When in Rome [Hardcover]

Ngaio Marsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1970

Mr Mailer's tour group are unperturbed when he goes missing in a Roman basilica, but when a corpse is discovered in an Etruscan sarcophagus, Superintendent Alleyn, already on the trail of an international drugs racket, is asked to investigate. From the author of DEATH AND THE DANCING FOOTMAN and DEATH AT THE DOLPHIN.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Excellent Roman detailed background... a lively thriller whodunnit.' OBSERVER 'One of her best books for a long time... keeps us guessing most craftily.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Superintendent Alleyn is as devastating as ever.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Blackmail and drug-dealing on the Tiber... Fastidious writing, telling character sketches, a fine appreciation of place.' SUNDAY TIMES 'I have no doubt at all that this is the best detective novel you have ever written. It has everything, and will go very far.' EDMUND CORK, Ngaio Marsh's literary agent --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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Collins Crime; First Edition edition (November 9, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000231889X
• ISBN-13: 978-0002318891
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,824,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As addictive as any drug, June 13, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: When in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

From the first Ngaio Marsh book I read (_Death in a White Tie_)I was hooked. Now, reading my fourth Marsh novel, _When in Rome_, I can say that I like her even better than Agatha Christie. _When in Rome_ is about a group of tourists (incl. the famous Inspector Alleyn) whose guide suddenly disappears. Only Inspector Alleyn, who joined the tour because he suspects that the guide is a key member of a drug ring, is worried about his disappearance; most of the tour group couldn't care less. In fact, a few of them couldn't be happier that the seedy Mr. Mailer has conveniently vanished.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is time to compare Christie to Marsh, November 13, 2001

By 

Robert Louis Shaddy (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read all of Agatha Christies novels I never thought that I would find an author comparable to her. Yet, after reading most of the Ngaio Marsh books I believe it is time to start comparing Agatha Christie to Ngaio Marsh. A great example of this can be found in When in Rome. In this book, Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn gets himself involved in a guided tour in an old church site in Rome. When the rather disrepeptable tour guide vanishes and a murder in unearthed in the underground portion of the old church, Alleyn finds himself in the thick of it. Together with the Italian Police, Alleyn trys to sort out the possible suspects. Marsh is at her very best as she takes the reader on a magical mystery tour of Rome. As always, her character descriptions are flawless and the plot moves along in rapid fashion. This book is on a par with Grave Mistake and many of her others. A great read and a superb mystery. Ngaio Marsh is can well be considered one of the best Brittish authors of the century.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining enough, but not the top of her game., January 5, 2007

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: When in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

This late (1970) Marsh book is worthwhile reading for Marsh fans. Unfortunately, it does not compare well to some of the more classic Alleyn books from earlier in her career. Marsh was at her best writing about earlier days. Her misunderstandings and often (unintentionally) comic view of youth culture during the late 1960s/early 1970s is one of the unfortunate hallmarks of this period in her writing.

In When in Rome, Alleyn registers for a tour incognito to try to crack a drug and blackmailing ring run by a thoroughly unpleasant fellow. When the fellow in question turns up dead, he and his fellow tourists have a great deal of thinking to do about guilt and innocence.

Truthfully, this is probably a three star book. I gave it four stars because of the extra Ngaio Marsh spark which can make even a tedious book worth the time to read. Recommended, as I said, for Marsh fans. Readers new to her work should choose one of the novels from the 1930s through 1950 as a first experience.