From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death and the Dancing Footman (Roderick Alleyn, #11)

Ngaio Marsh

Start date: November 1, 2018

Finish date: November 30, 2018

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The last-but-one book in our 2018 Ngaio Marsh challenge - but the good news is that the challenge is cont…more
[close] The last-but-one book in our 2018 Ngaio Marsh challenge - but the good news is that the challenge is continuing next year

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Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 168 topics — 7,798 comments total

Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 17 posts · 20 views

last updated Sep 25, 2025 01:00PM

* 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

May 07, 2019 John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ngaio-marsh

Written in 1942 the story is set in an isolated house in winter. The owner Jonathan is a nasty piece of work who invites a group of people who mostly hate each other to see what will happen.

Jonathan Royal likes trouble and invites people to a house party over a weekend who clearly do not like each other. There is the Compline family with the mother Sonia and her two sons, William who is devoted and Nicholas, her favorite. There is tension as William is engaged to another guest, Chloris Wynne, w ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2017 Gillian Kevern rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, queens-of-crime, vintage, 1940s

I loved this! I think it may be my new favourite Ngaio Marsh.

I must have read this before, but I had no memory of it. I picked out a suspect early on and thought 'I must have read this before, because X is obviously guilty.' And the story continued and more and more clues pointing to X were found--and then the rug was pulled completely out from under me. I did not see the solution--and it fell together perfectly.

Death and the Dancing Footman is also interesting because it is a book written dur ...more

2 likes · Like · see review