Died in the Wool
By Ngaio Marsh
4/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
Ngaio Marsh returns to her New Zealand roots to transplant the classic country house murder mystery to an upland sheep station on South Island – and produces one of her most exotic and intriguing novels.
One summer evening in 1942 Flossie Rubrick, MP, one of the most formidable women in New Zealand, goes to her husband’s wool shed to rehearse a patriotic speech – and disappears.
Three weeks later she turns up at an auction – packed inside one of her own bales of wool and very, very dead…
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand in 1895 and died in February 1982. She wrote over 30 detective novels and many of her stories have theatrical settings, for Ngaio Marsh’s real passion was the theatre. She was both an actress and producer and almost single-handedly revived the New Zealand public’s interest in the theatre. It was for this work that the received what she called her ‘damery’ in 1966.
Read more from Ngaio Marsh
Collected Short Mysteries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Roderick Alleyn Mysteries: Surfeit of Lampreys, Death and the Dancing Footman, and Colour Scheme Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBodies from the Library 3: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Died in the Wool
Related ebooks
Murder by the Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Goat Parva Murders: An Inspector Knowles Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Deadly Habit Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Creative Crime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoney in the Morgue Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Reformed Character Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Z Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5THE PARADISE MYSTERY (Murder Mystery Classic): British Crime Thriller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Death in a Cold Spring Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecrets of the Ice Palace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Affair at Styles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Careless Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath in the Tunnel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Criminal Classes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Queen of Scots Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's a Long Way from Pitkirtly Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnrelated Incidents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCloser to Death in a Garden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sussex Downs Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ponson Case Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Death at the Happiness Club Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPromenade with Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder or What You Will Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrime in the Community Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGideon Combats Influence: (Writing as JJ Marric) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath by Dangerous Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Frisby Waterless Murders: An Inspector Knowles Mystery Book 3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unpredictable Events Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath at the Excelsior, and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bittermeads Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Cozy Mysteries For You
Color Me Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Her Little Secrets: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Alchemist: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Line to Kill: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side: A Miss Marple Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moon Over Soho Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Poirot's Early Cases Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures: a joyful and heart-warming novel you won't want to miss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Word Is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murders at the Montgomery Hall Hotel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret of Poppyridge Cove Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marlow Murder Club: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiche of Death: The First Agatha Raisin Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Epitaph: A Gripping Murder Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death Du Jour: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death by Dumpling: A Noodle Shop Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murderous Affair at Stone Manor: A Completely Gripping Cozy Murder Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gone with the Ghost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rivers of London: 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Murder Under a Red Moon: A 1920s Bangalore Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mistletoe and Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marple: Twelve New Mysteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gaudy Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret, Book & Scone Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Spoon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Died in the Wool
17 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A female politician's body is found encased in a bale of wool in this "golden age" mystery set in New Zealand. Quite fun.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As with COLOUR SCHEME (see mini-review below) Ngaio Marsh used World War II as the setting for DIED IN THE WOOL. Roderick Alleyn from Scotland Yard was in New Zealand as part of the war effort, seeking out fifth columnists and espionage undermining the war effort.Mount Moon station on the South Island is being used by two young men as a base for developing a new anti-aircraft device, and the authorities believe that the blueprints have been leaked.Marsh uses the setting as a country house, closed venue, mystery. There can only be a certain number of suspects, because of the isolation of the station. Alleyn arrives at Mount Moon over 18 months after Flossie Rubrick's murder and in fact after the death of her husband from illness.One of the interesting ploys of the plot is that Alleyn assembles the main characters and gets them each to tell their opinions of the dead Flossie, who does not appear to have been a very nice character at all.It was interesting to hear of the things that were concerning the characters (and by extension the author) late in the War. Flossie is very conscious that she must contribute to the war effort, although her offers of assistance to the War Cabinet in London have been repulsed. Three of the young people at Mount Moon station have already been "over there". The preoccupation with the possible presence of enemy agents is also interesting.I thought there were a few things apart from the setting that dated the book. The style was a bit ponderous and the vocabulary contained words no longer in frequent use. The plot was very carefully crafted though and has worn well.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I guessed whodunit by page 20, so what was interesting was gradually learning about the victim as more people give their versions of what happened. She becomes less noble and more controlling as the story progresses. Perhaps like Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While I liked the New Zealand setting, this entry in the Inspector Alleyn series was not one of Marsh's better efforts.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nigel Bathgate has finally been left behind but Alleyn's thoughts are just as irritating as ever. The mystery is really not all that interesting, probably because this is a war novel. Redeeming features are: the description of the discovery of the body, the description of the practical aspects of the wool business, and some humorous bits sprinkled throughout. The country-house atmosphere transplanted to the antipodes is a bit startling.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5New Zealand, 1943Indeholder kapitlerne "Prolog", " 1939", " 1942", "1. Alleyn ankommer til Mount Moon. Maj 1943", "2. Ursula Harmes beretning", "3. Douglas Glaces beretning", "4. Fabian Losses beretning", "5. Terence Lynnes beretning", "6. Den officielle politirapport", "7. Ben Wilsons beretning", "8. Cliff Johns' beretning", "9. Angrebet", "10. Nattens hændelser", "11. Arthur Rubricks beretning".Arthur og Florence Rubrick har Mount Moon fårefarm i New Zealand. En dag i 1942 skal Florence tidligt afsted for at nå frem til regeringsbyen den næste dag via postbil, tog og færge. Tilsyneladende er hun taget afsted, men hun når aldrig frem og der går et par dage før det går op for hendes mand og de øvrige i husstanden. Hun er sporløst forsvundet, men man finder hendes pakkede kuffert i et skab og pungen med rejsepas og penge ligger i en skuffe i hendes toiletbord. Først flere uger senere finder man hende i en hårdtpresset balle uld, hvor lugten gør voldsomt opmærksom på at noget er galt. Det er under krigen og Fabian Losse, som er Arthurs nevø, får et års tid senere lokket kriminalassistent Roderick Alleyn på banen ved at antyde at der måske er spionage involveret. Fabian og Douglas Glace har udviklet noget antiluftskyts og er bange for at konstruktionstegningerne er blevet lækket.???
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector Alleyn happens to be in New Zealand during World War II and has the opportunity to investigate a death on a sheep farm. The cast of characters includes many good suspects, and Marsh does a good job creating suspicion with many. However, the hint for the perpetrator was a bit too obvious. Still there are interesting tidbits about sheep farming included, and the New Zealand setting is a nice change from American and British ones in so much detective fiction. I listened to this one on Blackstone Audio on Overdrive. The female narrator did a good job.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A great improvement on her previous book (Colour Scheme). Marsh was still constrained by the reality of writing a murder mystery in the middle of a war and her need (perhaps thrust upon her by her publishers) to make Alleyn appear in the book. The logic of the book collapses under any serious scrutiny. SPOILER -- as Alleyn's explanation at the end of the book makes clear there were only two people who were ever, serious likely candidates as spies, the authorities knew that, the "secret" at risk was vital and they already had an agent in place. There is no logical reason for them to have waited so long to act on their concerns or waited until a member of the household asked for intervention. Marsh is constrained, as are many of her characters, by an imagination limited by class and cultural assumptions.Given all those limitations the characters in this book are far more three dimensional than those of her previous book -- within the notable exception of the person "who did it".