Customer Reviews

Wreath for Rivera

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

 

 

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.

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

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.

An eccentric close to the point of lunacy, Lord Pastern and Baggott, develops one of his frequent obsessions, this time playing drums in a swing band. He is convinced that he could make this a full time occupation, regardless of the fact that he has no talent whatsoever and is being used as a money man by the band. His stepdaughter becomes infatuated with Carlos, an oily,social climbing smarmer who is the band's piano accordionist who is using her for his own ends. When Carlos is killed by a metal projectile, supposedly fired from Lord Pastern's revolver, Inspector Alleyn investigates the crime and uncovers a hornet's nest of drug dealing (very exotic in 1949 when this book was written), blackmail and other shady dealings. The book is very well written but somehow terribly old fashioned in a style earlier than the 40's eg. would anyone in the 40's refer to a mirror as a looking glass? I found it to be an ok read, but not really gripping.

As usual, I enjoyed another excellent mystery from the pen of Dame Marsh. I particularly liked the fact that Detective-Inspector Fox was given more stage-time. However, while I find the motive for the murder perfectly plausible, I'm not so sure I believe in the efficacy of the method. The plot is similar to _Enter a Murderer_, in that what is supposed to be a joke or "staged" murder, turns out to be the real thing, in front of a dozen witnesses. Still, even though this set-up is similar, Marsh populates the novel with an altogether different cast of people. The only thing I wish is that when the book ended, it would give the reader a clue as to what happens to the various characters, and not just reveal who the murderer is.

Dame Ngaio Marsh certainly ranks among the writers of the Classic British Detective story, whose other practitioners include the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and P.D. James, all of whom are represented by first rate television versions. This book is one of Marsh's better efforts in a long career. As such it is a safe bet to entertain any fan of the genre.
In a gambit she used on occasion, not only is her protagonist, Inspector Alleyn, on the spot when the murder occurs, but, so too, is his wife. Surprisingly, aside from being mentioned as being there with her husband, she is given only a few lines in the novel, simply to register her presence and, presumably, to keep alive her role vis-a-vis the Inspector.
The mystery is a complex one, involving a highly eccentric Lord of the Realm and his family, as well as a popular music band he has adopted as his way of becoming a "hot percussionist", only the latest of his short-lived infatuations. With this cast of characters to work with, Marsh weaves patterns of interaction allowing for love, hate, condescension, status envy, and the other niceties that give a mystery its necessary feints and diversions as the detectives seek to find out Who Done it and How it was Done. For me, the most pleasing and appealing of the characters in play is the obviously innocent cousin whose love for another of the role-players seems to be requited only to ......Well, you know how young love goes.
The quite bearable weakness of the book is the handling of the conclusion which doesn't quite satisfy through overuse in the genre of the period but, happily, is not obvious until the very end.
Certainly, Ngaio Marsh fans will want to read this; so, too, will the detective story devotee. Other readers should find this an interesting exercise in this highly popular genre. The date of publication, shortly after
World War 2, should not imply to any reader that the book is dated. It is, as the saying goes, as good as new.

I've never cared for Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Roderick Alleyn as a character. He seems stuffy and annoyingly patronizing to his loyal assistant Fox. However, the Inspector Alleyn books are consistently good detective stories.

"A Wreath for Rivera" (APA "Swing, Brother, Swing") has a nice plot with interesting, if somewhat cardboard, characters. The primary plot gimmick is very good -- so good that I remember it later being used in 3 TV series: "Burke's Law", "Blacke's Magic", & "Monk". I wish I had read "A Wreath for Rivera" before I had been exposed to this trick; I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more.

I don't object to slow-paced stories, but this one has too many similar scenes. A careful reduction of the length by about 20% of "A Wreath for Rivera" would improve its readability.

No one would be expected to shed any tear when piano-accordionist Carlos Rivera was killed during a performance. His boss Breezy Bellairs could replace him. His team mates weren't too keen on him. Even his unofficial fiance Felicite De Suze seemed to have changed her mind about him just before the performance. To all appearances, Carlos was killed by a make-shift dart fired from a gun held by Lord George Pastern as part of the performance, minus the dart of course.

Inspector Alleyn happened to be among the spectators and of course, he was asked to take the lead in the investigation. It would be a tricky investigation. Lord Pastern was known to be eccentric and showy, changing hobbies like seasonal fashion. His wife had been determined to break off her daughter's facsination with Carlos, and Lady Pastern had roped in two relatives, Carlisle Wayne and Edward Manx, to support her.

Ngaio Marsh painted an almost comical family of misfits with the Pasterns and relatives. In all appearances, their interrelationship were critical to the solution of the mystery. However, this was where Marsh could not measure up to the other great mystery writers such as Sayers and Christie.

Her investigators went painstakingly over the details several times. However, experienced mystery readers would quickly be able to identify non-relevant details, which for some reason Marsh repeated in more than one chapter.

Her analysis were also not as brilliant. Evidently, the family members had turned to a magazine columnist known only as G.P.F. (Guide, Philosopher and Friend) for confidential advice. I had correctly deduced the true identity of G.P.F. while Marsh's Alleyn had been badly misled. Given the clues he had, how he could have jumped to the errornous conclusion was unforgivable.

The only saving grace, besides creating an interesting family such as the Pastern, was the murder was a real mystery worth reading.

Ngaio Marsh is definitely an overlooked mystery writer. Christie, Sayers, Allingham - all get more mention as a general rule but Marsh is not to be overlooked. Her Inspector Alleyn mysteries are among the finest out there. Full of wit, plot twists, and fascinating characters, don't miss out on this or any of her library. A must have for any mystery-phile's collection.

No one would be expected to shed any tear when piano-accordionist Carlos Rivera was killed during a performance. His boss Breezy Bellairs could replace him. His team mates weren't too keen on him. Even his unofficial fiance Felicite De Suze seemed to have changed her mind about him just before the performance. To all appearances, Carlos was killed by a make-shift dart fired from a gun held by Lord George Pastern as part of the performance, minus the dart of course.

Inspector Alleyn happened to be among the spectators and of course, he was asked to take the lead in the investigation. It would be a tricky investigation. Lord Pastern was known to be eccentric and showy, changing hobbies like seasonal fashion. His wife had been determined to break off her daughter's facsination with Carlos, and Lady Pastern had roped in two relatives, Carlisle Wayne and Edward Manx, to support her.

Ngaio Marsh painted an almost comical family of misfits with the Pasterns and relatives. In all appearances, their interrelationship were critical to the solution of the mystery. However, this was where Marsh could not measure up to the other great mystery writers such as Sayers and Christie.

Her investigators went painstakingly over the details several times. However, experienced mystery readers would quickly be able to identify non-relevant details, which for some reason Marsh repeated in more than one chapter.

Her analysis were also not as brilliant. Evidently, the family members had turned to a magazine columnist known only as G.P.F. (Guide, Philosopher and Friend) for confidential advice. I had correctly deduced the true identity of G.P.F. while Marsh's Alleyn had been badly misled. Given the clues he had, how he could have jumped to the errornous conclusion was unforgivable.

The only saving grace, besides creating an interesting family such as the Pastern, was the murder was a real mystery worth reading.