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Death in a White Tie (Roderick Alleyn, #7)

Ngaio Marsh

Start date: July 1, 2023

Finish date: August 7, 2023

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Winner of the poll for our July group read - one of Marsh's best!…more
[close] Winner of the poll for our July group read - one of Marsh's best!

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Group reads

* Nominations for November 2025 group read
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views

last updated Sep 05, 2025 03:20PM

* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM

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What Members Thought

Jun 12, 2023 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, audiobook, tbr-with-gr-groups, kindle

4.5 stars - This is the best Ngaio Marsh mystery I have read, I think.

Blackmail is the crime, and Scotland Yard Inspector Roderick Alleyn, Marsh’s upper class detective, asks a beloved family friend - invited everywhere, and known to everyone - to watch for suspicious activity at social functions. Lord Robert is loved by all, the sort of charming, kind, friendly “universal uncle” who asks the awkward wallflowers to dance, draws them into sparkling conversations, introduces them around, amuses ev ...more

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Jul 07, 2018 Louise Culmer rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

Some society ladies are being blackmailed, and Roderick Alleyn enlists the help of his old friend Bunchy to help discover who the blackmailer is. Unfortunately, Bunchy, who seems to be onto something, is murdered, and Alleyn has to discover the murderer. This is a very enjoy story with some good characters and amusing observations on the London 'season' during which upper class young girls were introduced into society. there are several unexpected twists in the tale. And I didn't find it easy to ...more

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Nov 02, 2015 Carol Evans rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I love Marsh's books. They tend to be decent puzzles and I adore the characters. In Death in a White Tie we have a glimpse of upper society London, with it's gossip and cruelty and caring too. Some of the characters are quite self-important, but other realize how amusing it all can be. Bunchy, the victim, is someone we as the readers actually like, someone who enjoyed the season, but who understood it's underside too. We've gotten to know him before he's killed and are genuinely sad, although no ...more

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Aug 19, 2022 Laurie rated it really liked it

I really liked this book - the plot, the characters, the setting. The locations were really vivid I thought. I really liked the structure of how the murder was set up. I was less interested in the blackmail subplot. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 when I read it in Aug 2022 and rounded down to 4 when I read it in May 2025.

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