Vintage Murder [1937] is Ngaio Marsh’s fifth mystery featuring her returning hero, Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn. I think Ms. Marsh must have had some experience working in the theater, since this is the second mystery set in a theatrical production. Ms. Marsh also aims her barbed wit at the group of actors in this novel, skewering their superficiality:
One by one the members of the company came out from their dressing-rooms. Most actors have an entirely separate manner for occasions when they mix with outsiders. This separate manner is not so much an affectation as a persona, a mask used for this particular appearance. They wish to show how like other people they are. It is an innocent form of snobbishness. You have only to see them when the last guest has gone to realise how complete a disguise the persona may be.
Marsh, Ngaio. Vintage Murder: Inspector Roderick Alleyn #5 (p. 32). Felony & Mayhem Press. Kindle Edition.
Vintage Murder is also set in New Zealand, which is Ms. Marsh’s native land. Detective Inspector Alleyn is on vacation, and he ends up on the same train as a troupe of British actors – Incorporated Playhouses Ltd. – getting ready to tour that country. The lead actress, Carolyn Dacres, is married to the managing director, Alfred Meyer. She is getting older, but still quite beautiful. Another actor, Hailey Hambledon, is in love with Ms. Dacres, but she refuses to return his affections.
The first performance is on Carolyn Dacres’ birthday, and her devoted husband has arranged a celebratory dinner for her after the show. Inspector Alleyn is invited, as well as several local persons. The coup de grace of the dinner is to be a huge bottle of champagne that will descend from the ceiling when Ms. Dacres cuts a ribbon. She does so, but someone has tampered with the counterweights holding the bottle up, and it plummets onto poor Mr. Meyer’s head, killing him instantly.
There are various other actors and backstage workers at the dinner, most of whom might have a motive for wanting Alfred Meyer dead. Of course, once the local police discover that the world-famous sleuth Roderick Alleyn is there, they immediately ask him to assist in the investigation.
The unraveling of the mystery really doesn’t involve any surprises, and it boils down to carefully accounting for where every single person is from as soon as the curtain drops on the play to the murder itself. Ms. Marsh has a lot of fun with the larger-than-life personalities in the troupe, as well as spending some time describing the natural beauty of New Zealand.
She also touches on race relations through the character of Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha, a Maori man who was educated at Oxford and is conflicted between his respect for British culture and his love of his native heritage. He is another guest at the dinner, and he graciously dismisses some very insensitive comments made by some of the actors. He and Alleyn become friends when Alleyn buys a tiki – a small sacred statue – from him to give to Carolyn Dacres as a birthday present. This tiki will play a significant role in cracking the case.
I had a somewhat hard time following the explanation of how the murder was committed, because it involved the layout of the theater, and a floorplan would have been very helpful! That said, Inspector Alleyn catches the culprit, and he is able to resume his vacation. I’ve enjoyed all five of Ngaio Marsh’s mystery novels very much, but I would not rank Vintage Murder at the top. The detective work is fairly pedestrian, and none of the characters are particularly arresting. However, for a nice, leisurely and enjoyable read, it will fill the bill.
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