Overture to Death

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Ric Jerrom

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

It was planned as an act of charity: a new piano for the parish hall, an amusing play to finance the gift. But its execution was doomed when Miss Campanula sat down to play.

A chord was struck, a shot rang out and Miss Campanula was dead. A case of sinister infatuation for the brilliant Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn.

©1939 Original Text of 1939 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Admirably mysterious." ( Daily Mail)

"It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." ( New York magazine)

Great Story, Passable Narrator

Overture to Death meets all the criteria of a great whodunnit - means, motive, opportunity, a cast of compelling characters and an exquisite plot. Although the murderer was obvious from the beginning, this does not detracts from the storyline. The narrator, Ric Jerome, reads well but does not do a very good job of bringing the characters to life. His Inspector Alleyn was poor almost a caricature. Similar voices were usd for some characters making them appear lackluster and inconsequential.

Mystery Maven

Well this entry wasn’t up to snuff. Good narration but the story was not. It rambled and had so many trails to follow it made no sense. Sorry, but this is one I wouldn’t recommend.

One of my favorites of the series

Really enjoyed this one. Wasn’t sure until the end who “done it”

Reading the series in order, more to go! The only thing that confuses me is from book to book and reader to reader, the pronunciation of Detective Alleyn’s name changes. I’ve enjoyed most of the readers. This one was excellent.

A Classic Page-turner

I first discovered Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh in the mid 70s when I was living in Australia. Sadly, I was not able to bring my set home with me. I slowly reacquired the novels - and now the incalculable boon of the internet has made them available to me electronically.

These stories are crime mysteries, books of manners and many are love stories. "She writes better than Christie" --New York Times Book review.(year?)is an understatement. Despite the gruesome nature of murder, these are gentle tales. There is very little violence, and what there is has been muted. I am listening to them in order. I just finished Overture to Death.There is something of timelessness about them, despite changes wrought by technology during her writing years. The tone never varies from her original civilized, discreet, well paced, sometimes humorous style.

I strongly recommend all of Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn stories

Overture to Death

Very intriguingly plotted. Highly enjoyable to read. In plot and language, one of her best.

Life in a Small Village Can Be Murder

Another wonderful mystery from one of the original Queens of the Golden Age. It has all the ingredients of a good "cozy." A typical English village. An interesting cast of characters. One or two likely victims. Some good red herrings. And the charming and brilliant Chief Inspector Alleyn to sort it all out. Nicely performed by Ric Jerrom.

a few good red herrings...

A unique murder weapon, a few viable suspects, and the incomparable Roderick Alleyn, Inspector Fox, & Nigel Bathgate. My Ngaio Marsh binge continues to pay off.

A thoroughly entertaining read.

This is my favorite Ngaio Marsh tale. It has a great plot, is well narrated.

Maybe 'cozies' are not for me!

The narrator does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life, the story is artfully written, the dialogue is believable. I'm learning, however, that books need to have a certain gravitas before I really want to listen to them. This was a bunch of silly, rich village people, none particularly likable, trying to cope with life and the changing times. I prefer Agatha Christie - she knew how to create situations that seemed important. This book was more of a satire than I like in a mystery story.

Charming period piece

Detailed scenes setting and characterisations together with a far fetched plot combine in an enjoyable entertainment. Expertly narrated.

A classic of the Golden Age

Ngaio Marsh is one of the great writers of detective fiction - far superior to Agatha Christie, in my opinipn - and this is one of her best.Very well read too.

Absolutely enthralling!

There is a deliciously improbable murder, characters and language set firmly in their period, complex plotting and a narrator who brings it all to life with a myriad of voices and just the right amount of ham! I loved it!

Good book

Would you consider the audio edition of Overture to Death to be better than the print version?

Have not read the book itself

What was one of the most memorable moments of Overture to Death?

The reveal!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Little too theatrical for me on some of the characters but still well worth a listen

One of the better Unabridged Narrators

This is a typical long winded Ngaio Marsh novel, Character narrated well. Unlike the narration provided by James Saxon. A really good read!

Enjo!

My favourite so far!

I’ve been working my way through all of Ngaio Marsh, and this is my favourite so far! It’s silly, funny, compelling - a brilliant sketch of a village amateur dramatic production, and the feelings swirling around it.

Proper Golden Age!

True old-fashioned golden age stuff, every component present: narrow circle of suspects (all of whom are frightfully upper-middle class), complicatedly clever murder, loads of stock characters (bluff but decent lord of the manor, charming young couple, glamorous hussy, plus -in this case- frustrated old biddies), posh but handsome detective with stolid but intelligent sidekick (Wimsey and Bunter but in police costumes) etc. With Ngaio Marsh you usually get a bit of theatre (✔️, and often a newly-arrived Kiwi - missing in this case. Just the cosy escapist bit of nonsense we all need in these miserable days!

Read really well, by the way: voices excellent- educated but believable detective, sexy floozy and even cheeky small boy.
Well done!

A nod to Poirot.

Overture to Death is another example of the wonderful Golden Era of sleuthing. Alleyn is a superb character, as is Fox, and the story is beautifully read by Ric Jerrom. This really is a classic of the genre with red herrings, dropped clues which become obvious upon Alleyn's exposition, and a fabulous round the table exposé of the killer. The nod to the Queen of Crime's Poirot's "little grey cells" is an in the know joke with a hint of deference. Being a Christie fan, it's just another reason to love Ngaio Marsh.

Not "Three Blind Mice", and

My only problem with an otherwise great narration is that every time the 3 dramatic chords of Rachmaninov's Prelude in C were played, the narrator did a good approximation of "Three blind mice" instead. The Prelude isn't super well known, but it is not difficult to find out. A small detail? Perhaps, but it was jarring.

The story gets four stars from me rather than five because of the dated and rather disgusting views on male and female sexuality. I don't think the book should be updated, but it makes the flesh crawl a bit to hear a plain, unmarried 49-year-old woman's attraction to a good-looking man described as obviously nauseating, while Dr Templett, a plain man in his 50s, is not censured in any way for being attracted to a good-looking woman, except by the unsympathetic spinsters in the story. Otherwise, it's a very good book, the mystery is excellent and the solution unexpected but wholly logical within the framework of the plot, and it is interesting to observe what people actually believed to be true back in the day.

Cracking 1st rate thriller

Inspector Alleyn. Lots of twists and turns. Plenty of red herrings to keep one guessing. Some of the voices especially the females verged on the annoying in places and other accents merged so making it difficult to follow. That said it was still enjoyable and reco mended.