From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Enter a Murderer (Roderick Alleyn, #2)

Ngaio Marsh

Start date: February 1, 2018

Finish date: February 28, 2018

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The second book in our Ngaio Marsh challenge
[close] The second book in our Ngaio Marsh challenge

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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
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What Members Thought

Feb 12, 2018 Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-murder-crime-20th-century

4.5★

Well here's a surprise!

I've never been a whole hearted, absolute Marsh fan - although I did like Death At The Dolphin (read pre joining GR) & Tied Up In Tinsel very much. I find Marsh annoyingly arch & twee & if she wasn't a snob herself, she seemed to delight in creating snobbish characters But I enjoyed this book very much.

The books main strengths come from Marsh's own theatrical background & her sly depictions of the actors all seeing themselves in turns of a performance.

I used to lov

...more

29 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2018 Adrian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: det-ngaio-marsh, detectives-challenge-nm-2018

Yes, good question , what did I think ? I've now read the first 2 Alleyn mysteries consecutively in about week and Ive really enjoyed them both. The only reason Ive read 2 in succession is to catch up in my challenge. I'm still behind, but getting there. This was another intriguing case for D.C.I. Alleyn and his cohorts, including Nigel the journalist, with an abundance of red herrings and hidden clues, brought to a successful conclusion in time honoured denouement fashion.
(As an aside I do thin ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2021 John rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ngaio-marsh

A good mystery with the murderer one of the actors. Alleyn is in the audience when Felix Gardener shoots dead an actor not liked by anyone. He is a blackmailer, drug addict and cad in every way. Most of the cast have a motive for murder. Nigel Bathgate gets access to the investigation that journalists only dream of nowadays.

The Unicorn theatre is the setting of the murder and most of the investigation. Alleyn in this early book of the series set in 1935 and Marsh is still developing the charact ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Dec 14, 2018 Jazz rated it it was ok

Shelves: series, mystery-british, golden-age-mystery-pre-1950

Underwhelming and ultimately disappointing for me. An early novel by Marsh and the development of her detective is somewhat sketchy. I didn't care for any of the characters. I struggled each time I put it down to go back to it, but perhaps that was my personal state of mind at work. Perhaps I'll give it another go when I've read more of her later works. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2018 Sahifa rated it really liked it

Shelves: ngaio-marsh-challenge

"Enter the murderer" was February's read in Roderick Alleyn Challenge 2018 (12 R.A. books in 12 months) written by Ngaio Marsh.
And though I had been late by few hours because I happen to finish it at the early hours of March 1st ,I feel really glad about reading it. As a matter of fact the whole idea of taking up this challenge had started to please me.
I had been skeptical before because I am a loyal fan of Agatha Christie and used to think that nothing can beat her (I still feel the same) ,neve ...more

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Mar 26, 2017 Gillian Kevern rated it liked it

Shelves: nz-author, mystery, queens-of-crime, detective, police-procedural, vintage, 1930s

A really good mystery. I think the reason that I've rated it so low is that my feelings got in the way (and also because I think I was confusing it with one of Ngaio Marsh's other theatre based works). ...more

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Feb 26, 2014 Gary Vassallo rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2014

I really enjoyed this mystery. I liked how the case for each suspect was built before the murderer was revealed at the end. I look forward to reading more of this series in the future.

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