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A Man Lay Dead (Roderick Alleyn, #1)

Ngaio Marsh

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The first book in our Ngaio Marsh/ Inspector Alleyn challenge
[close] The first book in our Ngaio Marsh/ Inspector Alleyn challenge

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Showing 2 of 168 topics — 7,797 comments total

Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 16 posts · 18 views

last updated Sep 12, 2025 08:12PM

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
By Susan · 13 posts · 22 views

last updated Sep 16, 2025 12:58PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 06, 2013 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the first of Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn mysteries and it contains everything that a great Golden Age mystery should. First, the house party, complete with varying guests - an adulterous wife, jealous girlfriend, mysterious Russian, etc. In this case, the country house in question is Frantock and Nigel Bathgate (a journalist) is accompanying his cousin Charles on one of the much coveted entertaining weekends, for which invitations are hard to obtain. The host, avid collector, Sir Huber ...more

34 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2013 Amy rated it it was ok

This was not particularly a good book. I had a difficult time trying to decide who was the main character and the mystery was pretty weak. It seemed that at the last minute the author randomly picked one of the characters to be the murderer and then came up with some unconvincing clues to tie it all together. And there was an unrelated Russian crime ring randomly thrown in.

I'm going to attempt a few more of her books because I adore all sorts of English mysteries and Ngaio Marsh is well loved b ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2013 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, vintage-mystery, mount-tbr-2018, british-mystery, marsh-challenge, country-house

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's been a long time since I read the first book in Marsh's Inspector Alleyn series (back when I discovered her at our local library some 30-odd years ago). I had quite forgotten about the Russian intrigue and I had also forgotten that Sergeant Fox was not Alleyn's right-hand man in this one. Nigel Bathgate is an okay Watson and even has a few shining moments, though why Marsh had to have him fall into the hands of the Russians and have pins stuck under his fingernails is beyond me. Bathgate do ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2019 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, vintage-mystery, bought-2017, mount-tbr-2015, country-house

see review on other edition

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2013 Lemar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery

This is a thoroughly satisfying mystery. I grew up with a Mom who always read mysteries with the most gruesome covers and Ngaio Marsh was a favorite! Now I see why, Her characters have the depth needed to make for a really good mystery. Added to that is an unexpected lightness and wit brought fun in just the right doses and places to a murder mystery.
I am going with 5 stars because she seems to have been a real pioneer from whose work people have been stealing and lifting in much the same way I ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2017 Neer rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: downloads, mysteries, women-writers, libraries, vintage-mystery, 1930s, reads-17, aus-nz-authors

I have fond memories of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn, so I picked up this book, in which he makes his debut, with a great deal of eager anticipation. The image I had of Alleyn was that of a sophisticate, well-mannered sleuth from Scotland Yard. I don't know whether my memory is all-wrong or whether he changes in the course of the series but in this he is pretty facetious, even over-bearing and rude at times.

The novel itself is a mish-mash. It begins well in a country house where guests assemb ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Ngaio Marsh is considered one of the best along with Sayers and Christie. I don't know why it took me so long to delve in. The main character is definitely unique. It all seems tongue in cheek in the superior British kind of way. I was shaking my head and smiling through most of it. ...more

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