comprehensible. Still, one can generally ignore such things in order to enjoy the story itself. But the characterizations are too intricately woven into a good mystery novel to separate the two in one's general impression. This appears to me to be the case here because the characters seem more like caricatures. Were such people really like (and spoke like) this in Marsh's England? Maybe. I wasn't there then. But, it seems hard to believe. Furthermore, the ending left me wondering how Alleyn figured out all the details beforehand. I'm not speaking about who the murderer is, I'm referring to all the gory details. Don't get me wrong, it's Marsh's usual solid mystery, but not IMHO one of her best. I do like the very last paragraph very much though--it brought a smile to my lips. This novel is also included in multi-novel books such as: FIVE COMPLETE NOVELS SCALES OF JUSTICE DEATH OF A FOOL TIED UP IN TINSEL GRAVE MISTAKE PHOTO FINISH.

When Troy Alleyn agrees to visit Halberds to paint the portrait of eccentric proprietor Hilary Bill-Tasman, she doesn't realize what an odd household she's visiting. As it happens, Bill-Tasman decided to solve his domestic servant problem by staffing his house with paroled murderers. When after a series of frightening pranks and a stint as the Christmas Druid, Alfred Moult goes missing, Troy's husband Roderick is called in to see if murder is at hand.

While perhaps not exceptional (the situation is a bit overdone, and it's rather easy to guess the killer) _Tied up In Tinsel_ is a typically well-written Marsh mystery. Well worth a read.

I had been an Agatha Christie fan for years when my Aunt first told me about Ngaio Marsh. I picked up this book around the Holidays, and was hooked. The plot was full of twists, and the characters were very well developed. This really was an amazing book.

Nicely traditonal setting for us cosy fans. Perhaps a bit thinly written, but a very good puzzle plot (maybe it was an off day for me, but I was fooled). Witty ending takes a somewhat cynical view of progessive views on criminal rehabilitation.