From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Nursing Home Murder (Roderick Alleyn, #3)

Ngaio Marsh

Start date: March 1, 2018

Finish date: March 31, 2018

Discussion: Group Challenges

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

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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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What Members Thought

Mar 02, 2018 Judy rated it really liked it

Shelves: ngaio-marsh-challenge

I'm reading through the Inspector Alleyn mysteries in order with the Reading the Detectives group at Goodreads. This third mystery is the best yet, with Alleyn really starting to come into his own as a character. He is still witty and sometimes silly, but there are a few more hints of hidden depths.

The title could be a bit misleading to contemporary readers, suggesting the book is set in a care home. In fact, though, the setting is a private hospital, well before the arrival of the NHS. A top p ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-police, vintage, myst-fems-project, myst-set-andor-auth-uk, reviewed, series

1935, written with help on background by Henry Jellett.
#3 Inspector Roderick Alleyn, Scotland Yard, London;
famous - and hated - politician goes into private hospital for appendicitis operation and dies under peculiar circumstances; classic cosy thriller, three-and-one-half-stars, not her very best but still entertaining.

Sir Derek O'Callaghan, Home Secretary, is in the process of introducing a stringent anti-Bolshivism bill in Parliament when he becomes very ill and is rushed to the private ho 1935, written with help on background by Henry Jellett.
#3 Inspector Roderick Alleyn, Scotland Yard, London;
famous - and hated - politician goes into private hospital for appendicitis operation and dies under peculiar circumstances; classic cosy thriller, three-and-one-half-stars, not her very best but still entertaining.

Sir Derek O'Callaghan, Home Secretary, is in the process of introducing a stringent anti-Bolshivism bill in Parliament when he becomes very ill and is rushed to the private hospital of his friend and doctor Sir John Phillips, for an operation. In 1935 an appendix opperation was not an easy nor terribly safe thing, so it's all rather touch-and-go, especially since Sir Derek has been battling the pain for quite a while now, and peritonitis has set in. When Sir Derek dies shortly after the operation at first no-one questions the death certificate, but as more information comes out Roderick Alleyn is called in to try and make sense of what might be an extremely tricky - and newsworthy - case of murder.

Good pacing and a lot of variety in the suspect pool move things along: there's Bolshevik activists out for his blood, an ex-lover and her wannabe husband (who just happens to be the surgeon), a peculiar anaesthetist with an unusual bee in his bonnet, a Bolshie-leaning nurse who got to be far too close to Sir Derek, Derek's loopy sister Ruth, and his very cold and brisk wife. And that's not counting all his political enemies - or friends.

This early Marsh novel has all the good things she cultivated for so many years in her writing: smooth, complex plots, gently satirical but evocative snapshots of all sorts of people in her rareified sort of circle, a decent pace, and most of the classic elements (i.e., fair play, lots of suspects, each with a perfectly viable and well-presented motive, and a "gather the suspects" moment at the end). This early novel has, however, a few things she, happily, quickly outgrew - a slight tendency towards "cute!!", a dim reporter/Watson and his adorable fiance, Bolshie plots, and a peculiar Russian manservant for Alleyn. No Troy as yet, Fox is present but has limited face-time; they're my favorite characters in her long series. And I've always disliked the reporter/Watson character and thankfully she gives him up after only a couple more books.

This is only her third novel, and despite its few flaws, it's a very creditable 1930s classic style mystery, quite dated in style now but still rather enjoyable. ...more

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May 01, 2019 Zander rated it did not like it

Shelves: ngaio-marsh

Unlike her theater and art world based mysteries this one has not held up very well. It's hard to understand why anyone would be in love with the murder victim nor is the reason for the murder very clear. The description of the political world and the anarchists both seem rather farcical and perhaps that is the goal. This is so far the book I disliked the most in the Alleyn with hysterical women and dated views on frankly everything even for the timeframe. ...more

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May 09, 2018 Carol Evans rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, professional-sleuth, ngaio-marsh-challenge

When Britain's Home Secretary complained of abdominal pains, it seemed like a simple case of appendicitis. But minutes after his operation, the ill-fated politician lay dead on the table. When Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to dissect the situation, he finds many a likely suspect, including a vengeful surgeon, a lovelorn nurse, an unhappy wife, and a cabinet full of political foes.

I’ve gone back and finally read the first 3 of Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn series, and actuall When Britain's Home Secretary complained of abdominal pains, it seemed like a simple case of appendicitis. But minutes after his operation, the ill-fated politician lay dead on the table. When Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to dissect the situation, he finds many a likely suspect, including a vengeful surgeon, a lovelorn nurse, an unhappy wife, and a cabinet full of political foes.

I’ve gone back and finally read the first 3 of Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn series, and actually read them in order to boot. Each one of these early entries is a bit better than the one before. In The Nursing Home Murder, which actually takes place in a hospital, we finally get to see a more polished Alleyn. He’s still witty, but there no moments that are completely out of character as there were in the first two. These first few have been even more formulaic than vintage mysteries usually are. We meet the suspect, the murder occurs, Alleyn investigates, and finally there’s a reconstruction where the murderer gives himself away.

This time around, the victim is the Home Secretary. When he is rushed to the hospital, we know he’s doomed, there are just too many people who want him dead, including the communists sympathizers who have been sending him death threats and a doctor who was one of his close friends. Also suspect are his sister, who keeps pressing him to take the “miracle cure” of the moment, and a nurse who is the doctor’s love interest.

The hospital setting is well-done, probably thanks to Henry Jellet, a noted gynecologist of the time, who co-wrote this one with Marsh. The mystery revolves around an overdose of hyoscine and the surgery room details get a little confusing, between the syringes, ampoules and measurements, three different nurses and three doctors, which I guess justifies the need for the reconstruction.

The secondary characters in this one weren’t as good as in others, but I like the larger role Fox plays and how the interactions between Alleyn and him are starting to become what I’m used to in the later ones. Alleyn’s “Watson” from the first two, Nigel Bathgate, is here again and his part is rather silly. I’m glad he’s being phased out.

The clues were definitely there to lead to the whodunnit, but I felt the motive was a little shaky. ...more

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Jun 22, 2023 Teri-K rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-golden-age

I'm a huge fan of Marsh's mysteries. I think she's on par with Christie, though they are different. I've read this series many times - except for the first few books. I just don't revisit them as often, and when I picked this up this time I didn't remember anything about it. It's not that these are bad books; they hold up very well against the general mystery being published at this time, and you can feel the author grow stronger in each one. Mostly I don't think she really gets a handle on Alle ...more

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Oct 31, 2016 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: british-golden-age-mysteries, mystery-series, crime-mystery-fiction, anglophilia, police-procedurals

I'm pretty sure that I have seen a film with a very similar plotline with Edward G. Robinson as the surgeon, but I cannot for the life of me remember the name. Maybe it was inspired by this book, which must have come first. Inspector Alleyn is shaping up to be one of my all-time-favorite characters. ...more

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