Death of a Fool

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

A ritual dance becomes a murderous mambo…

The village of South Mardian always observes the winter solstice with an ancient, mystical sword dance, complete with costumed performers. But for one of them, the excitement proves too heady, and his decapitation turns the fertility rite into a pageant of death. Now Inspector Roderick Alleyn must penetrate not only the mysteries of folklore but the secrets and sins of an eccentric group that includes a surly blacksmith, a domineering dowager, and a not-so-simple village idiot.

From her first book in 1934 to her final volume just before her death in 1982, Ngaio Marsh's work has remained legendary and is often compared to that of Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy L. Sayers. So sit back, draw the curtains, lock the doors, and put yourself in the hands of the Grande Dame of detective novels.

©1956 Ngaio Marsh (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress.”

(Sun (London))

“[Narrator McCaddon] enlivens an eccentric cast of characters led by the town matriarch, a crotchety old blacksmith, and the village idiot…[McCaddon’s] narration soars.”

(AudioFile)

“The supporting characters…radiate warmth and charm.”

(Library Journal)

Interest in The Mysteries of the Folk Dances

Nadia May had a good audio voice. She also read as Wanda McCaddon and Donada Peters. One of my favorite narrators in English fiction.

The mystery is written first of an annoyed 94 year old dame in a partial ruin. Other characters include five sons of a blacksmith who have different natures, a publication daughter, and Scoland Yard police. Then when a murder occurs on the folk dance, Roderick Alleyn starts to examine the facts.

I like Marsh a lot and well read but this is fairly confusing for audio

Too many characters and the parts they play in the masque are other names so if you're not following careful you can lose the thread

Editing issue

There is no pregnant pause between previous chapter and new chapter announcement. It ruins the drama of chapter's end. Easy fix, too.

A Classic Whodunnit. . .

A perfect "listen" for December. Interesting characters and an intriguing plot. Ngaio Marsh is great, and so is Nadia May. Highly recommended!

Good mystery, bad editing

The chapters end suddenly and then the next one starts up right away. It's annoying. It is also the weakest of the Nadia May narrations I've listened to so far.