Death of a Fool: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: The worst book Dame Ngaio wrote
Review: I loved every one of Dame Ngaio's books except for this one. It was AWFUL. The language was very difficult to follow and because of this the story was hard to follow. I struggled all the way through it. When I finished I was glad it was not the first book by her I had read or even the second because I probably would have never read another book by her. She wrote many other much better books, this does not even come close to measuring up. If it were possible to give negative stars to this review it would get a negative 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A unique blend of folklore, murder and village life...
Review: It's time for the men of the Andersen clan to re-enact the annual Dance of the Five Swords. Don't let the fact that they unite every year for this tradition fool you into thinking that this is a peaceful family - All of the Andersen men chafe under the rule of their father/grandfather, William Andersen (AKA "The Guiser") who has held a tight fist over the family smithy and cash, not to mention every single member of his family, especially Ernie the "slow" one. There are also others in the village who manage to antagonize each other. Still, the last thing anyone expects is for one of the dancers to die in a gruesome manner, mid-dance. An excellent tale - it blends Marsh's gifts for mystery, character and observation.

Rating:
Summary: A morass of mysteries, secrets and sins
Review: To celebrate the Winter Solstice, the swordsmen of South Mardian intricately weave their blades in an ancient ritual dance. When one of their number is found decapitated, this hallowed fertility rite is corrupted into a pageant of death. Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called upon to solve the murder and in doing so finds himself plunged into a morass of mysteries, secrets and sins of this eccentric group, along with a surly blacksmith, a domineering dowager, and a not-so-simple village idiot. Blackstone Audiobooks is a premier audiobook publisher with a justifiable reputation of technically flawless recordings. Their complete and unabridged, ten hour, CD edition of master mystery writer Nagaio Marsh's Death Of A Fool is dramatically narrated by Nadia May. A very highly recommended, "theater of the mind" listening experience for mystery buffs in general, and Nagaio Marsh fans in particular, Death Of A Fool is also available in an unabridged audio cassette format ...