Tied Up in Tinsel

Rating:
Summary: "I catch myself wondering if this house is not a loony bin."
Review: Artist Troy Alleyn is spending Xmas at Halberds Manor--the splendid home of Mr. Hilary Bill-Tasman. Hilary's ancestors lost the house due to financial difficulties, but since Hilary is now in business with antique merchant, Bert Smith (formerly a rag and bone man), the rising family fortunes have allowed the re-purchase of Halberds. The house is in the process of being restored to its former splendour when Hilary asks Troy to come to Halberds over Christmas to paint his portrait.

Troy finds the house a bit peculiar. It is remote and located on the bleak moors right next to a prison. Hilary has found the proximity of the prison rather handy; for it's here that he recruits his domestic servants. He employs "murderers of a certain class" and insists that "the single-job man"--the man who has murdered once in certain circumstances makes the perfect servant. Blore, Mervyn, Cooke, Nigel and Vincent, the servants--are all murderers.

When Hilary's aunt and uncle and his fiancee actress Cressida Tottenham arrive for Xmas, the situation at Halberds begins to unravel. But it is when the word 'murder' is bandied about that Troy begins "to feel really disturbed."

"Tied Up In Tinsel" by Ngaio Marsh is a perfectly delightful read. The novel is deliciously, wickedly humourous, and in spite if the fact it was written in the 1930s, the story and the dialogue feel remarkably fresh. Troy Alleyn is the perfect protagonist. Hilary, who tends to view women as objects of art observes, Troy is "an important piece from a very good period." She is, however, also the devoted wife of Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard. All the characters are perfectly delightful--there's snobby Hilary who hopes to add the beautiful, man-eating, cat-hating Cressida to his collection of precious objects, and there's Bert Smith, who's not quite what he appears. The novel creates an amazing atmospheric sense for the reader, and I was reminded at once of the Robert Altman film, "Gosford Park"--all these good manners, laced with snide comments, in a gorgeous isolated house, mingled with murder--displacedhuman

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book
Review: I had been an Agatha Christie fan for years when my Aunt first told me about Ngaio Marsh. I picked up this book around the Holidays, and was hooked. The plot was full of twists, and the characters were very well developed. This really was an amazing book.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty package
Review: Nicely traditonal setting for us cosy fans. Perhaps a bit thinly written, but a very good puzzle plot (maybe it was an off day for me, but I was fooled). Witty ending takes a somewhat cynical view of progessive views on criminal rehabilitation.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty package
Review: Nicely traditonal setting for us cosy fans. Perhaps a bit thinly written, but a very good puzzle plot (maybe it was an off day for me, but I was fooled). Witty ending takes a somewhat cynical view of progessive views on criminal rehabilitation.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate Ngaio Marsh
Review: This was the first Inspector Alleyn mystery I ever read so it holds an extra special place in my heart. Marvelous characters and a great mystery make this one of Marsh's best. The character of Troy Alleyn, a respected portrait painter, starts off the tale never expecting to be plunged into intrigue. She more than manages to hold her own until her husband is called in to solve the case. Quirky players, a little twisted holiday spirit, and the standard Ngaio Marsh wit make this book stellar. A must read and a great first book for Marsh newcomers.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate Ngaio Marsh
Review: This was the first Inspector Alleyn mystery I ever read so it holds an extra special place in my heart. Marvelous characters and a great mystery make this one of Marsh's best. The character of Troy Alleyn, a respected portrait painter, starts off the tale never expecting to be plunged into intrigue. She more than manages to hold her own until her husband is called in to solve the case. Quirky players, a little twisted holiday spirit, and the standard Ngaio Marsh wit make this book stellar. A must read and a great first book for Marsh newcomers.

Rating:
Summary: An egocentric eccentric's Christmas bash
Review: Very entertaining mystery that takes place in a wealthy eccentric's enormous home. Troy Alleyn has been commissioned to paint Hilary (a man) Bill-Tasman's portrait during the Christmas holiday. While she knows that he's eccentric, she doesn't count on the fact that he likes to staff his house with ex-convicts ("onecers")from the local prison. When their crimes start repeating themselves in the great house and a missing person turns up dead, Inspector Alleyn is unwillingly pulled into the picture, taking charge of the investigation. I would have ranked the book higher, except that the identity of the murderer became fairly clear a little too early.

Rating:
Summary: Too many suspects
Review: When Troy Alleyn agrees to visit Halberds to paint the portrait of eccentric proprietor Hilary Bill-Tasman, she doesn't realize what an odd household she's visiting. As it happens, Bill-Tasman decided to solve his domestic servant problem by staffing his house with paroled murderers. When after a series of frightening pranks and a stint as the Christmas Druid, Alfred Moult goes missing, Troy's husband Roderick is called in to see if murder is at hand.

While perhaps not exceptional (the situation is a bit overdone, and it's rather easy to guess the killer) _Tied up In Tinsel_ is a typically well-written Marsh mystery. Well worth a read.